What April 28, 2025 taught us
At 12:33 pm the whole Iberian Peninsula lost power. In most areas it came back between that night and early the next morning. In those hours it became clear what stops working without electricity:
- Payments: card readers and ATMs stopped. People with cash could still buy.
- Transport: subways and trains stopped, traffic lights went out, people were stuck in elevators.
- Communications: cell towers held out for a while on backup batteries, then failed area by area.
- Information: radio kept broadcasting and became the main source of news.
- Water: in tall buildings that rely on a booster pump, upper floors ran dry.
The first ten minutes
- Check whether it's just your home. Look at the breaker panel: if a breaker tripped, reset it. If the hallway and neighbors are dark too, it's a wider outage.
- Turn on a flashlight, not a candle. Candles are the leading cause of fires during outages.
- Unplug sensitive electronics like computers, TV or router to protect them from the surge when power returns. Leave one lamp switched on so you know when it's back.
- Keep the fridge and freezer closed unless absolutely necessary: every time you open them the cold escapes. Closed, a fridge stays safe for about 4 hours and a full freezer for about 48.
- Store water while the tap still runs. In many cities water keeps flowing at the start of a blackout, because it comes down by gravity from elevated tanks and utilities have backup generators. But it isn't guaranteed: pumping stations, booster pumps in tall buildings and private wells need power, and in a long outage the tanks run down. Fill jugs, pots and the bathtub, without wasting it, in case it stops later. Use the bathtub water for flushing and cleaning.
- Get information from the radio. Don't call the emergency number to ask what's going on: it jams the line for people with real emergencies.
- Think of others: older neighbors, people who live alone or depend on medical equipment.
Your phone battery
In a long outage your phone is your backup flashlight, your map and the channel for emergency alerts. To make it last:
- Turn on low power mode and dim the screen.
- Close apps and turn off data, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth if you don't need them. Turn them on now and then to check messages. Searching for a signal on a struggling network drains the battery fastest.
- Text instead of calling. When the network is congested, a short text needs far less capacity and usually gets through first.
- You can charge it in your car, but with the engine running only outdoors, never in a closed garage.
Light without risk
Candles cause house fires every winter during outages. Better:
- Headlamps, one per person, that keep your hands free.
- LED lanterns to light a whole room. A trick: a flashlight pointed into a jug of water lights up like a lamp.
- A flashlight in every room you spend time in, and everyone knows where it is. Groping around in the dark is how falls happen.
Cold and heat
In winter
- Gather in one room, the smallest and sunniest. Close doors and block drafts with towels. A small space stays warm with far less, and the sun helps.
- Dress in layers with a hat and thick socks. Hot water bottles work if you can heat water.
- : never use charcoal, grills, camping stoves or generators indoors. Indoor-rated propane or butane heaters need ventilation and should not run while you sleep. A battery-powered CO detector is a cheap lifesaver.
In summer
- Blinds down and windows closed during the day; open them at night for cross-ventilation. Sun coming through the glass heats the house like a greenhouse.
- Drink water even if you're not thirsty, because thirst kicks in late, especially in older people, and keep an eye on children, older adults and sick people.
- A damp cloth on the back of your neck and a cool shower or basin of water lower body temperature a lot.
Generator or power station?
For most homes neither is necessary: a power bank and a battery radio cover the basics. Experts make one clear exception: if someone at home depends on powered medical equipment, such as an oxygen concentrator or a medicine fridge.
| Portable power station | Fuel generator | |
|---|---|---|
| Where to use it | Indoors | Outdoors only, away from doors and windows |
| Noise | Silent | Loud |
| Recharged by | Wall outlet, solar panel or car | Stored fuel |
| Best for | Phones, lights, router, small medical devices | Fridge or freezer over several days |
If you buy a , expect to use about 85% of its rated capacity. models last thousands of charge cycles. Read more in our power station guide. If you depend on medical equipment, talk to your doctor and your utility; many utilities keep a priority list.
When the power comes back
- Wait a few minutes before plugging everything in: the grid can fluctuate at first.
- Reconnect appliances gradually, starting with the fridge. If everything starts at once the breaker may trip again, and the fridge is the most urgent.
- Check your food: anything that spent more than 2 hours above 40 °F (4 °C) goes in the trash. See the times in the pantry guide.
- Recharge batteries and restock whatever you used from the kit.