What to Do When You’re Hit By a Power Outage

Published September 30, 2025

A family eating pizza by candlelight during a power outage

We’ve all been there – you’re just about to put something in the oven or start streaming your favourite show, and bam! You unexpectedly lose power and are plunged into darkness.

And while households in Australia experience fewer than two power outages a year on average,¹ these events are not only inconvenient but, in some cases, can also wreak enough damage for you to consider making a home insurance claim.²

So, why do power outages occur in the first place? How can you prepare for a blackout? What should you do to stay safe during a blackout? And what type of damage is covered by insurance?

What causes a power outage?

Unplanned power outages can strike for a number of reasons, including as a result of severe weather events such as floods, heatwaves, lightning or high winds.³ Technical faults, car accidents or trees interfering with powerlines can also cause outages.³

On the other hand, there are planned outages – those that are scheduled so maintenance work can be carried out.⁴ Plus, there are rolling blackouts, where power is turned off intentionally in different areas for brief periods to prevent the grid from being overloaded.⁴

What to do in a power outage

To help you prepare for a power outage and stay safer during and after the event, we’ve pulled together some key advice from Australian government websites and energy ombudsmen.

Before an outage:

If you’ve been alerted to a planned power outage by your energy provider, make sure that your mobile phone is fully charged and your appliances are switched off before the scheduled outage time.³
Prepare an emergency kit for future unplanned outages. Include battery operated torches and spare batteries, a mobile phone car charger and some cash, which can be useful if electronic payment systems remain down during prolonged outages. You could also include any health equipment and medications you may need, and a list of important phone numbers.⁵
Make sure you know who your electricity distributor is so you can access information from them about power outages in your area during an unexpected blackout. Your distributor’s details can usually be found on your electricity bill.⁵
Know where your switchboard is in case you need to turn off your power ahead of a pending weather emergency, such as a storm or flood, which could lead to a power outage.⁶ Switchboards are typically located on an outside wall of a house, but in an apartment it might be in a hallway, kitchen or linen cupboard or in a shared area such as a garage or power room.⁷
If someone you live with is on life support equipment, make a plan so that it’ll keep operating during an outage. This may include having a back-up power system, such as a portable generator.⁸ You should also let your electricity provider know that someone at your address uses life support equipment.⁹

During an outage:

Check neighbouring properties to see if they’ve also lost power. If they haven’t, check if the safety switch on your switchboard has tripped.⁹ However, if the switchboard is water damaged or if an electrical storm is close by, the advice is not to touch it.⁶
Check with your electricity distributor for updates about current power outages in your area.⁴ Distributors are required to provide this information, ideally within 30 minutes of the start of an outage, via a 24-hour phone number and their website.¹⁰
Unplug any sensitive appliances including computers, Wi-Fi routers and televisions.⁴ This will help prevent potential damage if power surges occur when the electricity is restored. And before power is restored, switch off any appliances that you were using, such as your oven or dryer, when the power went out.¹¹
Avoid opening the fridge and freezer unnecessarily and think about food safety. Food stored in the fridge may be spoiled if the power outage lasts for more than four hours.¹² And while freezers will usually keep food frozen for 24 hours without power, if food has thawed, it shouldn’t be refrozen.¹²
Keep clear of fallen powerlines and if you have a generator, use it with care – never indoors or in enclosed areas – and only as instructed.⁹

After an outage:

Once your electricity distributor restores power, check to see if the outage has caused any risks or issues at home,⁴ such as food spoilage or damage to your property or appliances.² Contact your distributor if you spot something that needs addressing⁴ – depending on the cause of an unplanned outage, you may be able to lodge a claim with your distributor for damage or loss.²
If you lost power due to a weather event, for example flood damage,³ or if a storm has left you with significant property damage such as a leaking roof,⁹ or damaged electrical wiring,¹³ leave your power switched off until a licensed electrician has assessed the situation.⁹ Additionally, a licensed gasfitter can check for gas leaks following damage from a storm, flood or bushfire.³
If your home lost power during a storm which didn’t cause damage but the safety switch – or any other switch – on your switchboard has tripped, make sure your electrical appliances are unplugged or turned off before switching the power back on.¹³
If your home has solar panels, check your system after an outage caused by a storm. If you identify damage to any of your solar equipment or cables – including the battery if you have one – call a licensed electrician to repair the system and make it safe.¹³

Does home insurance cover damage related to power outages?

Wondering where you stand with household damage sustained as the result of a blackout? Youi’s Buildings insurance and Contents insurance cover – as insured events – some situations that can commonly cause outages.¹⁴

Youi’s Head of Product – Home and Small Business Mervyn Hartley explains “Youi Contents insurance provides cover for loss or damage to your contents items as a result of insured events. For example, a storm may cause mechanical or electrical failure of an appliance”

“Likewise, if you lose power for an extended period of time due to an insured event, the food in your fridge may spoil as a result. At Youi, food is classified as a contents item, so you may lodge a claim under your contents policy for any loss or damage to food as a result of an insured event”.

“In addition to losing power, if a thunderstorm or strong winds caused a power pole to collapse outside your home, Youi Buildings insurance provides cover for loss or damage to the insured property caused by the impact of the power pole” says Hartley.

Where to access information and support

The following contacts may be handy to have on hand before, during and after a power outage:

The Bureau of Meteorology: Keep an eye on warnings about severe weather (which can increase the likelihood of a power outage)³ either online or by downloading the Bureau’s Weather app.
The Australian Energy Regulator: If your electricity bill doesn’t list who your electricity distributor is, you can find that information here.
Triple Zero: Call 000 immediately in an emergency or life-threatening situation.⁴
State Emergency Service (SES): If you need assistance during a flood or if a fallen tree, storm or high wind has caused damage to your property,¹⁵ call your state’s or territory’s SES on 132 500.¹⁶