Blackout Ready

Blackout Ready: A Grid Engineer’s Plain Guide for British Households

Three books in one, by Ken Whitlock, forty years in a power station

I spent 40 years keeping the lights on. Here’s exactly what to do when they go off.

The government is asking every household in Britain to prepare for emergencies. If that has left you worried and not sure where to start, you’re not being daft. You’re being sensible. And you don’t need to be frightened.

Most of what frightens people about a blackout is not knowing what will happen. I spent my working life inside a power station, from apprentice to the control room. In this book I tell you, in plain English, what actually fails, in what order, how long it usually lasts, and exactly what to do about it.

Volume I: What the Grid Engineer Knows

• The three ways the grid fails, and how likely each one really is
• What happens to your house hour by hour, from the first minute to day five
• Planned rota power cuts, and how to find your letter on your electricity bill
• How the power comes back, and the honest answer to “how long?”
• Straight answers on gas, water, mobiles, landlines, cash machines and generators

Volume II: The Simple Plan

• Five jobs, two hours and about £20 this weekend
• Keeping warm when the boiler stops, including safe heaters and the list of things that must never come indoors
• How much water to keep, and how to store it
• A two-week food box from your normal shopping, with food you can eat cold
• Torches, power banks and portable power stations, explained simply
• What to buy, split into three budgets

Volume III: The People You’re Worried About

• If you live alone: daily check-ins and window cards your neighbours will understand
• Caring for a husband, wife or partner who is unwell, less mobile or has dementia
• Oxygen, stairlifts, riser chairs, air mattresses, insulin and pendant alarms: the questions to ask before the lights go
• Spotting hypothermia, and preventing falls in the dark
• The conversation to have with your family before winter
• When to ring 999 or 111, and when to leave the house

Plus ten cut-out cards for the fridge door. Print them, fill them in, and you’ll never have to think on a cold, dark night.

Written for people over 65. Large print on A4, easy to read on a tablet or print at home. One PDF that downloads the moment you pay.

30-day money-back guarantee. If it’s not for you, email within 30 days and every penny comes back.

You’re right to take it seriously. You don’t need to be frightened.