How to prepare for a 72-hour power outage: a three-day plan

When a long outage is announced, use the warning time: store water, charge every battery, run the freezer down and fill it with ice packs, and plan meals that need no fridge. During the three days, keep the fridge shut (about 4 hours of cold) and the freezer shut (about 48 hours if full), get news from a battery or crank radio, and never run a generator, barbecue or camping stove indoors.

We earn a commission if you buy through these links, at no extra cost to you. Brands never pay for placement. Read our disclosure.

Why 72-hour outages happen

Three days without power is not only a disaster-film scenario. In October 2026 alone, distribution companies in Abuja and Kano in Nigeria announced planned outages of 72 hours for transmission-line works, and a three-day strike by electricity workers left tens of thousands of homes in Haryana, India, without power for long stretches. Storms, floods, ice and heatwaves cause multi-day outages every year in Europe and North America, and the 28 April 2025 blackout in Spain and Portugal showed how fast a whole country can go dark (see lessons from the Iberian blackout). That is why the EU, and civil-protection agencies from the US to Sweden, ask households to be able to cope on their own for at least 72 hours.

If you get notice, from your power company, the news or a severe-weather warning, the plan below turns three hard days into three inconvenient ones.

The week before (or as soon as you know)

• List what runs on electricity in your home: fridge, freezer, heating controls, water pump, router, medical devices, stairlift, garage door. Ready.gov recommends starting from that inventory.
• Medicines and medical devices: ask your doctor or pharmacist what to do with medicines that need the fridge and devices that need power, and how long they can go without. See preparedness with medication needs.
• Light: one torch per person and an LED lantern for the main room, plus spare batteries.
• News: a crank or solar radio works when phone networks and the internet don’t.
• Power for phones: a charged 20,000 mAh power bank per adult, or a portable power station if someone works from home or needs a device running.
• Food: three days of food that needs no fridge and little or no cooking. Use our 72-hour food list.
• Cash: card terminals and ATMs may not work. Keep some small notes and coins at home.
• Safety: a battery carbon monoxide alarm if you will use any fuel-burning appliance, and a smoke alarm with fresh batteries.

The day and the evening before

1. Store water. At least 3 litres (0.8 US gal) of drinking water per person per day, so 9 litres (2.4 US gal) each for three days, plus water for washing and flushing. Fill clean containers and, if you have one, the bath. More in how much water to store.
2. Charge everything: phones, power banks, laptops, torches, the power station, electric toothbrushes.
3. Turn the freezer colder and fill empty space with bottles of water or ice packs: a full freezer stays cold far longer than a half-empty one.
4. Eat the fridge down. Move what you can into the freezer and plan to finish open dairy and leftovers first.
5. Cook ahead a couple of meals that keep at room temperature, and boil water for a thermos flask.
6. Download maps, documents and entertainment for offline use, and write down important phone numbers on paper.
7. Plan heat or cooling: in winter, pick one room to keep warm; in summer, know where the nearest cool public place is. Ask your local authority whether warming or cooling centres will open.
8. Tell people: agree with family and neighbours how you’ll check on each other, especially older people living alone.

Day one: protect the cold

• Keep the fridge and freezer closed. Ready.gov: a closed fridge keeps food cold for about 4 hours; a full freezer about 48 hours.
• Put a fridge thermometer inside so you can check without guessing.
• Unplug sensitive electronics, or use a surge protector, to avoid damage from surges when power returns. Leave one lamp switched on so you notice.
• Use torches and lanterns, not candles.
• Phones on low-power mode; send texts rather than calls.

Day two: the cupboard and the cool box

• Fridge food that has been above 4 °C (40 °F) for two hours or more should be thrown away, Ready.gov advises. When in doubt, throw it out.
• A cool box with ice packs from the freezer buys time for milk, medicines and baby food.
• Cook outdoors only if you use a gas stove or barbecue, or safely indoors with a power station and a small electric kettle. See cooking without power.
• If the water stops, switch to stored water and the emergency toilet plan.
• Recharge phones from the power bank or power station, not from a car idling in a closed garage.

Day three: heat, cold and people

• In cold weather, gather in one room, close curtains at night, wear layers and use sleeping bags. Never heat the home with a gas oven or hob: Ready.gov warns it raises the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning and fire. See keeping warm without heating.
• In hot weather, keep blinds closed during the day, drink regularly and use a battery fan. See preparing for a heatwave.
• Check on neighbours who are older, ill or alone.
• If someone’s medicine has been out of the fridge for more than a day, ask a pharmacist before using it: Ready.gov advises discarding refrigerated medicine after a day without power unless the label says otherwise.

Generators, camping stoves and barbecues must stay outdoors, at least 6 m (20 ft) from windows, doors and attached garages (Ready.gov). Carbon monoxide has no smell or colour and can kill people and pets.

When the power comes back

• Switch appliances back on one at a time.
• Check fridge and freezer temperatures before eating anything from them.
• Refill, recharge and restock: see how often to check your kit.

The short shopping list

We don’t list prices because they change often. Use the button to see the current price on Amazon.

Prefer one box with the essentials? See our blackout kit or tick your way through the 72-hour checklist.

Questions people ask

Keep reading

• /kits/blackout/
• /what-to-do-in-a-power-blackout/
• Portable power station vs generator for blackouts
• How much water to store for 72 hours
• 72-hour emergency food list (no cooking)

Sources

1. Ready.gov (FEMA): Power outages
2. American Red Cross: Power outage safety
3. Ready.gov (FEMA): Food
4. Ready.gov (FEMA): Water
5. NHS: Carbon monoxide poisoning
6. European Commission: Preparedness Union Strategy, March 2025
7. Daily Times Nigeria, KEDCO explains 72-hour blackout in parts of Kano metropolis, 31 October 2026
8. Zee News, 72-hour blackout: why Gurugram went dark, 23 October 2026