Experiencing a power cut
Tom is a frontline Emergency Response Officer at the British Red Cross, who was seconded into the Digital Transformation team.
We interviewed people who’ve gone through a power outage for six hours or more, as part of our work mapping services in Emergency Response.
Why interview people about power cuts
After fires and floods, power cuts are the third most common emergency the British Red Cross responds to. They make up 6.1% of all the requests we get from other organisations to support people affected by emergencies. These calls represent thousands of people left without light or heat and potemtially needing immediate support. While collectively we have done design research into fires and floods, we’ve lacked firsthand research on those who have gone through a power outage.
Insights
Emotional
As is common with other crisis we found that an emotional journey takes place.
People we interviewed found themselves asking:
“is it my flat/house? Have I got a faulty/dangerous appliance?”
Following this self-questioning would come relief upon finding that it isn’t just their property, but that neighbours have found themselves without power too.
It’s interesting to note how other variables impact emotional wellbeing, “waking up to a dark and cold room with no alarm before work” made for a miserable morning for one of our interviewees.
Having to manage children during school holidays presents a challenging hurdle too, turning the day into an “adventure” helped get a family through their power outage, “it can be difficult explaining why things aren’t working to two young kids”.
It’s worth noting how all of the above become exacerbated when living within the backdrop of a Covid-19 lockdown.
Experiential
An observation made in the mapping unmet needs work was also present here in that previous experience can make people feel better prepared. One of our interviewees had a supply of candles, matches and blankets as they’d already been through an outage some years before.
On the other hand, we heard how one of our interviewees “…did not feel prepared for this” upon realizing they had no torches, matches or candles. It was an inconvenience and a problem that needed to be solved due to the lack of power.
Vulnerability
Crisis can create vulnerabilities and highlight existing ones. We learnt of how one interviewee lived in an area that had a high-rate of burglaries, because of this there was shared anxiety within the community. That anxiety became highlighted once the power had cut as their home alarms no longer worked, this made them to “feel isolated as we couldn’t really go out”.
Community
A sense of community brings comfort in a time of crisis.
All of our interviewees noted how the use of WhatsApp groups had a big impact on how they navigated their experience. Neighbours were able to share information from their respective power suppliers, and important updates such as a free food van being deployed for impacted residents.
When asked how the British Red Cross knocking on their door would make them feel:
“It’d feel really nice actually. It would let me know there’s a community spirit out there, we didn’t have that you see. We just had text message updates and that was it.”
It’s an observation noted in the unmet needs work too, people appreciate ways to lift their spirits and feel that others care. This is a good example of how emotional support has an important role to play for those going through a crisis.
All of the insights above will help to ensure we are mapping what services we do accurately and organised around how users see them.
