Prepare for a Planned Outage or Rolling Blackouts

A planned outage gives you notice. Here is how to use the hours or days before rolling blackouts or maintenance work to get ready.

Most outages arrive without warning, but some do not. Utilities schedule maintenance shutoffs, and during extreme heat, cold or supply shortages some regions rotate power cuts through neighbourhoods. A notice is a gift: you get time to charge, fill, cook and move things before the lights go off.

This guide walks through what to do once you know a cut is coming, and how to handle repeated short cuts when blackouts rotate.

Find out exactly what is planned

Start with your utility. Check its website, app, text alerts or the notice left at your door. You want the start time, the expected length and the area affected. Planned work often has a window rather than a fixed end time, so assume the longer end of any estimate.

• Sign up for your utility's text or email alerts if you have not already.
• Write the start and end window on a calendar or on the fridge door.
• If anyone in your home relies on powered medical equipment, tell the utility. Many have a priority or vulnerable customer process, and you can ask about it. See medical devices in a power outage.

For how alerts and reporting work in general, see alerts and outage reporting.

The day before: charge, fill and chill

Work through a short list in the hours before the cut:

1. Charge phones, laptops, power banks, flashlights, rechargeable lanterns and any battery pack or power station.
2. Fill clean containers with drinking water. A rough guide from Canadian and US agencies is 4 litres (1 gallon) per person per day. Our water storage guide explains more.
3. Turn the fridge and freezer to a colder setting a day ahead, then leave the doors shut during the cut. Cold food holds its temperature longer. Freeze water in bottles or containers to fill empty space in the freezer.
4. Run the dishwasher and laundry before the outage, and take a shower if you want a hot one.
5. Withdraw a little cash. Card machines and bank machines may not work.
6. Fill the vehicle fuel tank if you can, since fuel pumps need power too.

Plan meals and light

Cook ahead if the cut is long. Food that needs no heating, such as sandwiches, fruit, cheese and cooked rice or pasta kept cold, makes the day easy. See no-cook foods for an outage. Put flashlights and headlamps where you can find them in the dark, and use battery lanterns instead of candles when you can, because candles are a fire risk.

Protect equipment and the house

Unplug sensitive electronics such as computers and TVs, or use a surge protector, so a surge when power returns cannot damage them. Leave one lamp switched on so you can see when power comes back. Turn off or unplug heavy appliances like the stove, dryer and space heaters. If you use a garage door opener, learn where the manual release is. Our guide on protecting appliances goes into more detail.

If blackouts rotate

Rolling blackouts usually cut power to an area for a set period, then move on and may return the next day. Treat each cut as a short outage and build a routine:

• Keep devices topped up whenever power is on, since the next cut may come soon.
• Keep the fridge door closed and avoid opening it for snacks.
• Do essential tasks such as cooking, laundry and charging during the powered hours.
• Check the published schedule each day, because it may change.
• Look in on neighbours who may struggle, especially older adults and anyone relying on medical equipment.

If cuts happen in hot or cold weather, plan for temperature as well. Our heat wave guide and staying warm guide cover the basics.

Know your fallback

A planned outage can run longer than promised. Keep your basic kit within reach: water, food, lights, a battery radio, medication and a way to charge phones. The 72-hour checklist shows what to gather, and the outage planner helps you work out how much you need.

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