Power lines at dusk.

Biggest power outages in 2022

Written by:
April 12, 2023
David McNew // Getty Images

Biggest power outages in 2022

The average American experiences about 2 hours of power outage annually, excluding major weather events, according to the Energy Information Administration. That number tripled when events like winter storms, wildfires, and hurricanes factor in.

Average power outage duration varies significantly between states, from 1.5 hours in landlocked South Dakota to nearly 30 hours in the coastal state of North Carolina, according to the most recent EIA data. On average, states prone to natural disasters and extreme weather see significantly longer disruptions.

For most people, outages are a mild inconvenience. In extreme cases, however, they can lead to dangerous consequences. Without power, people are more susceptible to extreme heat or cold depending on the season, as well as food spoilage, water filtration systems becoming disabled, and medications that require refrigeration becoming unstable and unusable.

Outages are also expensive. The Department of Energy estimates power outages cost U.S. businesses roughly $150 billion per year.

In addition to weather, the U.S. power grid is also vulnerable to physical attacks and cyberattacks by bad actors outside and within U.S. borders. Attacks on U.S. power grids rose to an all-time high in 2022, with physical threats to electric infrastructure climbing 77% to 163, according to the DOE. Power grids are becoming a popular target of domestic extremists, who strike transformers and power lines in potentially coordinated attacks.

Should a catastrophic event occur, there's essentially no such thing as spare parts for the country's power grid. Security experts say that a fairly low-tech coordinated attack against a few integral nodes of the country's power grid is all it would take to cause widespread long-term outages from coast to coast, resulting in hundreds of thousands, potentially millions, of deaths.

Stacker cited data from the Energy Information Administration to identify the 50 biggest power outages in 2022. Outages are ranked by the number of customers affected. The outage must have lasted at least 1 hour to qualify for the ranking. All data is considered preliminary by the EIA.

Sign posted in a shop window: Shop closed, no electricity.
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pamela ranya // Shutterstock

#50. American Electric Power outage (Feb. 3-4)

- Customers affected: 51,000 people
- Estimated power lost: unknown
- State impacted: Ohio
- Duration: 31 hours, 34 minutes
- Cause: severe weather/transmission interruption

Electrical power grid in silhouette.
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Menna // Shutterstock

#49. Duke Energy Carolinas outage (Jan. 16-17)

- Customers affected: 51,289 people
- Estimated power lost: unknown
- States impacted: North Carolina, South Carolina
- Duration: 20 hours, 40 minutes
- Cause: severe weather

Two electricians working on a power line.
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CHAINFOTO24 // Shutterstock

#48. CenterPoint Energy outage (May 22)

- Customers affected: 52,172 people
- Estimated power lost: unknown
- State impacted: Texas
- Duration: 16 hours, 22 minutes
- Cause: severe weather

Electrical power grid in silhouette.
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Ed Metz // Shutterstock

#47. Southern Company outage (Nov. 30)

- Customers affected: 54,110 people
- Estimated power lost: 386 megawatts
- States impacted: Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia
- Duration: 5 hours, 35 minutes
- Cause: severe weather

Power lines and a pole against blue sky.
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ojoel // Shutterstock

#46. Southwest Power Pool, Inc. outage (June 8)

- Customers affected: 60,000 people
- Estimated power lost: unknown
- State impacted: Missouri
- Duration: 3 hours, 0 minutes
- Cause: severe weather/distribution interruption

Linemen repairing broken power line.
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Mocha.VP // Shutterstock

#45. Dominion Energy South Carolina outage (Jan. 3-4)

- Customers affected: 60,424 people
- Estimated power lost: unknown
- State impacted: South Carolina
- Duration: 37 hours, 0 minutes
- Cause: severe weather

Store Closed due to Power Outage signage.
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Tada Images // Shutterstock

#44. Southern Company outage (Jan. 16-17)

- Customers affected: 61,113 people
- Estimated power lost: 436 megawatts
- States impacted: Georgia, Alabama
- Duration: 18 hours, 51 minutes
- Cause: severe weather

Electricians work on a power line up high.
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iSam iSmile // Shutterstock

#43. Southwest Power Pool, Inc. outage (June 8)

- Customers affected: 62,000 people
- Estimated power lost: unknown
- States impacted: Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska
- Duration: 4 hours, 0 minutes
- Cause: severe weather

