A few weeks ago (December 2009) we had a heavy snow. I was sitting at my desk reading a book at 9:00pm, and the power went out. I keep a small flashlight nearby, so I used it to light my way to the bedroom and went to bed. Power does go out occasionally, but has never stayed off more than a couple of hours. But in the morning the power was still off I went out to the garage and turned off every single circuit breaker, waited 15 minutes and turned them all on again. The power was still off. So I went outside to the electric meter on the side of the house, opened the metal panel and checked the switch. The switch was in the Off position, but when I turned it to the On position, there was still no power.
I live in a rural area, about 5 miles from the nearest town. I woke a couple of times during the night and could see no lights from the nearby town, so I assumed it was a big power outage. I decided to wait until noon to call the electric company. I walked up the driveway and to the road in front of my house. In the direction going towards town, I saw two trees had fallen across the road, so I knew I wasn't going anywhere.
I started calling the Electric Company at noon and again about every half hour. The line was busy until 4:00pm. The representative told me 10,000 customers had been without power and now they were down to 2,000. She couldn't tell me when I'd get power, but I was on the list.
My house is all-electric and with tankless water heaters. So there was no gas stove, fireplace, or wood burning stove for heat or to warm food, and no hot water in a water heater tank to wash with.
I keep my thermostat set at 66 degrees during the day and that's what it was when the power went out. By the end of the next day, the indoor temperature dropped to 55 degrees. Thankfully, I live in a well insulated house and the outside temperature was staying around freezing, and not going much lower at night. By the third day when power was restored, the temperature in the house was down to 47 degrees. I wore two pairs of socks, sweatpants, a long sleeve shirt, and a jacket indoors.
Candles
Fortunately, I had plenty of candles and matches. However, many of my candles were scented and gave me a headache after they burned for a while. So I mostly burned unscented candles.
Besides giving off light, candles also give off heat. I put some in my bathroom and bedroom and kept the doors closed. You'd be amazed at how much heat candles give off as long as you don't open the door often. I figured I wouldn't have a problem with the candles using up all the oxygen, since the doors has a one inch space at the bottom and fresh air would come in every time I opened the door.
I was careful not to place the candles near any material like curtains. The smoke detectors in this house are powered by electricity instead of by battery. So if I wasn't cautious and started a fire, I wouldn't have any warning. I didn't burn any candles when I went to bed.
Refrigerated and Frozen Food
I knew to keep the refrigerator and freezer doors shut to keep the cold air in. After a few hours went by and the power didn't come back on, I quickly surveyed what was in the refrigerator. I had milk, apples, yogurt, cheese, lunch meat and condiments like mustard, catsup, etc.
So I ate the refrigerated food first to make sure I didn't lose it by spoilage. I never opened the freezer, but by the third day when the power came back on, the food in the freezer had thawed. I decided to keep everything and not throw anything out. I don't know how safe that was, but so far I've eaten food that was refrozen and I've had no problems.
When the power went out, we had snow on the ground. What I SHOULD have done was fill some bowls or zippered plastic bags with snow to pack around any empty spaces in the freezer. And I also could have taken all the ice from the ice maker and packed it around the frozen food. I wouldn't have put frozen food in containers and put them outdoors, because we have have mice, raccoons, and opossums that would have gotten into it. I should probably buy a metal trash can to keep outdoors.
Packaged and Canned Food
I had bread, peanut butter, dry cereal, raisins, dried apricots, and canned vegetables. I also had noodles, dried beans, canned vegetables, dried mashed potatoes, but couldn't cook them. I had enough to eat, but sure wished I had some warm food. The first thing I did when the power came on was cook some ramen noodles!
Water
The outdoor temperature wasn't cold enough to freeze the pipes, plus I think the house is insulated enough to keep that from happening. When I've lived in other older homes or apartments, I always opened my cabinet doors underneath the sinks to let room air in, and also let water drip from my faucets. I'd hate to be without water, not only for drinking purposes, but to flush the toilet.
Boredom
Since there was no electricity, I couldn't use the internet, watch TV, listen to music CDs, or listen to the radio. I have a portable radio I often plug in to an outdoor outlet, but didn't have the right sized batteries to use in it. It would have been nice to be able to hear the news about the power outage. Each night I went to bed at 7:00 pm. It strained my eyes too much to read very long by candle light and flashlight.
I do have plenty of books to read, and played solitaire (card game), but otherwise, there wasn't much else to do. This reminds me of reading the Little House on the Prairie Books by Laura Ingalls Wilder; especially the one called "The Long Winter". Of course, they had a tougher time than I did.
Going to Town
After I got through to the power company and knew I wouldn't have power for another day, I walked up the driveway to look up and down the road to see I'd be able to drive. One direction is a dead end. In the direction that goes into town, I saw two trees had fallen across the road, so I knew I wasn't going anywhere.
The second day, I walked down the road again and the trees had been cut and moved over enough to let one lane of traffic through. Fortunately, I knew how to manually open the garage door without electricity. I started the car and drove up the driveway, but got stuck. It was too slick and I couldn't get good traction under my tires. So I reversed the car back down and left it parked outside.
It normally snows only a day or two in the winter, so I don't have a snow shovel. But I do have a garden rake, so on the third day I used the rake to break up the thin ice under the snow. The driveway is long, so I only chopped the ice where my tire tracks had compressed the snow and some areas nearby; and then did a good job at the top where it meets the road. I knew I'd especially need traction at the top of the hill. Then I put rugs under my tires for traction, and made it up the driveway and onto the road.
I went to the library to use their computer and to a restaurant to get a hot sandwich for lunch. I bought a couple of papers to see what they reported, and a few food staples that didn't need refrigeration. The power came back on about three hours after I got home.
In the Future
I have already bought new unscented candles, matches, and the correct batteries for the portable radio. I ordered several rechargeable power failure lights to keep plugged into outlets. They'll come on automatically if the power ever goes off (they're not night lights). I also ordered a battery powered lantern. It sure was hard to read by candle light and flashlight.
I haven't decided about what to do for warm food. I could get a fondue pot or chafing dish. They would warm food, but not cook it. I could also get a camping stove, but I'd only use it out in the garage with the door partly open. If I do decide to use some type of portable cooking stove indoors, I'd also buy a carbon monoxide alarm.
If the power goes out again and the outside temperature is much colder, I'll fill the bathtub with water and have a bucket nearby to use to flush the toilet. I'll also leave the cabinet doors under the sink open and let the water drip.
I'd like to get a generator, but can't afford one at this time. Generators are good for any power outage; in summer you can lose a lot of food and it would be nice to run the air conditioner for a while or at least power fans.
I love to read, write about my experiences and interests, and take photographs.
