Basic Power Needs

What are my basic power needs?

In an emergency you’ll quickly learn what you can and cannot live without.  You will want to power on the things you use most.  In terms of a hierarchy of needs we suggest paying attention to the following in order:  light, heat, heat for cooking, communication, refrigeration, cooling.

What wouldn’t work when there’s a regional power outage?

• Water: water pumps to cisterns, city water pumps that channel water to your tap
• Lights: household lights, neighborhood light poles, traffic signals
• Communication: cell phones (after batteries died), home cordless phones, radios without batteries, computers, Internet routers
• Banking: ATMs, Point of Sale Machines (swiping credit cards at grocery or appliance stores)
• Transportation: Getting gas at the station
• Food Storage: refrigerators and freezers at home, at the grocery store, at convenience stores, at discount stores
• Cooking: electric stoves, microwaves, tea kettles, coffee makers, blenders, ovens, toasters
• Cleaning: electric hot water heaters (no hot showers or hot water in house), washers, dryers
• Entertainment: TVs, DVDs, XBox, Wii, Playstation, computers, electric guitars

How should I prepare to power on the things I want?

The following power chart shows your options for emergency essentials like light, heat, communication, etc.