Item 1 of 6The plan cardAll six items
An outage plan for your household
An outage plan is a short written answer to one question: how would this household manage without mains power, perhaps for days? NSW’s Endeavour Energy sets one out under four headings (your essentials, staying in touch, what to do if you need to evacuate, and staying comfortable in heat or cold), and other networks add lists of their own.
General information from electricity networks’ own pages, each labelled with its network and state. Your own network’s outage page is the place to check what it asks of you.
Why write it down before you need it
Endeavour Energy lists storms, bushfires, floods and network issues among the causes of an outage, and says that in many cases an outage comes without warning. It says a written plan for your home can help remove risks to the home and help keep everyone safe. SA Power Networks says outages can happen at any time of year, and recommends always having a plan and keeping it up to date.
The plan card, heading by heading
These are Endeavour Energy’s four headings and what it lists under each, in plain words. It is a New South Wales network’s list.
1 Your essentials
- Food and drinking water for three to seven days, for everyone in the home, pets included.
- A backup way to cook, such as a camp stove, and eskys with ice packs for a long outage.
- If there are babies or infants in the home, a safe way to warm formula and sterilise equipment.
- Torches and lanterns, kept somewhere easy to find.
- A backup source such as a generator for important appliances, or if your water and sewage rely on power. How to run one safely is item 2, running a generator safely.
2 Staying in touch
- A charger or power bank for your phone, and a battery-powered radio in case the phone or internet fails.
- A contact person outside your area who can help you get information if the internet or phone lines go down.
- Before bad weather, a full tank in the car, or the electric vehicle charged.
3 If you need to evacuate
- Where you would go, and how you would get there.
- Essential items packed: a first aid kit, ID, birth certificates, medical documents, cash and a torch.
- Who you would contact if you need support to leave.
- Essential contacts written down, including doctors, vets, and home and vehicle insurance, with important documents kept in a waterproof container.
4 Heat and cold
- For cold: layers, blankets and a beanie; curtains closed, draughts sealed, everyone in one room; and moving around to keep warm.
- For heat, Endeavour’s list is on item 6, heat and power cuts, beside what networks do on very hot days.
- One more line sits under this heading on Endeavour’s page: know how to open electric garage doors and gates by hand.
What other networks add
Other networks publish lists that overlap with Endeavour’s and add a few things of their own. The table keeps each list with its network.
| Network | State | What its list adds |
|---|---|---|
| SA Power Networks | SA | A torch or low-voltage portable light with spare batteries, and knowing how to use the manual override on electric gates or garage doors. If you live in a high bushfire risk area, it asks that your outage plan be part of your bushfire action plan. |
| Jemena | VIC | Planning for the extra needs of people with disabilities and older people, a communications plan and an evacuation plan you have practised, and a kit: torches and fresh batteries, a battery radio, a battery or wind-up alarm clock, bottled water, bedding, a first aid kit, special items for infants, older people or anyone with special needs, and a phone list of emergency contacts. |
| CitiPower and Powercor | VIC | For a planned outage: a “Power Pack” with a torch, spare batteries and a charged power bank; phones and laptops charged the day before; and important computer records backed up before the outage begins. |
| Essential Energy | NSW | Among its tips for outages: if your household water comes through an electric pump, store enough water for the time the power is off. |
The NSW SES, the state’s emergency service, adds two things to do now rather than later: keep torches, extra batteries and some non-electric lighting and heating where you can reach them and in your emergency kit, and, before any emergency, find your utilities and learn how to switch off the mains power, gas and water.
Three lines worth adding to any plan
Which company to call for what
The NSW Government’s energy site explains the difference: your energy retailer is the company that sends your bill, and in an outage you contact your network provider for emergency information, whose name and contact details are at the top of your energy bill. Write both on the card.
Phones and the internet
CitiPower and Powercor point out that your modem won’t work without power, though your phone’s data connection can still reach the internet. Energex, in Queensland, warns that phone and internet services over the nbn are unlikely to work during a power interruption.
Appliances left on
NSW Fair Trading asks you to switch off all heating appliances if the power fails, because fires have been caused when power returns unexpectedly. Energy Safe Victoria’s storms page gives the same reason for switching off and unplugging heating and cooking appliances when a home loses power.
A plan is also a good moment to look at the home itself. Once everyone is safe and the power is steady, a licensed electrician can check the switchboard and tell you what, if anything, it needs before the next storm season.