How to prepare for a power outage in winter?

We have a wood-burning stove in the living room and an old kitchen stove in the kitchen. So heating and cooking indoors is possible. For outside, we also have two Dutch ovens. We also have plenty of candles. ..oh yes....and a potato cellar. That's where the things from the refrigerator would then move.

But I am positive and will not hoard food by the kilo. At most two or three crates of water.

An important step .. talk with friends, neighbors, etc. especially about sensible saving options. Reduce temperatures in the living area, clarify with the landlord what can possibly still be done to the heating (flow temperatures, etc.) (or as an owner should do oneself), so that a complete failure does not occur in the first place.

Wood-burning stove in the living room with heat ducts to all rooms. Espvtec WindPillar and large photovoltaic, of course with [E3DC Modell S10Pro]. Switch to island mode and that's it.

Power outages are no fun in the summer either. Last year, they cut an important overhead line here during construction work. The entire northern district was without power for almost two hours (doesn't sound long, but it was enough for the refrigerated counters... a lot had to be disposed of). Almost all stores had to close because the cash registers didn't work either. Phone, internet, refueling, etc. Nothing worked anymore.

At the time of building the house, I decided against a fireplace or masonry heater. Next door in my parents' house, there is something like that, and on the property corresponding firewood supplies. In the extreme case, that is, during a multi-day power outage, we would probably move over to my parents' house.

However, one would probably have to close the water supply valve directly in the street to avoid the pipe bursting before the main valve if everything freezes. Water in the basement would be practically the ultimate catastrophe for me.

Matthias

I find it somehow strange to get worked up about the worries of gas customers, while having an oil tank in the basement, probably full to the brim, and even thinking about a backup diesel generator...

I bought electric heaters because I have a very small child and a small child at home... and I want to keep their rooms at a reasonable temperature no matter what it costs me.

Regarding the price question:
Gas is tending towards 30 cents/kWh in new contracts, including this new surcharge. Even if electricity soon costs 40 or 50 cents/kWh, I don’t see any exorbitant difference that would stop me from turning on an electric heater...

Toilet paper and pasta were never scarce. They are temporarily scarce because constant production without significant storage simply cannot cushion panic buying.