massoutage

2020 California Power Outage Report

In 2020, the average California customer went without power for about 6.3 hours — the 20th worst of any US state that year, 1.1× the state's decade average. Figures from DOE/ORNL EAGLE-I.

Avg hrs / customer
6.3
Peak customers out
133,885
Rank (worst state)
20th
Counties affected
20

California outages over the decade

Average hours without power per customer, 2020 highlighted.

3.1h20152.5h20162.2h20173.7h20189.6h20196.3h20206.6h20214.9h20227.9h20236.1h20247.6h2025

Hardest-hit California counties in 2020

By peak customers out during the year's worst event.

1Los Angeles County133,8852Santa Cruz County89,4273Ventura County84,0834San Diego County74,4515El Dorado County72,5846Fresno County69,6807Riverside County69,1728San Joaquin County67,4039Humboldt County65,60610San Bernardino County62,23811Monterey County59,11712Alameda County55,47213Marin County51,69514Sonoma County42,61715San Mateo County36,69716Nevada County36,53617Solano County36,36818Santa Clara County34,46019Sacramento County31,91020Tuolumne County30,341

Biggest California outages of 2020

CountyBeganPeak customers out
Los Angeles CountyOctober 20, 2020133,885
Santa Cruz CountyAugust 14, 202089,427
Los Angeles CountyJanuary 1, 202088,902
Ventura CountyDecember 7, 202084,083
San Diego CountyNovember 30, 202074,451
El Dorado CountyAugust 14, 202072,584
Fresno CountyMarch 16, 202069,680
Riverside CountyJanuary 6, 202069,172
San Joaquin CountyAugust 12, 202067,403
Humboldt CountyJanuary 15, 202065,606
California by year:20252024202320222021201920182017
Other states in 2020:LAMEOKIAALNC

Part of the 2020 US Power Outage Report. Source: DOE/ORNL EAGLE-I. “Avg hours per customer” is a SAIDI-like measure (outage customer-minutes ÷ tracked customers); coverage varies by year.