Silhouette of lineman replacing damaged insulator.
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oo3asy60lfoo // Shutterstock

#42. Jersey Central Power & Lt Co outage (Aug. 9)

- Customers affected: 62,464 people
- Estimated power lost: unknown
- State impacted: Ohio
- Duration: 5 hours, 30 minutes
- Cause: system operations

An electrical power utility worker in a bucket fixes the power line.
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Palo_ok // Shutterstock

#41. Duke Energy Progress outage (Dec. 23)

- Customers affected: 66,519 people
- Estimated power lost: unknown
- State impacted: North Carolina
- Duration: 7 hours, 15 minutes
- Cause: severe weather

Lineman working on a pole.
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pratan // Shutterstock

#40. ISO New England outage (April 19)

- Customers affected: 67,754 people
- Estimated power lost: unknown
- States impacted: Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont
- Duration: 3 hours, 29 minutes
- Cause: severe weather

Downed power lines.
12 / 50
Noel Powell // Shutterstock

#39. Detroit Edison Co outage (March 31-April 1)

- Customers affected: 70,000 people
- Estimated power lost: 60 megawatts
- State impacted: Michigan
- Duration: 34 hours, 31 minutes
- Cause: severe weather

Pylon and transmission power line in sunset.
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gui jun peng // Shutterstock

#38. Detroit Edison Co outage (Aug. 3-5)

- Customers affected: 71,000 people
- Estimated power lost: unknown
- State impacted: Michigan
- Duration: 37 hours, 53 minutes
- Cause: severe weather

Lineman using an insutated tool.
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oo3asy60lfoo // Shutterstock

#37. Portland General Electric Co outage (April 11-13)

- Customers affected: 73,717 people
- Estimated power lost: 3140 megawatts
- State impacted: Oregon
- Duration: 46 hours, 45 minutes
- Cause: severe weather

 A transformer on a pole and a tree laying across power lines over a road.
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Glynnis Jones // Shutterstock

#36. Duke Energy Progress outage (Jan. 16)

- Customers affected: 74,638 people
- Estimated power lost: unknown
- States impacted: North Carolina, South Carolina
- Duration: 4 hours, 0 minutes
- Cause: severe weather

Sign on the desk of the shop closed because of the blackout.
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pamela ranya // Shutterstock

#35. Baltimore Gas & Electric Co outage (Aug. 4-5)

- Customers affected: 75,500 people
- Estimated power lost: unknown
- State impacted: Maryland
- Duration: 8 hours, 0 minutes
- Cause: severe weather

Mass ISO facilities in Weymouth, Massachusetts.
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Stuart Cahill // Getty Images

#34. ISO New England outage (Oct. 14)

- Customers affected: 76,388 people
- Estimated power lost: unknown
- States impacted: Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont
- Duration: 4 hours, 30 minutes
- Cause: severe weather

Electricians climbing on electric poles to repair power lines.
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Sawat Banyenngam // Shutterstock

#33. Duke Energy Carolinas outage (June 16)

- Customers affected: 77,908 people
- Estimated power lost: unknown
- States impacted: North Carolina, South Carolina
- Duration: 3 hours, 36 minutes
- Cause: severe weather

Pepco sign on a building.
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Rosemarie Mosteller // Shutterstock

#32. Exelon/Potomac Electric Power Company (Pepco) outage (Nov. 27)

- Customers affected: 87,500 people
- Estimated power lost: 190 megawatts
- State impacted: Maryland
- Duration: 6 hours, 30 minutes
- Cause: Transmission interruption

Electrical repair truck showing the logo for Duke Energy.
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jadimages // Shutterstock

#31. Duke Energy Carolinas outage (June 17-18)

- Customers affected: 91,056 people
- Estimated power lost: unknown
- States impacted: North Carolina, South Carolina
- Duration: 7 Hours, 17 Minutes
- Cause: severe weather

Technician connecting wires on electric poles.
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kaninw // Shutterstock

#30. Consumers Energy Co outage (Aug. 3)

- Customers affected: 91,264 people
- Estimated power lost: unknown
- State impacted: Michigan
- Duration: 3 hours, 30 minutes
- Cause: severe weather

Old wooden pillar with power line against the blue sky.
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Proshkin Aleksandr // Shutterstock

