During the GTA power outage, we had our power for our office and home out for more than 80 hours. We were lucky because our fireplace kept us reasonably warm. Here are lessons learned from the experience:

1. Make sure you own a generator.
2. If you own a generator make sure you test it on a regular basis.
3. Own a real fireplace and not a fake gas one.
4. Make sure you have a lot of extra water on hand.
5. Even efficient toilets require more than a litre of water to complete a simple flush.
6. Cats and dogs can provide some heat when snuggling during a power outage.
7. Do not believe hydro one when they tell you when the power will be restored.
8. Check your power lines for any trees that might be leaning or laying on your power lines.
9. Constantly inform hydro one that you still do not have your power restored.
10. Call hydro one and thank them for restoring your power on the morning of Christmas Day and wish them a Very Merry Christmas.

What was the one thing that you learned during your power outage experience?

Tagged as: applying lessons learned, GTA power outage, IT project success tips