power-outage-plan

Power Outage Plan Skill

An extended outage is one of the most common and underestimated emergencies — and one

of the most dangerous for a specific group: anyone who depends on electricity for a

medical device (oxygen concentrator, CPAP, dialysis, refrigerated medication, powered

mobility). For them a blackout isn't an inconvenience, it's a medical emergency, and the

plan must center on it. For everyone, the hazards are quiet: food spoilage, carbon-

monoxide poisoning from improvised heat/generators, hypothermia or heatstroke, and being

cut off. This skill builds the plan before the lights go out, tiered by how long the

outage lasts, with the safety warnings that prevent the outage's secondary deaths.

What This Skill Produces

• A duration-tiered plan: what to do for a few hours vs overnight vs multi-day —

because the response and the risks escalate with time

• A medical-power priority plan (first, for anyone who needs it): battery backup, the

utility's medical/priority register, backup power options, and the threshold at which

you relocate to power/a hospital — worked out with clinicians and the utility in advance

• Food, heat/cool, and comms guidance: keeping food safe (and when to throw it out),

staying warm or cool safely, and keeping phones and information alive

• The safety warnings that save lives: carbon-monoxide (never run generators/grills/

camp stoves indoors), improvised-heat fire risk, and food-safety thresholds — the

secondary hazards that kill more than the outage itself

Required Inputs

Ask for (if not already provided):

• Anyone in the home dependent on power for a medical device or refrigerated medication —

this reshapes the whole plan

• The likely outage causes and durations for the area (storms, grid strain, wildfire

shutoffs — pair with [[hazard-risk-map]])

• The home: heating/cooling type (does it need electricity?), cooking, water (well pumps

fail without power), and vulnerable household members

• Existing backup (generator, battery, none) and budget/space for more

Framework

1. Medical power first — it's the emergency inside the emergency. For any power-

dependent device or refrigerated medication: how long its battery lasts, backup power

(device batteries, a suitable power station — sized with the device specs), enrolling

on the utility's medical/priority-reconnection register, and the pre-decided threshold

to relocate to reliable power or a hospital. This is worked out with the clinician and

utility now, not improvised in the dark. The skill organizes it and routes the

medical specifics to them.

1. Tier the plan by duration. Hours: fridge stays cold if unopened, use battery light,

sit tight. Overnight: heat/cool safely, meds and food managed, phones conserved.

Multi-day: food-safety decisions, water if pumps fail, warmth/cooling as the priority,

and the relocate-or-stay call. Each tier has different actions and different dangers.

1. Warn hard about carbon monoxide and fire — the secondary killers. Generators, grills,

and camp stoves indoors or in attached garages kill via CO every outage; never run them

inside, and have a battery CO alarm. Improvised heating (ovens, unvented heaters) causes

fires and CO. These warnings are not optional garnish — they're the point.

1. Keep food, warmth/cool, and comms. Food: keep fridge/freezer closed, know the safe-

duration thresholds and the "when in doubt throw it out" rule. Temperature: layer for

cold, hydrate and find cooling for heat, protect the vulnerable (heat and cold kill the

elderly fast). Comms: charged power banks, a battery/wind-up radio for information,

knowing that mobile networks can also fail (see [[family-emergency-plan]] for the

reconnect plan).

1. Prepare, then know the abandon threshold. Stock the outage kit (lights, power banks,

CO alarm, water, non-cook food, warmth), and set the clear line at which staying becomes

unsafe — no heat in dangerous cold, no medical power, no water — and where you'd go.

Deciding that threshold in advance prevents the fatal "we'll just wait a bit longer."

Output Format

## Medical power (if anyone depends on it — do this first)
[Device battery life · backup power sized to specs · utility medical/priority register ·
the relocate-to-power/hospital threshold — worked out with clinician + utility now]

## The plan by duration
Hours: … · Overnight: … · Multi-day: …  [actions + the escalating risks]

## ⚠ The safety warnings that save lives
[CO: never run generators/grills/stoves indoors; battery CO alarm · improvised-heat fire
risk · food-safety thresholds]

## Food, warmth/cool, comms
[Food-safe durations & throw-out rule · staying warm/cool safely, protect the vulnerable ·
power banks + battery radio · networks can fail]

## Abandon threshold
[The clear line where staying is unsafe, and where you'd go]

⚠ Not medical advice. Medical-device continuity must be planned with your clinician and
utility. Follow official guidance in a real outage.

Quality Checks

• [ ] Medical-power dependency is handled first and routed to clinician + utility, with a

relocate threshold

• [ ] The plan is tiered by outage duration with escalating actions and risks
• [ ] The carbon-monoxide and improvised-heat warnings are prominent and unambiguous
• [ ] Food-safety thresholds and vulnerable-person heat/cold protection are covered
• [ ] A clear abandon threshold and destination are set in advance

Anti-Patterns

• [ ] Do not bury or soften the CO warning — indoor generators/grills/stoves kill every

outage; this is the highest-stakes line in the skill

• [ ] Do not give medical advice or size medical backup power without the device specs and

clinician — route it

• [ ] Do not treat all outages as equal — duration changes everything
• [ ] Do not ignore the vulnerable (elderly, infants, power-dependent) — they're who

outages actually harm

• [ ] Do not omit the abandon threshold — "waiting it out" past safety is how people die at

home in cold/heat

Related

[[hazard-risk-map]] to know your outage likelihood; [[go-bag-builder]] and

[[emergency-doc-kit]] for the kit; [[family-emergency-plan]] for reconnecting when

networks fail; [[after-the-disaster]] for the aftermath.