Even a planned outage can expose the same weak spots as an unplanned blackout: no charging plan, no food backup, no communication if cell towers get crowded, and no clear household routine. In this case, Entergy customers near the Mike Zito Center were notified of a scheduled outage on Thursday, May 28, 2026, from 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM affecting about 681 customers due to a damaged utility pole. For a homeowner, that is not just a five-hour inconvenience; it is a useful rehearsal for real-world 72-hour readiness.
The good news is that a scheduled outage gives you time to prepare well. With one day of notice, you can protect food, keep devices powered, make sure the household knows the plan, and test what you would do if the outage lasted longer than expected. The goal is not panic. The goal is a calm, repeatable routine that works for planned outages, storms, and grid interruptions alike.
Why a scheduled outage is worth treating like a drill
Planned outages are valuable because they show you exactly where your household is vulnerable. If your internet drops and you cannot reach family, if your refrigerator doors are opened too often, or if everyone is scrambling for chargers, that is a useful lesson. A five-hour outage is short enough to manage, but long enough to reveal whether you are truly prepared for the first 24 hours of an emergency.
USRR recommends using any utility notice as a practical readiness checkpoint. Ask three questions: How will we keep phones charged? How will we preserve food? How will we communicate if the power is still out at dinner time? Those answers should be written down, not improvised.
For broader context, FEMA’s household guidance for emergencies is built around the same idea: have water, food, lighting, medications, and a communication plan ready before the incident starts. A scheduled outage is simply a chance to practice that plan on a smaller scale.
What to do 24 hours before the outage
If you have one day of warning, use it. The most important tasks are simple, but they need to be done in the right order.
- Charge everything now. Phones, tablets, laptops, rechargeable lanterns, battery banks, and backup radios should be fully charged before the outage begins.
- Cool the refrigerator and freezer. Lower the thermostat a few degrees if needed and avoid opening doors repeatedly once the power goes out.
- Make ice. Fill zip bags or containers so you can extend cooler life for medications or high-priority items.
- Prepare meals that do not require electricity. Use up perishables first, and set aside shelf-stable foods for later.
- Confirm medication needs. If anyone in the home uses refrigerated medication or powered medical devices, verify backup storage and support now.
- Print essential information. Include contact numbers, account numbers, utility outage contacts, and a short family check-in list.
- Fuel your backups safely. If you use a generator, make sure it is outdoors, fueled properly, and never run indoors or in a garage.
One practical rule: if you would be upset to lose it for six hours, back it up before the outage starts.
Food and water priorities for the first 72 hours
Food planning is where many households discover avoidable waste. For a short outage, your refrigerator will often stay safe if you keep the door closed. For anything longer, however, a simple food strategy matters.
- Keep a cooler ready for milk, meat, and temperature-sensitive items.
- Use frozen water bottles as backup ice.
- Set aside easy meals such as peanut butter, canned soup, crackers, fruit cups, tuna, and shelf-stable protein.
- Store at least one gallon of water per person per day for drinking and basic hygiene.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency recommends a 72-hour home supply as a minimum starting point. That does not mean you need a survival bunker. It means every household should be able to function for three days without outside systems working normally.
📦 Recommended: Blackout Protocol
If you want a clearer home plan for outages that last beyond a few hours, this is a good fit. It helps you think through backup power, food, lighting, and household priorities before the lights go out.
How to keep communications and comfort online
When the power goes out, communication often becomes more important than comfort. Cell service may continue, but networks can slow when many people check status updates at once. That is why a household should have more than one way to share information.
Build a simple communication stack:
- A fully charged phone with low-power settings ready
- A portable power bank for each adult, if possible
- A battery or hand-crank NOAA weather radio
- A written contact list in case a device dies
- A household check-in time, such as noon and 6 p.m.
Comfort matters too. Small battery lanterns are safer and more useful than candles in most homes. If you do use candles, place them well away from fabrics, kids, pets, and exit paths. Better yet, keep a few LED lanterns and flashlights in easy-to-reach spots: kitchen, bedroom, and hallway.
If you are concerned about electronics, power surges can happen when service is restored. That is the moment when appliances and sensitive devices are most at risk. Power strips with surge protection are helpful, but for truly critical gear, a better layer of protection may be worth considering.
📦 Recommended: The Grid Phantom
Scheduled outages are a good time to think about protecting laptops, routers, chargers, and other sensitive electronics. This resource is aimed at households that want a stronger layer of protection when the grid is unstable or power returns suddenly.
What utility notices and outage timing really tell you
A notice like this is not only about the time window. It tells you that utility crews are managing a known infrastructure issue and that your neighborhood may lose power for a defined period. That is helpful information because it lets you plan around the outage rather than react to it.
For homeowners, the main lesson is that timing matters. Outages during the morning affect work, school prep, refrigeration, and medication routines. Outages during the evening affect lighting, cooking, sleep, and home security habits. The same preparedness steps apply in either case, but the schedule changes what you should prioritize first.
USGS is the agency most people associate with earthquakes, not electricity, but the broader preparedness lesson is the same: understand the hazard, know the expected duration, and prepare based on likely impacts rather than worst-case headlines. For a power outage, that means planning for a stable 72 hours, not just the utility’s estimated window.
Final checklist: what to do next
- Charge all devices tonight and keep backup batteries in one place.
- Stock a cooler, ice, and shelf-stable food so the refrigerator is not your only plan.
- Set a family communication check-in for the outage window.
- Move flashlights, radios, and first aid supplies where everyone can find them fast.
- Review your 72-hour plan so the next outage is easier than this one.
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