Medical equipment at home: preparing for a power cut

Plan the backup while the power is still on.

The answer in 2 lines. If you depend on electrical medical equipment in England, ask your electricity supplier and network operator about their free Priority Services Registers. Registration can bring additional support and advance warning of planned interruptions, but it cannot guarantee uninterrupted electricity. Agree a written power-cut plan with your clinical team and equipment provider: suitable backup equipment, its usable duration, who to contact and when to move somewhere safe. Never assume that a concentrator, ventilator or feeding pump has a working internal battery.

The first steps

Arrange priority support: follow Ofgem’s registration guidance. Contact your supplier and network operator using the details on your bill; explain which equipment you use and your communication needs.
Ask your clinical team for a written plan: discuss what happens if treatment is interrupted, what backup is suitable and when you must seek help.
Check the backup with your equipment provider: ask them to demonstrate its use, explain charging and maintenance, and record the contact number supplied with your equipment.

Stop: danger

Immediate threat to life: if essential equipment stops and there is no effective backup, or someone has severe breathing difficulties or becomes unconscious, call 999. Explain the equipment failure and give your location.
No indoor generator: never run a petrol or diesel generator inside your home or garage. Exhaust fumes can cause fatal carbon monoxide poisoning.
Do not change treatment yourself: do not reduce prescribed oxygen flow or alter pump settings to make backup supplies last longer.

What priority registration provides

The Priority Services Register records support needs. Tell the supplier and network operator that you rely on powered medical equipment, rather than simply saying you have a health condition. Ask what assistance they can offer during planned and unexpected interruptions, and how they will contact you.

Registration does not make your home immune to faults or guarantee restoration before other addresses. Keep your details current, including a nominated contact if appropriate. If you change supplier, ask to join the new supplier’s register. A hospital referral or equipment delivery should not be treated as proof that registration has happened.

Write a plan someone else could follow

Use the government’s power-cut preparation guidance as a starting point, then ask your care team to personalise it. Record the equipment name, prescribed treatment, approved backup, charging arrangements and the circumstances in which you should leave home.

Ask about usable backup duration under your actual treatment settings, rather than relying on an advertising figure. Include who can help you move, how equipment will travel and where you can safely continue treatment. Keep a paper copy beside the equipment so another carer can act without finding a password or searching your phone.

What not to do

Waiting until the battery alarm sounds before asking for help.
Buying a generic backup power unit without checking compatibility with your clinical team and equipment provider.
Assuming a charged mobile phone guarantees a working signal, or that a broadband-based home phone will work without electricity.
Practising a power failure by unplugging essential equipment without clinical agreement.

If you use oxygen

An oxygen concentrator needs electricity. Ask your oxygen team what prescribed backup is available and have them show you how to use it. A backup cylinder is useful only if it is ready, accessible and sufficient for your agreed plan.

The NHS home oxygen guidance explains equipment and safe use: read its safety section with anyone who helps you. Keep smoking, flames and flammable products away from oxygen. Use your existing equipment paperwork to contact your provider about faults; do not improvise a different oxygen supply.

During a power cut in England

Follow your agreed clinical plan and activate approved backup as instructed. Call 105 to report the interruption and explain your medical dependence. Ask for the latest information, but treat estimated restoration times as estimates.

For urgent medical advice when there is no immediate threat to life, call NHS 111. For a life-threatening emergency, call 999; the NHS ambulance guidance explains the distinction. Do not wait for a network callback if the person is deteriorating. Clinical services and electricity arrangements differ elsewhere in the UK, particularly in Northern Ireland: confirm local contacts before travelling.

Good to know

Keep a torch, charged phone, equipment instructions and essential contact details together.
Ask your telephone provider whether your home phone or telecare alarm works during a power cut and what backup is available.
Review the plan whenever your equipment, prescription, address or caring arrangements change.

Illustrative example: in Leeds, Ruth uses an oxygen concentrator. Her oxygen team demonstrates the prescribed backup cylinder and writes down when she must seek help. She confirms priority registration and asks her daughter to keep a copy of the plan. When a planned interruption is announced, they arrange support in advance rather than assuming the power will return before the backup runs out.

A made-up story, for illustration.

Bobby

Sources, verification, confidence

Verified on 4 November 2026, for England. Confidence: high for priority registration, emergency contacts and the need for a clinical backup plan; individual assessment required for equipment compatibility, backup duration and relocation arrangements. No universal battery duration is assumed.