Power outages possible during winter – pay attention to these aspects

Published Dec 5, 2022.

Because of the current energy crisis, electricity shortages may arise and rotating power outages are also possible in Koas housing locations during the winter. This release includes the most important tips on how to prepare for power outages and act during them.

Electricity supply is dependent on both national production and electricity acquired from abroad. Electricity shortage means a situation where electricity consumption is about to exceed the existing electricity capacity. The likelihood of electricity shortage has risen during the energy crisis and it is good to prepare for the challenging situation in advance. Saving energy is an advisable way to prevent electricity shortages and therefore also power outages and larger problems.

Preparing for a power outage

Pay attention and act:

  • Save electricity and energy in advance.
  • Consider purchasing a power bank for your phone.
  • We recommend a battery-operated LED light or similar for dark hours. Please remember fire safety with candles.
  • Keep your contact information updated in Koas Booking.

Save electricity and energy in advance to ease the electricity shortage. Consider also using energy-intensive devices outside the peak hours of energy use! (The peak hours are between 8 and 10 a.m. and 4 and 8 p.m.) More energy saving tips are available in Koas’ energy related blogs.

Save energy and prepare for power outages in advance.

It is estimated that power outages in the Jyväskylä area will last 1.5 hours at a time. We at Koas do not know yet in which districts and when Alva (water and energy services provider in the Jyväskylä area) disconnects the power at each time.

Since a power outage may occur at a short notice, prepare for interruptions in advance. Whenever possible, an advance notice of the interruptions will be sent to the residents via Koas Booking.

Be prepared for a power outage with a fully charged power bank suitable for charging your phone. In this way, you can follow Alva’s notices and news related to power outages in section Fault notifications (Häiriötiedotteet) on Alva's website. We recommend using the translation extension on your browser as the content is in Finnish.

A battery-operated LED light or similar is a great help for dark hours. If you buy candles, remember to only burn them on a sturdy, non-combustible surface, far from textiles and other flammable materials. You must always monitor the candles while they are burning.

When a power outage is likely to occur

  • Do not use the elevator.
  • Minimise the use of water.

In other respects, you can stay at home relatively normally, although lights, ventilation, heating and other electrical equipment stop working.

Follow Finnish and local media to stay up-to-date.

During a power outage

  • Do not use the elevator.
  • Apartment windows may fog up and the room temperature may decrease slightly. Do not open windows.
  • The water temperature may vary from cold to burning hot. Avoid taking a shower because of the temperature variations!
  • Toilets can be used, but avoid unnecessary flushing.
  • The main doors and your apartment door can be opened with mechanical keys even though code keypads do not work.
  • You can follow Alva’s Fault notifications here.

Due to the shutdown of the building technology systems, your apartment windows may fog up and the room temperature may decrease slightly. Do not open the windows in your apartment because some structures are at risk to be frozen.

The temperature of the domestic hot water may vary from cold to burning hot. The water supply for cold water may also slow down. It may even stop completely on top floors of high buildings. Taking a shower is not recommended because of water temperature variations. Toilets can be used, but avoid unnecessary flushing.

For Koas Kankaantorni, Koas Harju and Koas Korttelikylä housing locations: Should the water supply stop, you can get water from the laundry, if necessary.

Mechanical keys can be used to open doors even though code keypads would stop working. Therefore, access via the main doors and your apartment door will always be possible even if the saunas and doors for other common areas lock during a power outage.

After the power outage, conditions will gradually return to normal.

After the power outage, conditions in your apartment will gradually return to normal. If necessary, check the apartment fuses and the “At home / Away” switch, if available. The maintenance company is available in the normal way also during power outages.

We wish everyone a safe winter!

Best regards

Koas