A power outage kit needs battery lighting, a battery or crank radio, a way to charge phones, food that needs no cooking, stored water, warm bedding and a battery-powered carbon monoxide alarm. Never bring barbecues, camping stoves, outdoor heaters or generators indoors: Health Canada says a portable generator must run outside, at least 6 metres from any building.
Long outages are a regular part of Canadian weather. The January 1998 ice storm left nearly 1.4 million customers in Quebec and over 230,000 in eastern Ontario without power, some for up to about five weeks. The May 2022 derecho cut power to over 1 million customers in Ontario and Quebec, and about 30,000 homes were still out more than a week later. In March 2025 an ice storm affected over 1 million customers in Ontario.
Most outages are far shorter. A kit that covers a few days comfortably also covers the first days of a long one.
The checklist
| Need | What to keep | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Light | One headlamp or flashlight per person, one or two LED lanterns, spare batteries | Store them where you can find them in the dark. |
| Information | Battery or crank AM/FM radio | Still works when mobile networks are congested or your phone is flat. |
| Phone power | Charged power bank and cables | Top it up every few months. |
| Food | Food that needs no cooking, manual can opener | Plan for at least 72 hours. |
| Water | About 4 L per person per day | Homes on a well lose their pump when the power goes. |
| Warmth | Sleeping bag or warm blankets for each person, hats, layers | Insulation needs no fuel and cannot poison you. |
| Safety | Battery-powered or battery-backup carbon monoxide alarm, fire extinguisher, first aid kit | Test alarms when you check the kit. |
| Money and papers | Cash in small bills, printed contact list | Card readers and bank machines need power. |
The printable checklist covers the full household kit. The sections below explain the items that matter most when the lights are out.
Lighting and communications
Candles appear on older federal kit lists, and they are a fire risk in a dark house with children, pets or tired adults. LED headlamps and lanterns are cheap, run for many hours on a set of batteries and can be left unattended. Make them your default and keep candles as a last resort.
Government of Canada guidance lists a wind-up or battery-powered radio in the basic kit. An ordinary AM/FM receiver is all you need to hear local news and official instructions. A phone is the other lifeline, so keep a power bank charged and lower your screen brightness early.
Food safety and cooking
Keep the fridge and freezer doors closed as much as you can. Every opening lets cold air out. Eat perishable food first, then move to shelf-stable food. A fridge thermometer removes some of the guesswork. Check Health Canada's food safety guidance for how long chilled and frozen food stays safe without power, and if you are unsure about something, throw it out.
For cooking, Government of Canada guidance is specific. Do not use outdoor fuel-burning cooking equipment indoors, which includes barbecues, camping stoves and portable burners. A gas range can be used to cook, but not as a source of heat. If you want hot food, cook outside, well away from doors and windows, or plan meals that need no cooking at all.
Heat without carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide is the hazard to take most seriously in a winter outage. Several of the deaths in the 1998 ice storm were carbon monoxide poisonings. Health Canada describes the gas as having no smell, taste or colour, and warns that the risk rises when outdoor fuel-burning equipment is used indoors during a power outage.
Safe warmth starts with insulation:
- Gather the household in one room, ideally a small one on the sunny side, and close the doors to the rest of the house.
- Dress in layers and wear a hat indoors.
- Use sleeping bags, or double up blankets, and put an insulating layer underneath as well as on top.
- Hang blankets over windows at night.
- Find your main water shut-off before you need it, in case pipes freeze.
Ontario's guidance is to use only portable space heaters designed for indoor use. Whatever you use, a working carbon monoxide alarm is essential. Since 1 January 2026 the Ontario Fire Code has required one on every storey of a home with a fuel-burning appliance, a fireplace or an attached garage. Our winter storm guide covers cold-weather outages in more depth.
Medical devices and medication
If someone in your home depends on powered medical equipment, plan for it before anything else. Ask your equipment supplier how long the device runs on its own battery and what backup they recommend. Ask your electricity provider whether it keeps a register of customers with medical equipment. Decide in advance where you would go if the outage outlasts your backup.
A portable power station is well suited to low-power devices such as a CPAP machine. It is not a medical-grade power supply and should not be the only plan for life-sustaining equipment. For medication that needs refrigeration, ask your pharmacist how to store it during an outage.
What a power station can and cannot run
A power station is a large rechargeable battery with household outlets. It is silent, produces no exhaust and is safe to use indoors. Its limit is capacity. A rough rule: running hours equal the rated watt-hours, times about 0.85 for conversion losses, divided by the load in watts.
The figures below are our estimates from that rule, using typical appliance loads. Your own appliances will differ.
| Load | 300 Wh | 1,000 Wh | 2,000 Wh |
|---|---|---|---|
| LED lamp (10 W) | About 25 h | About 85 h | About 170 h |
| Wi-Fi router and modem (15 W) | About 17 h | About 57 h | About 113 h |
| CPAP without heated humidifier (30 to 40 W) | 6 to 8 h | 21 to 28 h | 42 to 57 h |
| Full-size fridge (averaging 50 to 80 W) | 3 to 5 h, and may not start it | 10 to 17 h | 21 to 34 h |
| Gas furnace blower (300 to 600 W) | No | 1.5 to 3 h of run time | 3 to 6 h of run time |
| Sump pump (about 800 W) | No | About 1 h of pumping, if it starts | About 2 h of pumping |
Three limits are worth knowing. Motors draw a brief surge when they start, so check a station's surge rating as well as its continuous rating. A furnace is hard-wired, and powering one from a portable source requires a transfer switch or inlet installed by a licensed electrician. Never back-feed a house through an outlet. And solar panels produce far less under cloud and low winter sun than in summer, so do not count on them in a January ice storm.
In practice, a small station keeps phones, lights and a router going. A mid-size one adds a CPAP for several nights or a fridge for most of a day. See what size power station you need for a full sizing method, and our power outage guide for the wider plan.
Frequently asked questions
What should be in a power outage kit?
Keep a headlamp or flashlight for each person, LED lanterns, spare batteries, a battery or crank AM/FM radio, a charged power bank, food that needs no cooking, a manual can opener, about 4 litres of water per person per day, warm bedding, cash and a battery-powered carbon monoxide alarm. Add any medications and backup power for medical devices your household relies on.
Can I use a camping stove or barbecue indoors during a power outage?
No. Government of Canada guidance says not to use outdoor fuel-burning cooking equipment indoors, including barbecues, camping stoves and portable burners, because they produce carbon monoxide. A gas range can be used for cooking but not for heating. Cook outdoors, away from doors and windows, or eat food that needs no cooking.
Will a portable power station run my fridge?
A station of about 1,000 Wh can run a typical full-size fridge for roughly 10 to 17 hours, and a 2,000 Wh unit for roughly 21 to 34 hours, by our estimate. A 300 Wh unit may not be able to start a fridge at all because of the compressor's start-up surge. Check the surge rating of the station against your appliance before relying on it.
Sources
- Government of Canada: Power outages, how to prepare
- Health Canada: Preventing exposure to carbon monoxide
- Health Canada: Carbon monoxide
- Government of Ontario: Power outages and blackouts
- TSSA: Changes to the Ontario Fire Code, new requirements for CO alarms
- The Canadian Encyclopedia: Ice Storm 1998
General information only. Follow instructions from local emergency officials, and call 911 in a life-threatening emergency.