#29. Consumers Energy Co outage (July 23-24)

- Customers affected: 93,750 people
- Estimated power lost: unknown
- State impacted: Michigan
- Duration: 14 hours, 45 minutes
- Cause: severe weather

A high voltage power pylons against blue sky and sun rays.
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Lisa-S // Shutterstock

#28. American Electric Power - (RFC Reliability Region) (8400 Smiths Mill Rd., New Albany, Ohio) outage (June 12-13)

- Customers affected: 100,000 people
- Estimated power lost: 14000 megawatts
- States impacted: Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, Indiana
- Duration: 24 hours, 0 minutes
- Cause: severe weather/transmission interruption

Electrician climbing up an electric power post.
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pratan // Shutterstock

#27. Dominion Energy VA outage (June 22-23)

- Customers affected: 100,000 people
- Estimated power lost: unknown
- State impacted: Virginia
- Duration: 9 hours, 4 minutes
- Cause: severe weather/distribution interruption

Woman with flashlight looks into distribution board.
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Victoria OM // Shutterstock

#26. Duke Energy Midwest outage (July 6-7)

- Customers affected: 104,700 people
- Estimated power lost: unknown
- States impacted: Ohio, Kentucky
- Duration: 13 hours, 15 minutes
- Cause: severe weather/transmission interruption

Worker climbing on transmission line tower.
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anurakss // Shutterstock

#25. Northern States Power Co outage (May 11)

- Customers affected: 105,000 people
- Estimated power lost: unknown
- State impacted: Minnesota
- Duration: 4 hours, 42 minutes
- Cause: severe weather

An electrical repair truck with the logo for Duke Energy.
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jadimages // Shutterstock

#24. Duke Energy Carolinas outage (Dec. 23)

- Customers affected: 108,900 people
- Estimated power lost: unknown
- States impacted: North Carolina, South Carolina
- Duration: 14 hours, 43 minutes
- Cause: severe weather

Electrician works on electric poles.
28 / 50
Jaral Lertjamekorn // Shutterstock

#23. Dominion Energy South Carolina outage (Sept. 30)

- Customers affected: 108,930 people
- Estimated power lost: unknown
- State impacted: South Carolina
- Duration: 4 hours, 23 minutes
- Cause: severe weather

Transmission towers near the CenterPoint Energy facility in Houston.
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Brandon Bell // Getty Images

#22. CenterPoint Energy outage (Oct. 25)

- Customers affected: 109,865 people
- Estimated power lost: unknown
- State impacted: Texas
- Duration: 12 hours, 5 minutes
- Cause: system operations

Utility pole and wires covered in ice.
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Ted Pendergast // Shutterstock

#21. ISO New England outage (Nov. 30-Dec. 2)

- Customers affected: 113,000 people
- Estimated power lost: 113 megawatts
- States impacted: Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire
- Duration: 33 hours, 15 minutes
- Cause: severe weather

Power lineman use clamp stick (insulated tool) to closing a transformer.
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oo3asy60lfoo // Shutterstock

#20. Seminole Electric Cooperative Inc outage (Sept. 28-30)

- Customers affected: 116,937 people
- Estimated power lost: 1000 megawatts
- State impacted: Florida
- Duration: 45 hours, 20 minutes
- Cause: severe weather

Electricity transmission power lines at sunset.
32 / 50
Busara // Shutterstock

#19. Duke Energy Progress outage (Dec. 24)

- Customers affected: 130,000 people
- Estimated power lost: 960 megawatts
- State impacted: North Carolina
- Duration: 9 hours, 35 minutes
- Cause: system operations

Service technicians work to install the foundation for a transmission tower.
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Brandon Bell // Getty Images

#18. CenterPoint Energy outage (Aug. 10-11)

- Customers affected: 140,464 people
- Estimated power lost: unknown
- State impacted: Texas
- Duration: 24 hours, 4 minutes
- Cause: severe weather

Aerial view of Duke Energy North Carolina.
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KyleHohler // Shutterstock

#17. Duke Energy Carolinas outage (Jan. 3-4)

- Customers affected: 142,000 people
- Estimated power lost: unknown
- States impacted: North Carolina, South Carolina
- Duration: 31 hours, 0 minutes
- Cause: severe weather

