Right now: at least 265 homes are without power from 28 unplanned cuts, in the 4 of 7 network areas that publish live data. Updated 21:30 on 5 November. See wherePower off? Call 105
Backup power for your home
Most power cuts are short, but storms can leave homes off for a day or more. A little backup power keeps the fridge cold and the phones charged, and can keep your broadband going: with full fibre, power the fibre box on the wall as well as the router. The internet still depends on your provider's network staying up.
What will it run?
Choose what you'd want to keep going and for how long, and see which power stations last.
Open the sizerMore tools
- Lights Out: what stops first in a power cut?Nine quick questions about your home, then what to sort first.
- Which backup power?Six questions: a power station, an inverter generator, or both.
Guides
- The best portable power stations for a UK power cutWhat size you need, and the models worth considering.
- EcoFlow vs Jackery vs Bluetti (and Anker)One 1 kWh model from each brand, compared, with what testers measured.
- EcoFlow DELTA 3: which one, and what it runsDELTA 3, 3 Plus, Classic, 1500 and Max compared.
- Jackery Explorer 1000 v2: what it runsAnd how it differs from the older Explorer 1000s.
- Jackery Explorer 2000 v2: what it runsAbout 2 kWh for long cuts, and how it differs from the 2000 Plus models.
- EcoFlow RIVER 3: which one, and what it runsSmall power stations for a router, phones and lamps.
- Anker SOLIX C1000 Gen 2: what it runsAnd how it differs from the original C1000.
- Bluetti Elite 100 V2: which BluettiThe Elite 100 V2, the AC180 it replaced, and the AC70.
- How long does a fridge or freezer last in a power cut?The Food Standards Agency's figures, makers' test results, and keeping it running.
- Solar generators: what they are, and which to buyPower stations with folding panels, and what a panel really adds in a UK winter.
- Petrol and inverter generators for a power cutWhich to buy, fuel use and cost per hour, and how much petrol you can keep.
- What size generator do you need?Running watts, start-up surges, and what an inverter generator is.
- Why your heating stops in a power cutGas and oil boilers need electricity too. What to do about it.
- Your smart meter after a power cutWhy it's blank, what "reset" means, and prepayment meters showing OFF.
- Generator or power station?Noise, fuel, safety and cost, side by side.
The two promises, kept apart
Backup power keeps the lights on. Power stations and generators help in a power cut. They don't save money on their own: a petrol generator's electricity costs more than the grid's, and a power station only saves anything if you charge it from solar or a cheap overnight tariff, after its charging losses and its price.
Solar cuts your bills. But plug-in solar switches itself off in a power cut, for the safety of the engineers working on the lines. More on solar.