- Power outages across the United States are getting longer, according to a recent survey by JD Power, which cites “increased frequency and severity of extreme weather events.”
- The average length of the longest power outage has increased in all regions since 2022, from 8.1 hours to 12.8 by the midpoint of 2025. Customers in the South reported the longest outages, averaging out at 18.2 hours, followed by the West at 12.4 hours, it said.
- Mark Spalinger, director of utilities intelligence at J.D. Power, said in an interview that while the duration of outages is increasing, the number of customers experiencing them is not. In fact, over time, the percentage of people who experience “perfect power” without any interruptions is gradually rising. However, disasters like storms and fires “are becoming so much more extreme that it creates these longer outage events that utilities are now having to deal with,” he said.
Disasters Become a Fact of Life for Many U.S. Electric Utility Customers
Extreme Weather to Blame for Half of all Outages Reported in First Half of 2025
Disasters, such as the Los Angeles wildfires and severe spring and early summer thunderstorms that caused flash floods throughout many parts of the United States, have contributed to more than $131 billion in global losses in the first half of 2025. They have also created a new set of challenges for the nation’s electric utilities—and their customers—who were already straining under the weight of rising costs, aging infrastructure and an uncertain economy.
In response to the increased frequency and severity of extreme weather events, J.D. Power expanded its U.S. Electric Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study methodology to better understand the impact of weather-related power outages and service disruptions on customers. This Utilities Intelligence Report dives into key data points gathered from J.D. Power studies to chart the scope of power disruptions throughout the first half of 2025 and identify strategies utilities can use to help mitigate the negative effects of extreme weather on their customers. Data collected in this report is from 2025 and includes weather events from 2024 and 2025.
Longer Outages Affecting More Regions of the Country
Overall, 45% of utility customers nationwide say they have experienced a power outage in the first half of 2025. Of those outages, 48% were due to extreme weather such as a hurricane, ice or snowstorm, thunderstorm, wind or tornado or fire. These extreme weather events were so violent that 17% of customers who were affected by a natural disaster say they had to evacuate their homes.
The majority of customers who are affected by a recent disaster are in the South, double the national average. And when the South experiences a disaster, it has bigger energy ramifications than any other region. Customers in the South experienced more electricity loss than any other region (77%) in the aftermath of extreme weather events. Its average outage length when the outage is caused by extreme weather is 95.2 hours. They also had the most property damage (36%) and the second-highest rate of evacuation (17%).
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Meanwhile, in Germany, with more than 50 percent renewable electricity..The average electric outage per consumer annually, was down from 12.8 minutes in 2023, to 11.7 minutes in 2024.
Biggest factor in having a reliable grid is to make it a goal to have a reliable grid.
