Re: ...advising customers to keep their phone batteries charged...
"To my mind the best way to do this is to have a separate phone with separate email address."
I'd just swap my SIM card into the old Blackberry 7230. Still has a 5 day battery life and does email (just re-authenticate the email address) as well as phone/sms. Can trickle charge off USB wherever you can find another device with some juice.
Disclaimer: I'm in mild, slightly damp UK