Study Shows Where Americans Experience the Most and Longest Power Outages

The team at Ooma sheds light on a common American annoyance: power outages. The team studied data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration to figure out which states had the most and least power outages, as well as the places where the power is out the longest. We see clear differences on the map and in the ranking system that indicate that the national power grid is weaker in some spots and that others are more geographically prone to storms that produce outages.

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One state emerges as the place where the lights go out the most. Perhaps it’s fitting that Stephen King’s spooky home state of Maine emerges as the place with the highest number of annual power outages. Mainers experience an average of 4.75 outages per year, with the longest consolidated time spent in the dark being 1,386 minutes per customer, just under 24 hours.

It should come as no surprise that the Pine Tree State is the most heavily forested in the nation. Falling trees and limbs are the biggest cause of power outages, so these two factors must be linked. Much of Maine is rural with an aging power grid infrastructure, and the state is known for having strong snow and ice storms that can knock out the power, too.

These are the ten states that have the most power outages per year:

1. Maine: 4.75
2. Alaska: 3.66
3. Louisiana: 2.65
4. Tennessee: 2.50
5. West Virginia: 2.41
6. Hawaii: 2.38
7. Mississippi: 2.13
8. Georgia: 2.01
9. Oklahoma: 1.98
10. Kentucky: 1.97

For people seeking a place where the power is more reliable, the team found that Utah and Wisconsin took the crown for the fewest outages. Both average less than one outage per year. Utah’s power grid is updated, strong, and well-maintained, a powerful mix with the state’s mild weather, with fewer storms to knock down power lines.

Overall, these ten states have the fewest power outages:

1. Utah: 0.67
2. Wisconsin: 0.68
3. Nebraska: 0.81
4. Colorado: 0.84
5. Wyoming: 0.88
6. Kansas: 0.89
7. Maryland: 0.91
8. Delaware: 0.95
9. Minnesota: 1.04
10. Iowa: 1.05

One state emerges above the others with the longest length of power outages. Louisiana outages last 470 minutes on average per customer, which means Louisiana residents face nearly eight hours without power during each outage. These lengthy outages are likely due to strong hurricanes and tropical storms that knock out power for millions and cause complications like flooding that slow down crews trying to repair the damage. Louisiana’s longest outages in the past few years happened during the destructive Hurricane Ida.

Other states on the Gulf Coast also deal with long outages, like Texas’s 328-minute average and Mississippi’s 399-minute average. After huge, powerful storms, crews may need days to restore power to all the customers. Texas is estimated to have the oldest and least functional grid in the U.S., which drops its rankings. Explore the data to see what patterns and potential causes you notice.