I'm late for an immediate solution, but you shouldn't wait more than just a few minutes to move the meat if the heat source dies when hot smoking. The cooker will begin losing heat, and once this happens you need to be putting plan B into action because at some point it becomes a food safety issue...more quickly if you're cooking a compromised or mascerated muscle meat. Power failures can come at any time. Some areas are more prone than others, true, but if it has an electrical cord it may not be a good choice if this is a common occurrence in your area. Power may be off for just a few seconds, or days/weeks, depending on the cause.
Not to poke fun at watt-burners and pellet-poopers, but charcoal, wood or propane-fire smokers don't have this issue. The only outdoor cooker I own that uses electricity is actually just an accessory...a rotisserie motor. If the power goes off, I'll know in short order and can connect to an inverter or generator to finish my meal (that's my plan B). Speaking of generators, a couple hundred bucks will buy you a generator to keep your electric cooker going, if you don't already own one. And, generators are a good multipurpose tool. I won't be without one, simply because of our heavy reliance on grid power for refrigeration and central heating. I'll never be without my generators.
Eric