Some prepare blackout boxes and buy candles, camping stoves and radios. Others source batteries and generators to keep vital equipment running, including a home aquarium and sensory equipment for an autistic family member. Six people discuss how they prepared for possible power outages.

“I made a blackout box with flashlights and cookies for my elderly parents”

Jennifer Bolland, 64, lives a two-hour drive away from her parents, who are 85 and 93, and worries about how they will cope in a blackout. She herself has been talking to them about it since September to prepare them: “I don’t know if they are optimistic or they can’t believe it. They thought the hard times were long gone.” Bolland made them a blackout box containing “two flashlights, biscuits, fruit cake” as well as “tealights neatly stuck in foil trays so they could grab and carry them around”. She says: “We’ve been practicing with straws and tearing off the top of the milk. We’ve practiced putting the straw in – the squash jumps all over the place, but it doesn’t matter as long as they get something to drink.” The couple relies on a stair lift to get to bed, Bolland explains. “If there’s a blackout, they’ll have to sleep where they are. I’ve put blankets and fleeces folded over dining room chairs.’ Bolland visits them once a month for 10 days. “It’s a case of preparing for the best I can and hoping for the best.”

“I have bought warm pajamas and thermals for my children”

Vanessa Linden blackout supplies. Photo: Vanessa Linden Vanessa Linden, 46, started assembling “all the classic” blackouts in September. “We’ve got a flashlight with a battery and a radio, we’ve stocked up on candles, we’ve bought thermal base layers, fleece booties, slippers,” he says. Linden, who works in learning and development in Chiswick, also stocks dried and tinned food. With two young children, aged two and four, she worries about safety if she has to rely on candles. She has bought her children thick pajamas and is worried about keeping them all warm, saying there is “a good chance all four of us will end up sleeping in the super-king bed just for warmth”. “I showed my young children how dark it gets without a light bulb and only candles,” she says. “[But] how long can you realistically keep up the ‘this is an adventure, let’s read with a torch on stage’ narrative?’

“I have a radio and a camping stove”

Joanna Young’s Final Radio. Photo: Joanna Young In September, Joanna Young bought a clearance radio, flashlights and a lantern to be prepared for the possibility of a power outage. “The radio has a solar panel, can take AA batteries, has a flashlight and a USB port to charge your phone.” Young made sure she had plenty of matches in case the electric ignition on the kitchen stove didn’t work. “I’m wondering what to do about drinking water, but I’m wondering if I’m going to go to sea at this point,” he adds.

“I bought a 12v battery to keep my aquarium alive”

Mike Wharton’s aquarium. Photo: Mike Wharton Mike Wharton, 37, owns a rare saltwater marine aquarium, which is home to a variety of species including fish, corals and invertebrates. “There’s a lot of machinery and equipment needed to keep everything alive,” he says. “Everything requires strength. I have some emergency backup equipment that will keep it going in a power outage for maybe an hour – but after that the system needs power.” Wharton, the co-founder of a digital consultancy from Dundee, recently bought a 12v battery which he hopes will be able to run out of his wife’s Nissan Leaf car. He says: “It should go on for about a week. It concerns me, but I live in a part of town where the power is not overhead, it comes through ground wires, so I’ve never had a blackout here before.’

“We keep emergency rations in dry packaging”

Lewis and his husband have emergency rations. Photo credit: Lewis Lewis, 73, from Bexhill-on-Sea in East Sussex, says he and his husband have been prepared for any power outages for some time, given their history. “We have [supplies] on call all the time,” he says. “My husband is from Japan, I’m from San Francisco, so we’re both used to earthquake preparedness. “The big difference is that the San Francisco Bay Area doesn’t get as cold as it does here, so heat will remain an issue. However, we do keep a week’s worth of dry packed emergency rations on hand. I always make sure I have a week’s worth of medication. I have stored bottled water, as well as chemicals to disinfect it if needed. It’s like a church with all the candles we’ve scattered around the place for the dark hours.” The couple also keeps emergency documents in water- and fire-resistant bags. However, Lewis says he’s never had to deal with repeated blackouts before. He says: “I’ve never had to last more than a day. For example, the 1989 Bay Area earthquake or shortly after was the Oakland fire. Not terribly long but probably longer than the two to three hours they talk about in the evenings here. More than that, but not repeated.”

“We bought a generator to keep my brother’s life-saving technology running”

Hannah’s portable power station. Photo credit: Hannah Hannah, who is in her 30s and lives near Glasgow, is an unpaid family carer for her 20-year-old brother, who has autism. He has learning disabilities, cannot speak and relies on digital technology to communicate with those around him. “My brother doesn’t communicate verbally, he relies on technology to communicate the most basic needs, whether he needs to go to the bathroom or if he’s hurt himself,” she says. “Because of his epilepsy, we also have sensors around the house in case he has seizures. One in particular is a kind of rug that goes under his bed and will set off alarms if he has seizures and we can support him. All of these must be connected or charged with electricity.’ Worried about the possibility of power cuts this winter, Hannah and her family invested in a £300 small generator to use in an emergency. “Hopefully it will sit in the back of the cupboard and not need to be used, but it’s a fair sign of the impact a blackout would have on a family like ours. It would take three or four hours,” he says. Hannah adds that she feels disabled people are often overlooked when decisions that will affect them are made by politicians.