How often do power outages happen?
Power outages are the most common emergency American households face, and they are getting longer.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration found that the average customer went 11 hours without power in 2024, nearly double the average of the previous decade. Weather drove 80% of it, mostly Hurricanes Beryl, Helene, and Milton.
Set major storms aside and the baseline is steady at about two hours a year. It's the big events that are changing.
How is a power outage kit different?
It prioritizes light, communication, and warmth above everything else.
When the power goes, your first needs are seeing where you're walking, hearing what's happening, and staying warm if it's cold or gets dark. Food and water matter, but not in the first hour.
Which power outage kit fits?
StayLit Power Outage Kit. Built around those priorities. Light sticks, flashlights, an LED lantern, waterproof matches, and a weatherband AM/FM radio across the Basic, Deluxe, and Premium configurations. The Premium's hand-crank radio needs no batteries at all.
Guardian Go Bag and RapidShield. Both include a weatherband radio, flashlight, and light sticks alongside full food, water, and first aid. Better if you want broader coverage than outages alone. The Guardian also carries reflective sleeping bags and hand warmers, which matter when an outage arrives in the cold.
Who is most affected by an extended outage?
This is where a kit stops being a convenience.
Seniors who rely on powered medical equipment. Households with refrigerated medications. Young children who find sudden darkness frightening.
For any of those, the kit needs to be somewhere you can reach in the dark, not on a high shelf in a back closet.
What to add yourself
Backup power for any medical device, and a plan for refrigerated medication.
A battery carbon monoxide detector, since improvised heat is the real winter danger.
A charged power bank.
Cash in small bills. Card readers need power too.
