Are you Prepared?
Make a Safety Kit
Ask your parents or a trusted adult to help you make a safety kit. Put the items below in your kit to keep your family comfortable during a power failure. Replace batteries, food, and water once a year. Make sure everyone in your family knows where the kit is stored.
- Torches
- A battery-powered radio
- Extra batteries for torches and radio
- A three-day supply of bottled water
- Canned and dried foods
- Manual can opener
- Blankets
- First aid supplies
Power Failure Safety Checklist
Do you know what to do during a power failure? Print this checklist and keep it in a convenient spot so you can find it easily if your power goes off.
- Check and see if your neighbours have electricity. If they do, ask an adult to check your fuses or circuit breakers to rule out problems with electricity inside your home.
- Once you’re sure it’s a power failure, call your local electricity supplier and let them know. Do not call 111 unless you have a real emergency.
- Use a transistor radio and listen to your local radio station for updates.
- Use a torch when it gets dark. Avoid candles because of the fire risk.
- Unplug computers, TVs, VCRs, and other sensitive appliances. This will avoid possible damage when electricity comes back on.
- Turn off all but one of the lights that were on, so you will notice when electricity is restored.
- Turn off heat–producing appliances like electric irons and heaters to prevent fires in case no one is home when power is restored.
- Traffic lights and railroad crossings may not work. If you are in a car, remind the driver to stop, look, and listen for cross traffic.
- If you are stuck in a lift, stay there and wait for help. Never try to climb out between floors.
Browse our Knowledge Base
Did you know?
When a line mechanic is in the bucket, he is insulated from the ground and when he touches the line, he is like a bird that perches on it. As long as he does not touch two lines at the same time, he is safe.