Our growing dependence on energy, particularly electricity, means that more than ever we need to plan for disruptions and be prepared for them. This study investigates how people and communities in the city of Glasgow might respond to a lengthy, widespread disruption to energy supplies. A novel three-stage diary-interview methodology was developed to explore energy practices and expectations. The results show that the most consistent determinant of participants’ perceived resilience, over and above socio-demographic factors, is their expectations and their degree of dependency on routine. Our assumptions regarding people’s vulnerability need to reflect the importance of digital dependency: in particular, age and income should not be seen as straightforward proxies, and the paper identifies a new set of ‘indicators of vulnerability’. Interdependent infrastructures are also crucial, yet underappreciated, and mean that people’s ability to cope during a disruption will likely decrease over time in a non-linear ‘step-change’ fashion, as other sectors and services are affected. Community-level actions can improve resilience, and local scales may be more appropriate for identifying vulnerabilities than socio-demographic proxies, but this is only feasible if organisations and institutions are adequately resourced.