A power outage is the sudden loss of electricity. This heavily affects the economy and may impact the whole community. A power outage also disrupts transportation, water, and communication, it also affects businesses such as stores, gas stations and banking services. It may also cause food spoilage and prevent the use of medical devices that can put emergency patients at risk.
Identifying the cause of a power outage can also help in knowing when the issue can be fixed. There are many reasons for power outages to occur but natural causes such as the weather is the leading cause. Severe weather accounts for roughly 70% of outages in the United States. Strong rains, high winds, snow, and lightning can be the main culprits. Other causes may involve equipment failures where issues with transformers, switches, and cables may arise. Lastly, scheduled maintenance may cause power outages but power is only turned off occasionally for the purpose of repairing equipment and maintenance.
Power outages affect people across the United States each year. This may leave residents vulnerable from the sudden lack of access to many things. Being informed of the local grid stability can help you be prepared for possible power outages and can also be a deciding factor where you can or want to live.
To identify which U.S residents need to prepare for generators and stock up supplies like candles and flashlight, here is the list of the top 5 states where power outage mostly occur:
- Michigan
Michigan experiences a lot of power outages and this state has the most power outages per capita than any other states in the US. The most common cause of power outages all year long in Michigan is the weather. No matter what the season is, the residents always experience heavy rain and flooding, severe storms and oppressive heat and blizzards during snowfall and high winds. According to data, weather-related outages caused 56 of the 155 outages in 2017 and faulty equipment took second place with 36 caused outages.
- Ohio
Power outages in Ohio are also mostly due to the severe weather such as thunder and lightning storms, snow and ice storms. Data from 2017 shows that about 663,000 customers experienced power outages in Ohio.
- New York
New York had 165 outages affecting almost 900,000 of its residents in 2017. Inclement weather is also the number one cause of power outages while about 8% are caused by squirrels and other small animals and wildlife. During the summer heat, the use of air conditioners just in New York takes its toll on the power grid. The heightened demand and risk of overwhelming the power grid may sometimes result in widespread power outages.
- Texas
Texas had 192 outages affecting 1.1 million people in 2017. The majority of outages in Texas are because of flooding and heat waves. According to Payless Power, Texas 82 power outages reported in 2022, and 1,565 in the past decade. Texas had also experienced a high power consumption in 2022 being the sixth highest megawatts consumer per capita in the country. Data from Payless Power also shows that Texas had 667% more outages during the summer than the rest of the country and 659% more during the winter. Millions of its residents were also left without power and faced a major power crisis during the winter storm in February 2021.
- California
Almost one-quarter of 2022 power outages occurred in California. The state of California also came in first for the most power outages overall in the last 20 years: 2,684. Residents face uncertainties when it comes to full access to energy due to many factors such as droughts, increased temperatures, human error, and strained power grid. According to Bloomenergy, Power outages are on the rise in California. There were 25,281 blackout events in 2019, a 23% increase from 20,598 in 2018. The number of utility customers affected jumped to 28.4 million in 2019, up 50% from 19 million in 2018. The Department of Energy estimates yearly power outages cost the U.S. economy $150 billion annually.
* We want to give credit where credit is due. Professional writer, Haydee David, contributed research and content to this blog titled: Top 5 States Where Power Outage Occur Thank you, Haydee, for your contributions!
