The holidays are one of the best times to test your readiness for a grid failure. During these months, life slows down enough for you and your family to practice your skills and evaluate your supplies before a real emergency.
Why the Holiday Break Is the Perfect Time for a Blackout Drill
During the holidays, you usually have the elements that make a power outage drill more feasible. The temperatures are lower, family members are at home or nearby, and there are fewer scheduling conflicts. With the entire household involved, everyone can learn what the plan looks like and how to respond quickly.
Preparing for winter blackouts is becoming more essential than ever. Power grids usually experience stress due to high heating demands. Today, data centers are adding excess strain, which could lead to long-term challenges.
Knowing what to do during winter power outages is also a lifesaving skill. In 2023, around 2,520 Americans died of hypothermia. Most people who succumbed to these conditions were house-less, with inadequate access to heating. Even if this is not an issue for you and your family, learning how to manage heat without access to electricity, especially during brutal winter temperatures and storms, helps ensure survival.
How to Prepare Before Your Drill
Before flipping off your breaker, you need a clear structure so the drill stays organized and safe.
Pick an Appropriate Time and Duration
Select a time frame that corresponds to a realistic outage scenario. Some of the world’s longest outages have lasted several days. For instance, Texas experienced a blackout that spanned over two weeks in 2021. However, it might be best to start with a few hours or half a day, especially if it’s your family’s first time.
Create a Detailed Plan
Outline what the drill will include. You can run a partial drill and test just a few aspects of your total plan, like lighting, heating, communication or food preparation. Set specific goals depending on the duration of your plan. For example, you can specifically target consistent heating for several hours or test your ability to communicate with your extended family and community.
Give Everyone Roles
Everyone needs a clear job. During an outage or emergency, confusion and panic can waste precious time. Assign duties like managing lighting, checking on heating, handling radio communications, or monitoring food and water levels. Walk everyone through the plan and take suggestions when necessary.
Follow Safety Precautions
Create a checklist that includes proper heater ventilation, carbon monoxide monitoring, setting up a fire extinguisher and identifying emergency exits. It’s also best to inform your neighbors or extended family that you’re staging a drill, so they can assist you if you need it.
Essential Supplies for a Power Outage Drill
Aside from assessing your skills, a holiday blackout drill can test your home inventory. Here’s what you should prepare for your drill and for emergencies:
- Backup power: Generators, fuel, power stations, solar chargers and extra batteries
- Emergency lighting: Flashlights, lanterns, LED strips or candles
- Winter heating: Heaters, stoves and insulation
- Food and water storage and purification: Shelf-stable food, freeze-dried meals, canned goods and off-grid cooking equipment
- Medical supplies and specific needs: First-aid kits, prescription medications, mobility devices, pet supplies and other items unique to your household
- Communication devices: Battery-powered radios, walkie-talkies, satellite phones, chargers and whistles
- Personal items and hygiene needs: Wet wipes, hand sanitizer, feminine hygiene products, thermal underwear, wool blankets and other comfort items
How to Execute Your Holiday Blackout Drill
Once you’ve planned and prepped, you’re ready to run the drill. The goal is to behave as you would in a real outage, so keep the process simple and realistic.
Turn Off the Main Power
Shut off the main breaker or your home’s key circuits. This step immediately puts your household into test mode and shows how quickly you can adapt without electricity. Once the power is off, there is no more room for extra prep.
Test Emergency Lighting and Communication
Move through the house as if the outage just happened. Turn on your flashlights and lanterns, check radio connections, and confirm that everyone can locate the necessary supplies.
Run Your Alternative Heating Source
Start your backup heat and check for fuel issues and ensure adequate ventilation. Track how long it takes to warm a room, how well the heat holds and how much fuel your system consumes within a specific time.
Evaluate Your Food Storage and Cooking Methods
Prepare a full meal using non-electric tools. Test your stove and other equipment to determine how long meals take and identify any challenges that arise. You can also get a good idea of how much you consume.
Test Your Water Purification System
More than stomach upset, contaminated water can transmit diseases like diarrhea, cholera, dysentery and hepatitis. During your drill, pretend your tap water isn’t safe. This will force you to filter, boil or treat it for your household. This step also helps you estimate the time and effort required for water purification.
Evaluate Your Performance
When the drill ends, gather the household and review what worked and what needs fixing. A short written record helps you track improvements and run a smoother drill next year.
Preparing for What Comes Next
A holiday blackout drill is a practical way to test your readiness under realistic winter conditions. This activity enables you to test your existing systems and identify areas for improvement, sharpening your skills and keeping your household prepared for whatever the colder months may bring.
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