When the electricity goes off, you do not have to cook to eat well. Keep ready-to-eat food and drinking water at home. If you want a hot meal, first find out whether your existing cooker can be used safely. A camping stove or barbecue is outdoor equipment: do not bring it into the house, garage, shed, tent or caravan. London Fire Brigade warns that using outdoor cooking equipment indoors creates a serious fire and carbon monoxide risk.
What can you eat without cooking?
Start with food you can open and eat: tinned beans, fish or vegetables, bread, crackers, nut butter, fruit and other foods suited to your household. Choose items you normally use so you can rotate them before their dates expire. Keep a manual tin opener if any of your tins need one. Include food that meets dietary and medical needs.
Store enough drinking water for your household too. A power cut can also affect the water supply. The UK government’s Prepare guidance recommends considering supplies for an emergency lasting a few days. The amount depends on people, pets and individual needs. If your water company issues a notice, follow its specific instructions; do not assume a general boiling time applies to every notice.
Will your cooker work?
| Equipment | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Electric or induction hob, microwave and electric kettle | These need electricity. |
| Gas oven | It may not work without power. The UK government’s power-cut guidance warns that gas ovens may stop working. |
| Gas hob | Some burners can be lit manually and some cannot. Follow your appliance manual. |
| Camping stove or barbecue | Use outdoors only, subject to its own manual and any local restrictions. |
Check the gas hob manual before an outage. Do not assume a model with an electric ignition can be lit with a match. Never bypass safety controls. If you smell gas, turn the appliance off if safe, leave the building and follow the gas emergency instructions for your area. If a burner lights, keep the room ventilated because an extractor fan may be off. A hob is for cooking, not heating the home.
If you have an electric cooker, plan meals that need no heat. That is safer than trying to improvise an indoor burner.
Where can you use a camping stove?
Use a stove designed for outdoor cooking outside in open air, on a level and stable surface. Keep it away from the building, doors, windows, combustible materials, children and pets. Follow its manual for the permitted fuel, cookware, clearances and storage. Do not use an oversized pan that can heat a gas cartridge. Do not refill a liquid-fuel burner until it is extinguished and cool.
An open-sided outdoor spot may offer shelter, but only if it remains genuinely open and the appliance manual permits the arrangement. Do not cook in a closed garage, shed, porch or tent. A balcony can create fire and smoke hazards for neighbouring flats; do not assume it is a safe substitute for a garden. If you do not have a suitable outdoor place, rely on ready-to-eat food instead of a camping stove.
London Fire Brigade says it is never safe to use any outdoor cooking equipment, including camping stoves and barbecues, indoors. Bringing a spent charcoal barbecue indoors is dangerous too: it can continue to give off carbon monoxide for hours.
A battery-operated carbon monoxide alarm is useful protection where fuel-burning appliances are installed, but it does not make indoor use of outdoor cooking gear safe. If a CO alarm sounds, get everyone into fresh air and call 999. Seek medical help for possible exposure. Carbon monoxide is colourless and has no smell; symptoms can include headache, dizziness, nausea and confusion. See the NHS carbon monoxide guidance.
Keep food safe while the fridge and freezer are off
Keep both doors shut as much as possible. The Food Standards Agency says a closed fridge should stay cold for up to four hours. Food in a full freezer may stay frozen for up to 48 hours, or up to 24 hours in a half-full freezer. These are estimates, not guarantees: room temperature, appliance type and door opening matter.
If the cut lasts longer, use the FSA’s food-specific guidance and a fridge thermometer if you have one. Do not taste food to decide whether it is safe. Give priority to refrigerated foods that spoil quickly, but only while they remain safe to eat. Tinned and shelf-stable foods are easier to manage.
A simple power-cut cooking kit
- Ready-to-eat meals and snacks that your household will actually use.
- Bottled drinking water and a manual tin opener.
- A battery-powered or wind-up torch, with spare batteries if needed. The UK government says torches are safer than candles.
- A flask, so one safe boil can provide hot drinks later if you can cook safely.
- An outdoor stove and its correct fuel only if you have a suitable outdoor space. Check the manual and practise using it in ordinary conditions.
- A working battery-powered carbon monoxide alarm where appropriate.
Do not calculate a universal number of gas cartridges for “72 hours”: fuel use varies with burner, pan, wind, menu and weather. If you choose to keep a stove, test your own setup outdoors, note the fuel used and allow a margin. Never sacrifice safe placement to make a hot meal.
If something goes wrong
If you smell gas, hear a leak or feel unwell around a flame, stop using the equipment and move to fresh air. For suspected carbon monoxide poisoning or a fire, call 999. Never carry a burning pan through the house or pour water on burning cooking oil. Keep a clear escape route and never leave cooking unattended.
The safest plan is straightforward: keep food you can eat cold, know what your existing cooker can do, and use any emergency stove only where its manual and UK fire-safety guidance allow it.