What to Do During a Power Outage in Canada

Power just went out? Start here.

• Confirm whether the outage appears limited to your home. Check nearby homes or streetlights, then check your breaker or fuse panel only if the area and your hands are dry.
• Report the outage to your electric utility and use its official outage map or status channel for restoration information.
• Unplug tools, appliances and sensitive electronics. Turn the thermostat down. Leave one inside light and one outside light switched on so you can tell when service returns.
• Keep the refrigerator and freezer closed. The useful food-safety clock starts now.
• Use flashlights instead of candles where possible, and switch phones to power-saving mode if charging is limited.
• Identify anything that became time-sensitive: heat, dangerous heat, private-well water, a sump pump, medical or accessibility equipment, refrigeration, or communications.
• Do not bring fuel-burning generators, barbecues, camping stoves or other outdoor combustion equipment indoors, into a garage, basement, crawlspace or shed.

The current Government of Canada power-outage guidance is the baseline for this page. ReadyHome’s job is to make that guidance faster to use in a house where one outage may also take out heat, water, a sump pump, refrigeration and communications.

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What else stopped working when the power went out?

Grid power

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Heat

Water

Sump

Refrigeration

Communications

Lighting & charging

Canadian context

Living rurally in the Okanagan has made one lesson obvious: a power outage is a systems problem, not a lighting problem. If electricity also runs the pump, furnace controls, sump, networking gear or refrigeration, the useful question is which dependency becomes urgent first.

First few hours

Keep information and phone power available

Use your utility’s official outage map/status page and follow local emergency authorities. Do not depend on a third-party outage map for safety decisions. If you cannot charge your phone, the Government of Canada recommends limiting cellphone use and turning on power-saving settings. A battery or wind-up radio gives you another path to local information if internet or cellular service becomes unreliable.

For a detailed explanation of why fibre, cable and Wi-Fi can fail at different points, use the ReadyHome internet outage guide.

Food and refrigeration

Keep the doors shut. Health Canada says an unopened refrigerator keeps food cold for about 4 hours, a full freezer for about 48 hours, and a half-full freezer for about 24 hours. Food that still contains ice crystals or feels refrigerator-cold can be refrozen; when food safety is uncertain, do not use smell or appearance as the test.

For the discard/refreeze rules and a practical timer, use the food-safety guide and fridge/freezer outage calculator.

Cold weather: no heat

A gas, propane or oil furnace can have fuel available and still stop because its controls, ignition, venting or blower depend on electricity. Keep doors and windows closed, reduce unnecessary opening of exterior doors, and move the heating problem to the top of the priority list if the house is cooling quickly.

Government of Canada extreme-cold guidance says to go to the nearest heated location at the first signs of cold exposure and recommends running a trickle of water when vulnerable pipes cannot be kept above freezing. It does not establish one universal indoor temperature at which every household should evacuate, so ReadyHome does not invent one.

Use the furnace outage guide for backup-power planning and frozen-pipe guide for plumbing protection.

Extreme heat: an outage can become a health emergency

Block direct sun with curtains, blinds or awnings. If outdoor air becomes cooler than indoor air and outdoor air quality is acceptable, use that cooler period for ventilation. Take cool showers or baths and move to an air-conditioned or otherwise cooler public place when the home is too hot.

Health Canada now recommends an upper indoor temperature of 26°C to protect older adults and says health impacts escalate dramatically above 31°C. Its general heat guidance also says fans may improve comfort but are ineffective at cooling the body above 35°C. Those are health-risk guides, not a ReadyHome stay-or-go calculator. Symptoms, individual vulnerability, local heat alerts and access to a cooler place matter.

Water and private wells

Do not assume every outage means unsafe municipal water, and do not assume municipal service will continue indefinitely during a large regional event. Follow your water provider or public-health authority if it issues an advisory.

