Yesterdays events in Spain highlighted the vulnerability of modern energy grids going down and the major disruption to everyday life, whether failure is due to reliance on net-zero renewable energy, cyber attacks or a technical failure. This and other events, such as the recent Heathrow Airport power outage are putting a spotlight on critical infrastructures such as the electricity grid and how much we now rely on it now for almost everything. Many other essential services are of course also severely impacted, internet, mobile phone masts, telecommunications, transport, rail services and airports all closed. Chaos on the roads with traffic lights out of service, EV chargers and diesel/petrol pumps off. No banking, ATM's or card payment services also cause most shops to close, leaving only some small shops able to deal with those people who still have any real cash in their pocket....
Based on what we saw happening in Spain, Portugal and parts of Southern France yesterday after just one day of power outages, what if anything have you done to prepare for something similar happening and maybe for a longer period of time? This is what the UK government website advises for some very basic things to always be prepared with, like a battery powered radio, torches, etc.
Power Cuts:-
https://prepare.camp...rds/power-cuts/
Do any Mini Forum members maybe own or have advice/recommendations on small portable generators such as those sold by Machine Mart in UK for use as backup power during such an event? I guess there may be quite an increase in sales of them after yesterday! 
Machine Mart Generators:-
https://www.machinem...k/c/generators/
I will preface this post by saying I am an electrical professional and although I usually refrain from giving advice on general forums for various reasons, I have some experience regarding this sittuation.
There are a number of things to think about with regard to generators. What you think you will need to run on a generator is well worth investigating. If the power is out for only a few hours then a generator may not be needed or even useful. Sure, when camping you would use one to recharge batteries, both large and small and for other uses but at home your need may outweigh the investment. Other considerations are the quality of the genertors power output and how much your appliances need to operate.
15 years ago we had a major flood here. We were luckier than some as we had a few days notice as the flood waters advanced towards us at a slow pace. As there was a real posibility of the major substation being inundated I purchased a 15 kva petrol generator as we are dependant on power for water pumps, sewerage etc being somewhat isolted. As it turned out we did not need the generator after all but 2 years later a major storm ripped through and our power was out for the best part of 5 days. That generator paid for itself keeping frezzers and fridges going and running pumps and so on.
However we found that despite being quite large the gen set was only just big enough for our needs and even with smart judicial use we still went through over 150 litres of fuel for the 5 days.
So it really is a matter of relativity as to whether it is worth the outlay for a gen set depending on your needs. If the power is out here for a only a few hours then I dont even bother with the generator.
