The Swedish government has warned households and companies to prepare for possible power outages this winter amid nuclear reactor shutdowns, cold weather and energy shortages in Europe, Reuters reports.

Electricity prices in Scandinavian countries have risen sharply this year amid fears that cuts in Russian gas exports to Europe will lead to shortages, and the Swedish government earlier this month urged people to use less electricity.

According to the minister, contingency plans should take into account the possibility of both short- and long-term power outages when electricity is not restored as planned.

Official recommendations include keeping battery-powered radios, flashlights, bottled water and easy-to-prepare food.

Swedish power company Vattenfall said Dec. 2 that it had postponed restarting its Ringhals 4 nuclear reactor until Feb. 23.

The Swedish government said last week that it had asked the country's national grid operator and energy regulator to step up efforts to improve reliability of power supply in both the short and long term.