Lights out: a plan for when the power goes out

Where the steps and the lines come from

We added no advice of our own about what to do or what to get. The eight steps in step 1, the sentence that starts with “Ready.gov:” under each of the four boxes in step 2 and the twenty lines in step 3 are Ready.gov’s words, from its page Power Outages (marked last updated 06/04/2026). We read it on October 9, 2026. Ready.gov writes several of them as paragraphs; here each sentence or tip is a line of its own, unchanged. Four things are ours: the titles of the boxes in step 2 and the last sentence under each (the one that says what to write), the box for what you still need to get, the names of the four parts in step 3, and the short names the sheet uses for the steps. We left out sentences that repeat a line already here, and Ready.gov’s links to other websites; they are on its page.

What else to know about those lines

• Ready.gov opens the page with: “Extended power outages may impact the whole community and the economy.” It says an outage may “disrupt communications, water and transportation” and “prevent use of medical devices”.
• The numbers are Ready.gov’s, not ours: about four hours for the refrigerator, about 48 hours for a full freezer, 40 degrees for food, 20 feet for a generator. Its English page does not name the temperature scale; its Spanish page says Fahrenheit.
• Several lines are about carbon monoxide. Our page When it might be carbon monoxide has what to do when an alarm sounds, the signs, and what to do if you cannot afford an alarm.
• The lines about medicine say to talk to your medical provider, doctor or pharmacist. This page cannot tell you how long your medicine keeps; they can. If you use equipment that needs electricity, My plan, my needs has Ready.gov’s planning steps for that, and When you can’t afford medical equipment is about getting the equipment itself.
• The lines about heat and cold go with When it’s dangerously hot and When it’s dangerously cold.
• If the food had to be thrown out, When you need food has ways to find food this week.

How it works

• Before is the checklist: eight steps, in Ready.gov’s words. Tick one when it is done. Each has a small tick for “not for me”, so a step that is not about you leaves the list.
• My notes has four boxes and one for what you still need to get. Leaving a box after you change it keeps it; the Keep button does the same thing. An empty box is left off the sheet.
• During and after has Ready.gov’s lines in four parts: while the power is out, food, generators, and when the power is back. They stay closed until you open them. A ticked line goes on your sheet with an empty box beside it.
• My sheet prints your notes, what you still need to get, your lines for during and after, what is done and what is still to do.

What this page can’t do

• It does not know when the power will come back, and it does not report an outage. Your electric company does both; this page does not know which company is yours.
• It cannot work without power for long: it is a web page on a device with a battery. That is why the last step is a sheet to print.
• It is not medical advice. It does not know your medicines or your devices, and it cannot say whether a medicine or a food is still safe.
• It sends no alerts and cannot warn you of anything.
• It gives nothing away: no flashlights, no detectors, no generator, no money. It is a list.
• It cannot remind you to come back to the list, and it is not an official form: it is not a Ready.gov or FEMA page, and nobody from an emergency agency has looked at it.
• The plan does not move to another phone or computer by itself. Print it, download it, or use My data on this device to carry a backup across.