When the electricity cuts out, the households that fare best aren’t the lucky ones. They’re the ones who knew how to prepare for a power outage long before it happened.
Power outage preparedness doesn’t take much. All you need is a charged flashlight, a stocked pantry shelf, and a plan your family understands can turn a stressful night into a minor inconvenience.
Follow these safety tips to prepare yourself and your family for when the power goes out.
Choose a Meeting Place
Decide on a meeting place in your home and make sure all family members know where it is so flashlights can be dispersed, and everyone is accounted for.
Pack an Emergency Kit
Stockpile emergency items and keep them in one place. Ready.gov recommends some of the following items for outage preparedness:
Make a List of Contacts and Stay Connected
Make a list of important contacts so you can check on loved ones and neighbors, especially the elderly and those who are most vulnerable to extreme heat or cold.
Add your utility’s number to your phone’s contact list so you can report the outage and receive status updates.
Pay Attention to the Weather
Sign up for local weather alerts on your phone or devices so you can be prepared in the event of downed power lines in a storm.
If the electrical power goes out during extreme temperatures, call 211 or visit nchh.org to find the nearest cooling and warming shelters.
Get a Generator for Backup Power
Consider purchasing a generator if you have life-saving or other critical devices that don’t have battery-powered backup. Install the generator in a safe, dry location outside of the home or garage; touching a wet generator can cause electrical shock and death, and running a generator indoors can lead to carbon monoxide poisoning.
An additional note for generator safety: notify your utility company that you use a generator and of its location. This helps protect you, your family, and line workers as the utility works to restore power.
Charge Electronics and Change Batteries
Take inventory of all the items in your home that rely on electricity. Keep cell phones and smart devices charged as often as possible. Buy a portable charger or power bank for backup.
Install battery-powered smoke and carbon monoxide detectors on all levels of your home. Change the batteries on schedule to ensure they’re working at all times.
Prescription Medications and Medical Equipment
Talk to your doctor about the dangers of losing power and create a plan for handling medications that must be refrigerated or medical devices that require power. Additionally, ask about the safety of any refrigerated medications if the power was out for over 24 hours, as they may need to be disposed of and replaced.
Keep Your Refrigerator and Freezer Doors Closed
This should be the default in your home, but just in case: make sure your fridge and freezer doors are closed to help keep food cold.
A refrigerator will keep food cold for about four hours, and a full freezer can remain at freezing temperature for up to two days if left unopened.
After an extended outage, throw away any refrigerated food that has an unusual odor or bad smell, or odd color or texture, or has been exposed to temperatures higher than 40 degrees for more than two hours.
Storms roll in fast, and you don’t always get a warning before the power goes out. But now you know how to prepare for a power outage before the lights start to flicker. A little planning today means a lot less fumbling to find a flashlight in the dark later.
Peace of mind starts with a plan, and it grows with the right energy partner behind you. AEP Energy has spent more than 100 years helping people stay informed, stay safe, and stay connected to their energy, storm season or not.
AEP Energy does not guarantee the accuracy, timeliness, suitability, completeness, freedom from error, or value of any information herein. The information presented is provided “as is”, “as available”, and for informational purposes only, speaks only to events or circumstances on or before the date it is presented, and should not be construed as advice, a recommendation, or a guarantee of future results. AEP Energy disclaims any and all liabilities and warranties related hereto, including any obligation to update or correct the information herein. Summaries and website links included herein (collectively, “Links”) are not under AEP Energy’s control and are provided for reference only and not for commercial purposes. AEP Energy does not endorse or approve of the Links or related information and does not provide any warranty of any kind or nature related thereto.
Share this blog post:
Residential
Daylight saving time ends every fall, and most of us gain an extra hour when we set our clocks back. While the time change may seem minor, it can influence daily routines and household energy use. As daylight hours get shorter and temperatures cool, lights are turned on earlier, heating systems begin running more often, …
Residential
Halloween is full of traditions, from carving pumpkins, decorating the house, handing out candy, and picking the perfect costume. But for many families, costumes and decorations can be among the season’s biggest expenses. Children quickly outgrow costumes, trends change from year to year, and seasonal decorations are often replaced before they’ve reached the end of …
