The power's back — now what?
Bring appliances back gradually, not all at once
When power returns, everything switching on at the same instant can cause a surge that trips breakers or stresses the grid. Before the outage, unplug or switch off sensitive electronics and major appliances; when power's back, wait a few minutes, then turn them on one at a time. Leave one light on so you know the moment power returns, per Ready.gov.
Protect electronics from the surge
Restoration and nearby switching can send voltage spikes down the line. The Electrical Safety Foundation (ESFI) recommends keeping computers, TVs, and other sensitive equipment on surge protectors, and unplugging them entirely during the outage as the surest protection.
Check your food before you eat it
Don't assume it's fine because the lights are back. Per USDA/FoodSafety.gov: throw out perishables held above 40 °F for more than 2 hours; frozen food with ice crystals or still at/below 40 °F can be refrozen. Never taste to decide. Full rules are in our food-safety guide.
Look for electrical damage
If you smell burning, see scorched or melted outlets, notice flickering or partial power, or the outage involved flooding near the panel or wiring, keep the affected circuits off and call a licensed electrician — and the utility if the damage is on their side (mast, service drop). Never touch a downed line even after power is "back."
Reset and restock
Reset clocks, GFCI outlets, and tripped breakers; check that the sump pump, alarms, and any medical equipment are running. Recharge phones and power banks, and replace any emergency supplies you used — the next outage plans itself best right after this one.
If it flickers on and off again
Power that returns and drops again within minutes usually means crews are switching sections of the grid or a nested fault tripped after the main repair — the restoration is progressing, not failing. Give it time; if your immediate neighbors stay on while you stay off, report again so the utility knows your service specifically is still out.
Be kind to the compressor
Air conditioners, refrigerators, and freezers dislike rapid off-on cycles: after power stabilizes, give big compressor appliances a few minutes before restarting them (many modern units enforce this delay themselves), and stagger the big loads — HVAC first, then the water heater, then the rest — instead of everything in the first minute.
Restock while it's fresh
The hour after an outage is the best planning moment you'll get: recharge power banks and device batteries, replace used batteries and any discarded food staples, refreeze water bottles, top off or stabilize generator fuel, and note what you actually missed — that list, not a generic one, is your next kit upgrade.
Hand back generator power in the right order
If you ran a portable generator, the sequence matters: switch off or unplug the loads, shut down the generator, let it cool, and only then return the house to utility power (for transfer-switch installs, back to LINE/utility position; for cord-and-appliance setups, appliances back to wall outlets). Never let generator power and utility power meet — that's the same back-feed hazard as the suicide cord, in reverse.
Check the quiet failures
A restoration surge or a tripped GFCI can silently kill circuits you don't look at daily: the garage freezer, the sump pump, irrigation controllers, aquarium equipment, and anything on a smart plug that didn't recover. Walk the house once, listen for the compressors and pumps you expect to hear, and reset what didn't come back on its own.
Was your estimate right?
Curious whether the restoration time held up? We grade every estimate we publish against when power actually returned, in public, on our accuracy page.