A private well is a different dependency. The electric pump and treatment equipment may stop, while a pressure tank can behave differently from one system to another. ReadyHome’s well-pump outage guide covers the current Health Canada water-safety guidance and why the pressure tank should not be treated casually as an emergency drinking-water reserve.

Sump pumps and flooding

A storm can create the worst possible timing: groundwater is entering the sump while the AC pump has no power. Check the pit early. If you already have a battery, water-powered or generator-backed system, confirm that the backup is operating. If water reaches the basement floor or electrical equipment, stay out of the water and treat it as an electrical hazard.

Canada.ca recommends alternate power and a backup pump for sump systems. Use the sump-pump backup guide and backup runtime calculator for the engineering details.

Medical and accessibility dependencies

The Government of Canada recommends planning specifically for electrically powered medical devices, refrigerated medicines, internet-dependent devices and evacuation routes that do not rely on elevators. Talk to the appropriate medical professional about how an outage affects a condition or medication, and keep a list of facilities that provide required life-sustaining equipment or treatment.

Utility medical or vulnerable-customer registries can improve communication, but they are not a substitute for a household backup and relocation plan. Do not wait for a generic outage article to make an individualized medical decision.

Carbon monoxide: the rule that does not bend

Portable fuel-burning generators belong outdoors at least 6 metres (20 feet) from buildings, with exhaust directed away from doors and windows. Health Canada also says not to idle a vehicle in a garage, even with the garage door open, and not to use barbecues, camping stoves or other outdoor fuel-burning equipment inside a home, garage or shed.

If a CO alarm sounds, leave immediately, get to fresh air and call 911 from outside. Do not search the house for the source first. See the generator safety guide and CO detector guide for depth.

Overnight and 24+ hours

The longer the outage lasts, the more the decision shifts from inconvenience to resource management:

• Temperature: keep watching the house and the people in it, not just the weather app. Move to a heated or cooled location when the home is becoming unsafe or local authorities advise it.
• Food: the unopened refrigerator window is short; freezer time depends heavily on fullness and whether the door stayed closed.
• Water: preserve stored potable water and follow any official water advisory. Private-well households should follow well-specific guidance rather than repeatedly drawing down pressure just because a faucet still runs.
• Sump: recheck the pit during continuing rain or snowmelt. Conditions can worsen long after the lights first went out.
• Communications: preserve charging capacity and keep an offline path to information, such as radio, if cellular and broadband become unreliable.
• Backup power: calculate what actually needs power before burning scarce fuel or battery capacity on low-priority loads.
• Medical/accessibility: use the pre-arranged professional, facility or relocation plan before backup power is exhausted.

For a prolonged winter outage, prevent frozen pipes before a plumbing failure becomes the next emergency. For 72-hour household supplies, use the Canadian emergency-kit guide.

Stay or go?

ReadyHome cannot declare a house safe from a webpage. Follow evacuation orders and local emergency guidance. Prepare to leave or relocate when one of these conditions becomes the real problem:

• a CO alarm activates or there is smoke, fire, active arcing or another immediate life-safety hazard;
• indoor heat is becoming dangerous, someone is showing heat-illness symptoms, or a cooler location is needed;
• cold exposure is affecting occupants or the home cannot maintain a safe environment;
• flooding reaches electrical equipment or safe access is compromised;
• a powered medical or accessibility need cannot be supported;
• wildfire, flood or another hazard triggers an evacuation order or makes the location unsafe.

Do not use a made-up temperature score or gadget battery percentage as an evacuation rule. Health status, building conditions, weather, local services and official instructions all matter.

When power comes back

The Government of Canada restoration sequence is refreshingly specific:

1. Give the electrical system a chance to stabilize.
2. Turn the heating-system thermostats up first.
3. Reconnect the refrigerator and freezer.
4. Wait 10 to 15 minutes before reconnecting other tools and appliances.
5. Make sure the hot-water heater is filled before turning its power back on.
6. Check food safety.
7. Continue to stay away from downed electrical lines and report them.

