Best portable power stations and generators to prepare for a blackout – from £36.99

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Less than 24 hours after Spain and Portugal were hit by crippling power cuts, thousands of people in Dublin were affected by an outage. It was a little closer to home, and it's led many people to start thinking about how they would cope if their electricity supply suddenly dried up. 

Obviously, it's worth ensuring you have a few essentials close to hand, but we're in the digital age now, and we rely on our tech more than we ever have - so keeping it all charged is going to be on plenty of priority lists. 

Especially for people who rely on mains power for medical reasons, or for people who have pets that need a constant source of electricity, backup power will be a serious consideration. And the good news is, it needn't cost as much as you might fear. 

From portable power banks to petrol generators, here are some deals on Amazon that could help you prepare for a power cut. 

A portable power bank is something many of us will already own, but technology has come on leaps and bounds recently, and some devices will now charge smartphones several times before conking out. 

This fabulous little device from Anker can provide up to six full charging cycles thanks to its huge 26800mAh battery capacity. 

It has three USB-A ports and two USB-C ports, and it's an absolute bargain at the moment, thanks to a 35% discount on Amazon. 

Another highlight from Anker is the new Solix C200. It's a portable power station that isn't designed for pockets, but it can be carried in a bag, or just sat on a desktop. 

With an incredible 60,000mAh battery, it's enough to keep a laptop running for hours, and it'll still have enough to charge phones, tablets, and other USB devices. 

It's £109 at the moment, thanks to a 36% discount, and that's such a good deal for a device as capable and powerful as this. 

If you want to get serious about backup power for your smaller tech items, this is the way forward. It's a deal on Jackery's latest solar generator which, if we're blessed with a bright day, can be recharged during the daytime, and then used to power your devices overnight. 

The 40w solar panel will keep the 256Wh battery refreshed, and then it has a 300w inverter with an AC socket that can power plenty of small appliances in your house.

This is a decent budget option for people who need to keep medical equipment running, or for people who need to keep pets warm. It would even run your fridge for a few hours.

You could buy it for £169 without the solar panel, and it'll give plenty of power for USB devices, but if you want to use that built-in inverter for any length of time, the solar panel is a must. 

Now we're getting into the big leagues. This is properly serious home backup territory. Here's a machine that will run basically any appliance in your house, even your posh coffee machine. 

It's Bluetti's big-selling monster power unit and, while it's not the biggest device in Bluetti's line-up, it's perfect for powering household tech, with two AC sockets, a 1,800w inverter, and a huge 1,152Wh battery pack. 

It could power smartphones, tablets, or even laptops for days, and it could also keep your fridge and freezer running for a while.

A voucher deal coupled with a 28% discount brings the price down to an all-time low of £599 right now, and do consider some solar panels - there are bundle deals available. 

If you're serious about home backup and, crucially, if you can afford it, this is pretty much the ultimate in off-grid power supply. 

Anker's Solix flagship device is the F3800, and it's so big it moves around on wheels. It has five AC sockets, and you can use them all in one go thanks to its monstrous 6,000w inverter and 3,840Wh battery. 

That's enough to power literally anything in your home, or even charge your car for a short while, or even run a heater for several hours. 

It's at its best powered by solar, and bundle deals are available for the panels, but if you just wanted to run a fridge, freezer, a few kitchen appliances, and your USB-powered tech for a few days or more, this is basically all you need. 

An alternative option to the admittedly rather expensive electric power stations is a petrol generator. And this one's powerful enough to run plenty of home appliances in one go. 

It can kick out 5,500 watts from its pure sine wave inverter, and it can run for 13 hours on a full tank if you keep it in eco mode. 

While this is one of the quieter generators on the market, your neighbours would soon tire of the drone, so this is an option perhaps better suited to people who live in rural areas, or for people who just don't like their neighbours.

Light and power

• Battery or wind-up torch (safer than candles) 

• Portable power bank for charging your mobile  

• Battery or wind-up radio (or car radio – but stay indoors in severe weather)  

• Spare batteries for torch, radio and any essential devices  

• Backup battery for medical equipment  

Basic medical supplies

• First aid kit or essentials like:  Waterproof plasters, bandages, antiseptic  

• Thermometer, eyewash, sterile dressings, gloves  

• Medical tape and tweezers   

• Hand sanitiser and wet wipes (especially if water is off)  

Food and water

• Bottled water – ideally 2.5 to 3 litres per person per day for drinking, and up to 10 litres if you want enough for cooking and hygiene  

• Tinned or long-life food that doesn’t need cooking – and a tin opener  

• Don’t forget food and water for pets  

Babies and children

• Nappies, baby wipes  

• Ready-made baby formula (boiling water may not be possible)  

Build your kit over time

No need to panic-buy – just add items gradually when you can, and store them somewhere easy to access in an emergency.