If your gas-powered stove was made in the last few decades, it most likely requires electricity to light the burners during normal operating conditions. But you can bypass the electric ignition during a power outage by using matches to light the burners instead.
Bypassing Electric-Ignition Stove Burners During an Outage
Step 1
Shine a flashlight or other light source -- even a flashlight app from a cellphone -- near the stove if it's too dark to see the stove well.
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Step 2
Turn all the stove burner and oven dials to their "off" positions.
Step 3
Set the flashlight on a counter near the stove, aiming the light toward the stove burners and controls for the burners. Skip the light if you can see well without it.
Step 4
Light a long wooden match and hold the flame near the holes located around the center of a burner.
Step 5
Turn the dial for the same stove burner to a low setting while holding the match in place. Act quickly to light the burner before the match burns down toward your fingers.
Step 6
Remove the match from the burner area once the burner lights. The burner should light within a few seconds. Blow out the match.
Avoid the Oven
Although the burners on an electric-ignition gas stove may be lit by hand, the cooking flame inside the oven works differently on models from the 1990s and newer. As a safety feature, these require electricity to light and cannot be lit by hand -- so skip the oven and cook on the stove burners instead until the power returns.