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You do not need to spend a lot to ride out most outages. Work through these steps in order.

1. Get the basics ready

Flashlights, water, shelf-stable food, a thermometer in the fridge and freezer, and battery-backup carbon monoxide alarms cover more of an outage than any gadget. Our PNW Power Outage Checklist walks through it.

2. List what truly needs power

For most homes that is the fridge, the modem and router, a few lights, phones, and any medical devices. Check each label for watts. Ask your clinician and the device maker about backup power for anything medical.

3. Size a battery, then decide on a generator

A portable power station handles quiet indoor loads. If outages here last more than a day, a generator run outdoors can refill it. See Generator + Battery Backup for Dark-Winter Homes for example setups and the math.