Preparing your home
Emergency kit and battery-operated devices
Keep an emergency kit somewhere easy to find and make sure everyone knows where it is. Your kit should include battery-operated devices, such as a radio (to get emergency updates) and a torch. You can also include first-aid supplies and important documents, numbers and medications.
Emergency plan
Having a plan means you will know what to do if the power goes out. If you don’t already have one, visit the Power Outage Plan website for advice. This site contains helpful tips, advice and information on how to get prepared. Make sure your plan includes how you’ll stay informed, manage cooking and food safety and checking on anyone vulnerable.
Lights
Keep at least one light switched on in your home so you know when your power is back on.
Security alarms
Check if your alarm system automatically restarts when power is back on and confirm how long the temporary back-up batteries will last. This will help make sure your property remains protected during an extended outage. If you’re not sure, check your system manual or contact your installer or manufacturer for advice.
Charging devices
Fully charge your mobile phone, laptop and other essential devices before an expected outage. Keep a fully charged power bank handy so you can recharge your phone if the outage lasts several hours.
Ready-to-eat food
Stock your pantry with food that doesn’t need refrigeration or heating. Some ideas include tinned meals and soups, long-life milk, crackers, cereal, muesli bars, nut spreads and tinned fruit. Remember to keep a manual can opener with your supplies.
Water
Have a supply of bottled water available, especially if you have an electric water tank. Aim for at least two litres per person daily. If you have pets, remember to store water for them as well.
Vegetation management
If you have trees near electric lines on your property, make sure you get them regularly pruned by a qualified contractor. This helps reduce the risk of damage during storms, which can result in longer outages or safety hazards.
Electronics
Consider surge protectors for sensitive appliances such as TVs, computers and fridges. This helps prevent damage when the power comes back on. If severe weather is forecasted, set your fridge and freezer to a colder setting so food stays safe for longer. Avoid opening the fridge doors unless necessary.
For computers and tablets, make sure the autosave feature is turned on. This helps back up important documents, so you don’t lose work if the power goes out.
Life support customers
If you or someone in your household relies on a continuous supply of electricity for life support equipment, make sure you register with us and have an emergency plan that you can activate during an outage. For more information or to register, visit Life support customers.
Preparing your business
Emergency plan
Write an emergency plan that outlines what your business will do during an outage. Keep the plan and an outage kit somewhere easy to access and make sure all staff know where to find it. Visit the Power Outage Plan website for advice on writing a plan.
Your plan could include:
- instructions on keeping essential operations running
- steps to protect stock, IT systems and equipment
- communication processes for staff and customers.
Your outage kit could include:
- battery-operated radio to get emergency updates
- spare batteries
- torches
- list of emergency contacts
- bottled water.
Prepare your people
Make sure your staff are familiar with the outage plan and any business continuity plans. This includes knowing if they continue or stop work, security protocols and what to do if critical systems (such as elevators, EFTPOS or security gates) stop working.
Back up equipment
If your business has backup battery or generator systems, check them regularly to confirm they’re working properly. If your elevators or other critical infrastructure are connected to an alternate power supply, check the maximum number of systems that can run at once without overloading the generator.
Generators
We understand that during an outage, you may need to arrange an alternative source of power such as diesel-powered generators.
For any permanent or wired-in connections, contact us first so we can check it’s safe for our field teams to work on during an outage. You don’t need to contact us before connecting smaller generators, but always use them with extreme caution and stay safe. To find out more about generator safety, visit the Energy Safe website.
Electrical equipment
Back up your computer files frequently and check autosave functions are on so that you do not lose any important work. Consider investing in uninterruptible power supply units for critical IT systems, so they can be shut down safely without corrupting data.
You can protect sensitive electrical and electronic equipment by switching them off and unplugging them before an outage, or if you notice dim or flickering lights. If your lights are dim or flickering, there may be a voltage variation in the electricity network. For more information, see Brownouts.
