2020 US Power Outage Report
In 2020, the average US customer went without power for about 8.7 hours — the 3rd worst of the 11 years on record, 1.3× the decade average. Figures are from DOE/ORNL EAGLE-I and include major storm days.
Avg hrs / customer
8.7
Customer-hours out
1304.8M
Rank (worst)
3rd
States with data
50
2020 in context — the last decade
Average hours without power per US customer.
Hardest-hit states in 2020
By longest average outage per customer (SAIDI). Storm-heavy states dominate.
| # | State | Avg hrs / customer | Peak customers out |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Louisiana | 72.6 | 180,496 |
| 2 | Maine | 36.9 | 65,190 |
| 3 | Oklahoma | 27.7 | 193,316 |
| 4 | Iowa | 27.4 | 114,873 |
| 5 | Alabama | 22.1 | 143,114 |
| 6 | North Carolina | 20.3 | 92,710 |
| 7 | Mississippi | 18.5 | 97,348 |
| 8 | New Jersey | 17.5 | 216,332 |
| 9 | West Virginia | 11.4 | 13,280 |
| 10 | Arkansas | 10.5 | 24,409 |
| 11 | New York | 10.4 | 197,669 |
| 12 | Rhode Island | 9.9 | 84,135 |
Hardest-hit counties in 2020
By peak customers out during the year's worst event.
1Cook County, IL279,8582Ocean County, NJ216,3323Monmouth County, NJ202,8644Suffolk County, NY197,6695Oklahoma County, OK193,3166Jefferson Parish, LA180,4967Fulton County, GA178,8328Orleans Parish, LA160,7799Escambia County, FL156,88210Oakland County, MI156,51911Hidalgo County, TX153,33712Franklin County, OH153,20013Wayne County, MI143,65814Mobile County, AL143,11415Montgomery County, PA141,91516Nassau County, NY141,60817Bergen County, NJ140,97918DeKalb County, GA139,77919New York County, NY137,47320Los Angeles County, CA133,885
Biggest single outages of 2020
| County | Began | Peak customers out |
|---|---|---|
| Cook County, IL | August 5, 2020 | 279,858 |
| Ocean County, NJ | August 3, 2020 | 216,332 |
| Monmouth County, NJ | August 2, 2020 | 202,864 |
| Suffolk County, NY | July 19, 2020 | 197,669 |
| Oklahoma County, OK | October 26, 2020 | 193,316 |
| Jefferson Parish, LA | October 28, 2020 | 180,496 |
| Fulton County, GA | October 19, 2020 | 178,832 |
| Orleans Parish, LA | October 28, 2020 | 160,779 |
| Escambia County, FL | September 15, 2020 | 156,882 |
| Oakland County, MI | February 10, 2020 | 156,519 |
Source: DOE/ORNL EAGLE-I (15-minute county outage records; major disturbances from DOE OE-417). “Avg hours per customer” is a SAIDI-like measure — total outage customer-minutes divided by tracked customers. Coverage varies by year and utility.