massoutage

2023 North Carolina Power Outage Report

In 2023, the average North Carolina customer went without power for about 12.6 hours — the 8th worst of any US state that year, below the state's decade average. Figures from DOE/ORNL EAGLE-I.

Avg hrs / customer
12.6
Peak customers out
79,920
Rank (worst state)
8th
Counties affected
20

North Carolina outages over the decade

Average hours without power per customer, 2023 highlighted.

7.5h201530.5h201610.0h201755.2h201812.9h201920.3h202010.3h202121.3h202212.6h202366.1h20249.8h2025

Hardest-hit North Carolina counties in 2023

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

1Wake County79,9202Durham County67,9523Mecklenburg County48,5404Buncombe County27,3275Iredell County23,3766Forsyth County21,0487Guilford County20,8918Carteret County19,1619Rowan County18,45410Brunswick County17,86511Catawba County17,63112Cabarrus County16,56113Orange County14,80414Craven County13,38415Nash County13,20916Franklin County12,83917Haywood County12,36618Randolph County11,92519Davidson County11,15220Lincoln County10,486

Biggest North Carolina outages of 2023

CountyBeganPeak customers out
Wake CountyAugust 7, 202379,920
Durham CountyAugust 15, 202367,952
Mecklenburg CountyAugust 26, 202348,540
Mecklenburg CountyAugust 5, 202327,890
Buncombe CountyApril 1, 202327,327
Iredell CountyAugust 7, 202323,376
Forsyth CountyOctober 3, 202321,048
Guilford CountyAugust 15, 202320,891
Carteret CountyJanuary 1, 202319,161
Guilford CountyJuly 9, 202319,013
North Carolina by year:20252024202220212020201920182017
Other states in 2023:MEMIKYOKARWV

Part of the 2023 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.