What to do in a power outage? How to be well prepared

It happens to all of us once in a while: you're sitting on the couch in the evening and suddenly everything goes out. The screen goes black, the lights go out, and the Wi-Fi connection immediately drops. Although the electricity grid here is generally very reliable, an unexpected black-out can never be completely ruled out. Fortunately, there is absolutely no need to panic, provided you know how to act with the right supplies in your home.

Are you wondering: power outage what to do? In this article, we give you a practical, level-headed and solution-oriented overview. This way, you'll never be caught unprepared in the dark.

Causes of a power outage in the Netherlands

Compared to many other countries, our infrastructure is excellently organised. Nevertheless, a power outage in the Netherlands occurs more often than you might think. These are the four most common causes for households to temporarily lose electricity:

• Excavation work: When installing fibre optic cables or repairing pipes, a main cable is sometimes accidentally hit. This is the number one cause of local power outages.

• Extreme weather conditions: Severe storms, lightning strikes or extreme heat can damage transformer houses or overhead lines.

• Grid congestion: Due to the rapid increase in solar panels, charging stations and heat pumps, the power grid becomes overloaded at peak times, which can lead to local outages.

• Short circuit indoors: Sometimes the problem lies in your own meter box due to a faulty electrical appliance.

Whatever the cause, it is important to immediately switch to your own preparations as soon as the grid goes down.

Step-by-step plan: Power outage, what to do when it's dark?

When the power goes out, it's important to proceed systematically. Follow this simple, practical step-by-step plan.

Step 1: Check the meter cupboard and the neighbourhood

First, look in your own meter cupboard. Has a fuse blown or has the earth leakage circuit breaker tripped? If everything seems to be in order here, look outside. Are the streetlights on? Do the neighbours have lights? This way you can immediately see if the outage is limited to your home or if the entire street or neighbourhood is affected.

Step 2: Ensure safe and immediate light

Darkness causes disorientation and increases the risk of accidents in the home. Make sure you can immediately grab a reliable light source. Avoid candles; these carry an unnecessary risk of fire if you are looking for things in the dark.

Choose safe and independent hardware, such as a wind-up flashlight. Because you charge it manually with a crank, you are no longer dependent on batteries that run out or oxidise over time. A few minutes of cranking gives you bright LED light to inspect the meter cupboard or move safely through the house.

Step 3: Stay informed and reachable

During a longer, regional outage, not only the lights and your router will fail, but eventually mobile network transmitting masts can also falter.

To continue receiving important instructions from the government (via the regional emergency broadcaster), an emergency radio is indispensable. A modern, robust emergency radio often works with a hand crank and a built-in solar panel. In addition, you want to remain reachable for family. A powerful, charged power bank ensures that your smartphone remains usable for sending emergency messages for hours.

Step 4: Maintain body heat

In the event of an outage during the colder months, your central heating boiler or heat pump will stop working immediately. Your house will then cool down surprisingly quickly. Never use unsafe gas burners or the barbecue indoors due to the risk of carbon monoxide.

Keep it practical and safe by using special insulation blankets (emergency blankets). These reflective blankets reflect up to 90% of your body heat. By wearing warm clothing and using an insulation blanket, you stay comfortably warm without relying on heating.

Assemble your own hardware emergency kit for power outages

A grid outage is force majeure, but your preparation is within your control. By storing the right hardware in a fixed, logical place in the house (e.g., in or near the meter cupboard), you will never be caught empty-handed. Make sure that your power outage emergency kit contains at least the following reliable equipment:

• Wind-up flashlight(s) and possibly headlamps for hands-free operation

• A robust wind-up AM/FM emergency radio

• High-capacity power banks and corresponding charging cables

• Insulation blankets (at least one per family member)

Prepare today

A power outage is no reason to panic, but it does require common sense and sober preparation. By providing your own provisions for light, warmth, and communication, you are always solution-oriented when the power goes out. Don't wait until it actually gets dark.

Do you want to have your hardware equipment professionally in order without having to search for hours for the best equipment? Then check out the carefully selected assortment on CompleetVoorbereid.nl. Put together your own emergency kit today with our reliable wind-up flashlights, radios, power banks, and insulation blankets!