What is a “Black Sky” event? Radio and the power-cut plan

By UK Be Ready · Last checked 8 November 2026

Independent guide. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the UK Government. Official advice: Be Ready.

Quick answer“Black Sky” is used for a severe, widespread infrastructure disruption. Keep a battery or wind-up FM radio and learn how to receive BBC Radio 2, Radio 4 and local updates before you need them.

First three things to do

Use a torch and check immediate household needs, especially powered medical equipment.
Tune an independently powered radio for official updates.
Keep a note of the advice and its time; follow instructions for your area rather than social-media rumours.

What the term means

The term describes a scenario in which a major power failure also disrupts services that depend on electricity, including communications, water, payments and transport. It is a planning scenario, not a forecast or proof that an outage is imminent. A short local power cut is not automatically a national emergency.

What is confirmed about the BBC plan?

In evidence to Parliament in June 2026, the BBC described a plan developed with the Cabinet Office to prioritise public information through radio during a national outage. A government parliamentary answer also records planning for backup generation at broadcast and transmitter sites and regular testing.

A July 2026 parliamentary answer names BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 4 as channels for critical public advice in a national power outage or large-scale broadband incident. The Chief Medical Officers’ published scripts cover water and sanitation, food and nutrition, and keeping warm or cool. Their existence is contingency preparation, not a live instruction to use every emergency measure today.

Why keep an FM radio?

A battery or wind-up FM receiver can receive broadcasts without your home router, a mobile-data connection or a mains socket. That gives you another route to information when a smart speaker or streaming app cannot connect. Broadcast infrastructure still needs power and functioning transmitters; no device guarantees reception everywhere.

Try the radio now. Find Radio 2, Radio 4 and your local news station where you live, and write their tuning positions down. Reception and frequencies vary by area. Check that the set actually has FM reception, keep suitable spare batteries and practise its charging or winding instructions.

During an extended outage

Use the radio at intervals to conserve its power and pass useful information to a neighbour who cannot receive it. Keep phones charged for essential contact. Do not assume the internet, mobile service and a digital landline are independent backups: a shared electricity outage may affect several together.

For the practical household actions, use our power-cut guide and universal basics. Follow current local instructions if they differ from a general preparation checklist.

Your 10-minute job

Find and save two BBC stations on your radio. Put its instructions and spare batteries beside it, then show another household member how to switch it on.

Sources and further reading

Sources checked 8 November 2026. This is general household preparation guidance; current incident instructions and individual clinical or veterinary advice take priority.