If service returns with persistent partial power, abnormal dimming/brightening, repeated breaker trips, burning odours, buzzing, visible damage or water around electrical equipment, stop treating it as a normal restoration. Contact the utility or a licensed electrician as appropriate rather than diagnosing live electrical faults yourself.

Then verify the systems that mattered during the outage: sump pump, furnace, well/treatment equipment, alarms, networking gear, clocks/timers and any critical devices.

Prepare before the next outage

The useful preparation is the stuff that buys time when electricity disappears:

• build a household emergency plan and maintain at least 72 hours of basic supplies;
• keep flashlights accessible and power banks charged;
• have a battery or wind-up radio;
• keep smoke and CO alarms working with battery backup;
• make a specific plan for medical devices, medications and accessibility needs;
• know how heat, hot water, a private well, sump pump and communications depend on electricity;
• test backup-power equipment and use certified electrical products;
• use a licensed electrician for generator connections to household wiring;
• if an outage is likely, keep the vehicle fuel tank at least half full or the EV charged;
• know where the household water shutoff is and have a winter plumbing plan.

If you need electricity rather than just preparedness, start with Backup power for Canadian homes, then use the generator size calculator, generator runtime calculator, portable power station guide or UPS guide depending on the load.

Power Outage Home Checklist

ReadyHome Canada

Power Outage Home Checklist

Canadian household actions before, during and after an outage. Verified against current Government of Canada and Health Canada guidance on September 7, 2026.

Print / save checklist

Before an outage

• Save your electric utility outage-reporting and status page.
• Keep a household emergency plan and at least 72 hours of basic supplies.
• Keep flashlights accessible, plus charged power banks and a battery or wind-up radio.
• Check smoke and carbon monoxide alarms and their battery backup.
• Make a specific plan for powered medical devices, refrigerated medication and elevator-free evacuation.
• Know where the household water shutoff is and how your heat, well and sump systems depend on electricity.
• Test backup-power equipment before storm season; use a licensed electrician for household generator connections.
• If an outage is likely, keep the vehicle fuel tank at least half full or the EV charged.

During an outage

• Check whether the outage is only your home; use the panel only if the area and your hands are dry.
• Report the outage and follow your utility and local authorities for updates.
• Unplug tools, appliances and sensitive electronics; turn the thermostat down; leave one inside and one outside light on.
• Keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed.
• Use flashlights instead of candles where possible.
• Identify urgent heat, water, sump, medical and communications dependencies.
• Never run a fuel-burning generator, barbecue or camping stove indoors, in a garage or in another enclosed space.
• Conserve phone battery and use official information sources.

Before leaving

• Follow evacuation orders and local emergency guidance.
• Take your emergency kit, medications, essential documents and required assistive equipment.
• If there is time and it is safe, follow Government of Canada guidance to turn off the main breaker or power-supply box.
• Do not enter standing water or approach downed electrical lines to shut anything off.

When power returns

• Give the electrical system time to stabilize.
• Turn the heating-system thermostat up first.
• Reconnect the refrigerator and freezer.
• Wait 10 to 15 minutes before reconnecting other tools and appliances.
• Make sure an electric water heater is full before restoring power to it.
• Check food safety, sump operation, private-well/treatment systems and alarms.
• If power is abnormal, partial, repeatedly failing or accompanied by electrical damage, stop and contact the utility or a licensed electrician.

This checklist is a triage aid, not a substitute for your utility, emergency services, local authorities, medical professionals or licensed trades. Full guide: readyhomecanada.com/power-outage/

What this guide deliberately does not do

This page does not maintain live outage maps, tell you to repair electrical equipment, prescribe medical backup systems, promise a universal generator runtime, or pretend that every furnace, well, sump pump, water heater or internet connection behaves the same way.

It is the decision layer: what matters now, what can wait, and which specialist answer you need next.