PSPS prep checklist: what to do at home before the power goes out

Fall is when most SoCal shutoffs happen. The steps below take a household from “no plan” to “ready” without buying a generator. Start with the free ones.

1. Fix your alerts

Log in to your utility account and confirm a working cell number and email. SCE sends notices by text, email or voice call, and anyone can also sign up for address-level alerts. SDG&E posts its shutoff communities at sdge.com/ready. If you rent, ask the landlord to add you, since the alerts follow the account holder.

2. Know your circuit and your utility

Look up your address on the utility’s map. Your neighbor two streets over may be on a different circuit. If a city-owned utility serves you, such as Pasadena, Burbank, Glendale or Riverside, check the city’s own wildfire page. Riverside Public Utilities warns that an SCE shutoff of transmission lines can still cut its customers. The PSPS explainer has the details by utility.

3. Plan for medical gear

If anyone depends on a respirator, oxygen concentrator, dialysis machine, powered wheelchair or similar equipment, apply for the Medical Baseline allowance through your utility. The CPUC lists these categories, and there is no income test. SCE says it tries to reach enrolled customers by their preferred contact method and sends a technician to the door if that fails.

Medical baseline is a notice and a billing allowance. It does not supply power. Talk to the equipment supplier and your doctor about battery backup and a plan to leave if the outage runs long.

4. Light and charge

• Put a flashlight or headlamp in each bedroom. Keep spare batteries.
• Charge power banks the day the alert arrives.
• Fill your car’s tank or charge your EV before the notice window, since stations lose power too.
• Community resource centers offer phone and medical device charging, water and air conditioning during major events. Locations are posted by the utility.

5. Open the garage door by hand

An electric garage door opener stops without power. Find the red emergency release cord and practice pulling it. Know how to lock the door again after you re-engage it.

6. Plan food and water

Keep two to three days of shelf-stable food and a gallon of water per person per day. Keep freezer and refrigerator doors closed. A cooler with ice buys time for medication.

7. Decide what needs backup power

Pick the few loads you cannot do without. Common choices are the refrigerator, a few lights, internet, a sump pump or medical gear. There are three ways to supply them:

Option	How it works	Notes
Portable generator with an inlet and interlock	The electrician installs an inlet box and a mechanical interlock on the panel	Lowest cost, manual, fuel and noise. See the interlock kit page.
Transfer switch	Moves selected circuits to the generator	Safer than extension cords. See the transfer switch page.
Home battery with a critical-loads subpanel	Runs selected circuits from stored power	Quiet, no fumes. See the home battery page and critical loads subpanel page.

Typical SoCal installed range for a generator interlock kit and inlet is about $400 to $1,800 as of October 2026; see the cost page for what it covers.

Never plug a generator into a wall outlet. Never run one in a garage, a basement or near a window. Carbon monoxide from generators is a serious danger. Generator work needs a permit in most cities, which the permit guide covers.

8. Run a dry test

On a calm day, switch off the main breaker for an hour. Note what you miss: the router, the sump pump, the porch light, the garage door. Fix the list. This test costs nothing and shows gaps no checklist can.

A short list for the week of a shutoff

• Charge every device and power bank.
• Fill water jugs and the car or EV.
• Turn the refrigerator and freezer to the coldest setting.
• Move medication that needs cooling to a cooler with ice if the notice says the shutoff will be long.
• Check on neighbors who rely on powered medical equipment.
• Unplug sensitive electronics before power returns, since surges can follow.