Hours without power, state by state

Each tower is a state; its height is the average time a customer spent without electricity. Official utility reports compiled by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, for 2025 and 2024.

Key numbers

The average US customer lost power for 4.4 h in 2025, down from 10 h in 2024, the worst year in a decade. In 2024 South Carolina averaged 52 h after hurricane Helene; in 2025 West Virginia led at 17 h. Without major storms, the national figure is about 2.0 h: storms are most of the story.

EIA · SAIDI · 2025, all events

0 → 24 h+ per customer

Average hours without power per customer by state, EIA
#
1	West Virginia	17 h	19 h	8.3 h
2	Michigan	11 h	7.8 h	2.7 h
3	Nebraska	9.1 h	11 h	1.9 h
4	Alaska	9.0 h	5.5 h	4.0 h
5	Mississippi	8.4 h	9.5 h	5.1 h
6	Arkansas	7.7 h	8.5 h	3.4 h
7	Pennsylvania	7.6 h	5.6 h	2.2 h
8	Missouri	7.6 h	3.7 h	1.9 h
9	Virginia	7.4 h	7.0 h	3.0 h
10	Kentucky	6.8 h	11 h	2.9 h
11	Indiana	6.2 h	5.2 h	2.1 h
12	Washington	6.2 h	10 h	2.4 h
13	Alabama	6.2 h	4.7 h	1.9 h
14	Maine	6.1 h	29 h	3.2 h
15	California	5.7 h	4.7 h	2.3 h
16	Idaho	5.1 h	3.9 h	2.5 h
17	Oregon	5.0 h	9.8 h	1.7 h
18	Montana	4.8 h	5.9 h	2.3 h
19	Oklahoma	4.8 h	4.5 h	2.4 h
20	Hawaii	4.7 h	5.3 h	3.1 h
21	Colorado	4.5 h	4.3 h	1.9 h
22	Louisiana	4.5 h	12 h	3.6 h
23	Georgia	4.5 h	20 h	2.5 h
24	South Dakota	4.5 h	1.4 h	1.0 h
25	Vermont	4.4 h	12 h	3.1 h
26	New Hampshire	3.9 h	15 h	2.3 h
27	Wisconsin	3.8 h	4.4 h	1.4 h
28	Tennessee	3.8 h	4.6 h	2.5 h
29	Wyoming	3.7 h	2.3 h	1.7 h
30	Texas	3.7 h	21 h	2.1 h
31	Ohio	3.4 h	8.5 h	2.2 h
32	North Dakota	3.4 h	1.7 h	1.2 h
33	Kansas	3.3 h	4.8 h	1.6 h
34	North Carolina	3.2 h	24 h	2.3 h
35	Connecticut	3.1 h	2.6 h	1.3 h
36	Rhode Island	3.0 h	1.7 h	1.0 h
37	Minnesota	3.0 h	3.7 h	1.6 h
38	Maryland	3.0 h	2.0 h	1.3 h
39	New Mexico	2.9 h	4.6 h	2.5 h
40	New Jersey	2.6 h	2.9 h	1.6 h
41	Iowa	2.5 h	2.8 h	1.3 h
42	South Carolina	2.5 h	52 h	1.7 h
43	Illinois	2.4 h	2.6 h	1.0 h
44	Nevada	2.1 h	2.6 h	1.7 h
45	New York	2.0 h	3.7 h	1.2 h
46	Massachusetts	2.0 h	1.7 h	1.3 h
47	Utah	2.0 h	2.0 h	1.7 h
48	Delaware	1.7 h	1.9 h	1.2 h
49	Florida	1.2 h	22 h	1.1 h
50	Arizona	1.2 h	1.5 h	1.0 h
51	District of Columbia	0.8 h	0.5 h	0.6 h

What this means for your backup

An average hides the people who matter most here: the ones at the end of a long rural line, or in the last neighborhood restored after a hurricane. In 2024 the average South Carolina customer was without power for more than two days, which means many were out for a week. If your state's 2024 figure is in double digits, plan for 72 hours or more, not one night.

Size for your longest likely outage, then check what runs: the hurricane-week scenario and the winter furnace scenario are good starting points.

About the data

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Annual, Table 11.3 (Reliability metrics using any method, by state, 2025 and 2024), eia.gov, retrieved 2026-10-27. Figures are SAIDI in minutes, converted to hours, reported by utilities covering about 95% of US customers. EIA data is a US government work in the public domain. You may reuse this page's CSV and map with a link to the EIA and to this page.

Questions people ask

Which state has the most power outages?

In 2025, West Virginia customers averaged 17 h without power, the most of any state, followed by Michigan (11 h) and Nebraska (9.1 h). In 2024, hurricane Helene put South Carolina far ahead at 52 h.

How many hours does the average American go without power?

The EIA's SAIDI figure for the US was 4.4 h per customer in 2025 and 10 h in 2024, including major events. Without major storms it was about 2.0 h.

Which states have the most reliable power?

In 2025 the shortest average outages were in District of Columbia (0.8 h), Arizona (1.2 h) and Florida (1.2 h).

What do SAIDI and SAIFI mean?

SAIDI (System Average Interruption Duration Index) is the total minutes of outage the average customer saw in a year. SAIFI is how many interruptions they had. Utilities report both to the EIA, with and without 'major event days' such as hurricanes.