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What to do in a power cut

What to keep at home, how to get through the hours without power safely, and what to do with food afterwards. All of it comes from official guides, with a link.

Updated 15 November 2026. Independent website: we do not speak for any organisation.

On 28 April 2025, mainland Spain and Portugal lost power. The final report from the expert panel of ENTSO-E, the European network of electricity grid operators, says the blackout had several causes at once. It was the first of its kind. ENTSO-E

There is no need to be afraid. With a few things at home, a power cut lasting hours or days is much easier to get through.

Before: prepare your home

Official guides from Europe ask for the same thing for a power cut: being able to manage for several days without power and without going out to shop. The European Commission recommends that every home can cope for at least 72 hours. European Commission

The basics for a power cut

  • Bottled water for drinking and cooking. EU
  • Food that does not need a fridge, and that you can eat with little or no cooking. EU
  • Torch and spare batteries. BBK
  • Battery or wind-up radio, to hear warnings if there is no internet. BBK Catalonia
  • Charged power bank for your phone. BBK Catalonia
  • Cash in small notes and coins: without power, cards may not work. EU
  • Candles and a lighter, and blankets if it is winter. BBK Finland

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During the power cut

At home

  • Do not open the fridge or freezer unless you need to. This helps them stay cold for longer. AESAN
  • Listen to the radio to find out what is happening and what the authorities say.
  • If there is a serious warning, Spanish civil protection can send an ES-Alert message to all phones in the area. ES-Alert is Spain's official alert system. Civil Protection
  • Save your phone battery. Call 999 or 112 only if there is an emergency.
  • If it is cold: close doors and windows, stay in one room and wear warm clothes. Finland

Cooking and keeping warm safely

Be careful with carbon monoxide. It is a gas you cannot see or smell. It builds up when something burns without enough air. It can kill.

Gas camping stoves and barbecues are for outdoor use only. Indoors, use only appliances made for indoor use. BBK

With braziers, heaters or a fireplace: ventilate the room and never take them into a bedroom. Community of Madrid

If you use candles, do not leave them burning when nobody is watching.

If someone depends on an electric device

Some people need power to live: for example, people who use oxygen or a ventilator at home. If someone like this lives in your home:

  • Talk to their specialist doctor. Ask how long the device can run without power and what to do in a power cut.
  • Spain's Ministry of Health is preparing an electro-dependency certificate and a national register, so that these people can be helped sooner in a power cut. The specialist who prescribes the device will explain how to apply. Ministry of Health
  • If their life is in danger, call 999 or 112.

Afterwards: food in the fridge

What Spain's food safety agency (AESAN) says

  • Less than 4 hours without power (and the fridge not opened): in principle, nothing needs to be thrown away. AESAN
  • More than 4 hours: throw away perishable food, such as meat, chicken, fish, eggs, milk, fresh cheese or leftovers. They can make you unwell even if you cook them. AESAN
  • The freezer keeps the cold for at least 24 to 48 hours if it is not opened. Food that has not fully thawed can be frozen again. AESAN
  • If you do not know how long something has been thawed, throw it away.

Frequently asked questions

How long does food in the fridge last without power?

According to AESAN, Spain's food safety agency, if the power cut lasts less than 4 hours and you do not open the fridge, you usually do not need to throw anything away. If it lasts more than 4 hours, throw away perishable food: meat, fish, eggs, milk, fresh cheese and leftovers. A closed freezer keeps cold for at least 24 to 48 hours.

Can I use a camping stove indoors?

No. The German civil protection guide (BBK) says that gas camping stoves and barbecues are for outdoor use only. Indoors, use only appliances approved for indoor use, because of the danger of carbon monoxide.

What matters most in a power cut?

Water, food that does not need a fridge, a torch with batteries, a battery or wind-up radio, a charged power bank for your phone and some cash. The European Commission and the German BBK guide both list these.

Official sources

We have read these documents. Where the guides are in other languages, we translated the quotes ourselves.

  1. ENTSO-E: final report of the expert panel on the blackout of 28 April 2025European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity. Note of 20 March 2026 (in English).
  2. European Commission: Preparedness Union Strategy (joint communication)26 March 2025. Action on self-sufficiency for at least 72 hours.
  3. European Commission: 72-hour self-sufficiency guidelines for the public (SWD(2026) 826)PDF in English, 30 October 2026.
  4. BBK: «Vorsorgen für Krisen und Katastrophen» (German civil protection guide)German-language PDF, 2025 edition.
  5. BBK: checklists for preparedness (Germany)German-language PDF.
  6. Civil Protection of Catalonia: emergency equipmentGeneralitat de Catalunya, Department of the Interior.
  7. 72tuntia.fi: what to do in a power cut (Finland)In Finnish.
  8. AESAN: what to do with fridge and freezer food after a power cutSpanish Food Safety and Nutrition Agency.
  9. Civil Protection: the ES-Alert warning system, now working across SpainGeneral Secretariat for Civil Protection and Emergencies. Note of February 2023.
  10. Community of Madrid (ASEM 112): #CalorSeguro campaignChimneys, heaters and braziers: ventilation and carbon monoxide.
  11. Ministry of Health: protecting electro-dependent people during power cutsPress release of 24 July 2026. Draft royal decree being processed.

In an emergency, call 999 or 112 and always follow what the authorities say.