How to Keep Cooking in a Power Failure

In the event of a power failure, you need to be able to keep on cooking. In a worst-case scenario, prepare for 3 weeks. That’s how long areas of North Carolina were out of electricity after Hurricane Helene in 2024. This is the longest outage in the collective memory of electric utility cooperatives.

Here is what I have on hand to keep on cooking. To be honest, I use these things periodically in daily life anyway, so it is not a big transition for me if a major event should happen.

Solar Backup

I had researched solar generators seriously for months and decided the Anker Solix C1000 Gen2 was the one. The price hovered around $1100 for the power station unit and solar panels. When the it went on sale at Home Depot for $800, I snapped it up. I was amazed how it charged to 100% in less than 2 hours. And I was delighted at how light and easy it is to move around. The panels are sensitive about positioning, but you can use your phone to correct it. Use the phone compass to find true south, then lay the phone flat against the panel to find a 30-degree angle.

Fortunately, the panels are not so sensitive about passing clouds or tree-branch shadows, unlike many other solar panels. The C1000 power station runs my counter kettle and Ninja Crispi air fryer, drawing down about 4 percent of the total power. That means I could cook a couple meals a day for a week before having to re-charge. Recently the manufacturer had the C1000 on sale for $769 on its website, so that’s an even better deal. I’ve put links for Home Depot and Anker Solix; these are affiliate links.

Butane Stove

I’ve had a Sterno butane cooktop for more than 7 years. I attribute its hard-working longevity to the fact it was made for chefs, who are demanding customers. Sometimes I cook on it exclusively because I prefer to cook on a flame, and it amazes me that the butane cartridge lasts nearly a month with daily use. Sterno brand is getting harder to find, but you can try this Home Depot affiliate link and special order it.

Cast-Iron Tabletop Grill

Nothing tastes better than grilled anything, which is why I have this cast-iron tabletop grill, also known as an hibachi. I can use it to cook, but I can also use it to heat in an emergency because it fits perfectly into the oven compartment of the coal stove in my 1895 cottage. I ordered a model made by FDS Corporation in Ipswich, England, and was pleased to see the cast iron was of the highest quality for less than $99.

Unfortunately, tariffs may be getting the better of overseas trade in this item, because it is no longer on the Home Depot website.  Home Depot lists a Japanese hibachi there instead, and I can’t vouch for the quality of it.  So try to special order the NP11928 Tabletop BBQ Grill by FDS, United Kingdom, and, and if that doesn’t work, the Japanese import is probably equally serviceable.

Thinking of Buying a Generator?

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints provides emergency resources, including generators during power outages. They will also sell you a generator at discounted cost.

I remember one community-wide emergency drill simulating a power outage I helped coordinate with the local utility on behalf of the local hospital. We scheduled the blackout for 1:00 in the morning to cause as little disruption to peoples’ lives as possible, and we let the community know in advance.

The facilities manager and I stood on the hospital roof waiting for the blackout on that still, summer night.

At exactly 1:00 AM darkness descended over the valley as the electricity cut off. For a moment there was nothing to see but stars in the sky. Then suddenly we saw lights flip on at one house, then lights went on at another home several blocks away. These were the local Mormons with their trusty generators.  They lit up their patio lights and partied through the emergency drill.