Power lineman at work on a electric pole.
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Dmitry Kalinovsky // Shutterstock

#16. American Electric Power - (RFC Reliability Region) (8400 Smiths Mill Rd., New Albany, Ohio) outage (June 17-19)

- Customers affected: 150,000 people
- Estimated power lost: unknown
- States impacted: West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky
- Duration: 51 hours, 45 minutes
- Cause: severe weather

Silhouette of a high voltage electric tower at sunset.
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AlexandrMusuc // Shutterstock

#15. Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC outage (May 15-17)

- Customers affected: 150,000 people
- Estimated power lost: unknown
- State impacted: Texas
- Duration: 48 hours, 15 minutes
- Cause: severe weather

Downed power lines in residential street.
37 / 50
Scott Alan Ritchie // Shutterstock

#14. Duke Energy Carolinas outage (Sept. 30-Oct. 1)

- Customers affected: 154,100 people
- Estimated power lost: unknown
- States impacted: North Carolina, South Carolina
- Duration: 24 hours, 6 minutes
- Cause: severe weather

Silhouetted electrician working on poles to install high-voltage equipment.
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Suprachai Akkho // Shutterstock

#13. Consumers Energy Co outage (Nov. 5-8)

- Customers affected: 158,450 people
- Estimated power lost: unknown
- State impacted: Michigan
- Duration: 66 hours, 0 minutes
- Cause: severe weather

High voltage towers with sky background.
39 / 50
ssguy // Shutterstock

#12. Duke Energy Florida outage (Nov. 10-11)

- Customers affected: 160,000 people
- Estimated power lost: unknown
- State impacted: Florida
- Duration: 26 hours, 47 minutes
- Cause: severe weather

Lineman make repairs to downed power lines.
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Dennis W Donohue // Shutterstock

#11. Sacramento Municipal Util. Dist. outage (Dec. 31-Jan. 1)

- Customers affected: 161,000 people
- Estimated power lost: unknown
- State impacted: California
- Duration: 11 hours, 0 minutes
- Cause: severe weather

Lineman uses insulated tool to open the connection of a transformeribution system.
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oo3asy60lfoo // Shutterstock

#10. Duke Energy Midwest outage (June 13-14)

- Customers affected: 162,551 people
- Estimated power lost: unknown
- States impacted: Ohio, Kentucky
- Duration: 24 hours, 15 minutes
- Cause: severe weather/transmission interruption

Electricians wiring cable to install and repair power lines.
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JonGado // Shutterstock

#9. Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC outage (March 21-24)

- Customers affected: 170,000 people
- Estimated power lost: unknown
- State impacted: Texas
- Duration: 53 hours, 0 minutes
- Cause: severe weather

High-voltage power lines at sunset.
43 / 50
i am adventure // Shutterstock

#8. Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC outage (Sept. 4-6)

- Customers affected: 190,000 people
- Estimated power lost: unknown
- State impacted: Texas
- Duration: 40 hours, 0 minutes
- Cause: severe weather

A power lineman is replacing the damaged insulator.
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oo3asy60lfoo // Shutterstock

#7. Consumers Energy Co outage (Aug. 29-Sept. 1)

- Customers affected: 197,740 people
- Estimated power lost: unknown
- State impacted: Michigan
- Duration: 66 hours, 0 minutes
- Cause: severe weather

Puget Sound Energy sign at the natural gas and electricity utility offices.
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VDB Photos // Shutterstock

#6. Puget Sound Energy outage (Nov. 4-7)

- Customers affected: 214,000 people
- Estimated power lost: unknown
- State impacted: Washington
- Duration: 60 hours, 55 minutes
- Cause: severe weather

Electric generator on city street.
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alexfan32 // Shutterstock

#5. Puget Sound Energy outage (Dec. 26-28)

- Customers affected: 230,000 people
- Estimated power lost: unknown
- State impacted: Washington
- Duration: 60 hours, 30 minutes
- Cause: severe weather

Memphis Light Gas and Water Division building cornerstone.
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Chad Robertson Media // Shutterstock

#4. Memphis Light Gas and Water Division outage (Feb. 3-7)

- Customers affected: 255,000 people
- Estimated power lost: unknown
- State impacted: Tennessee
- Duration: 106 hours, 0 minutes
- Cause: severe weather/transmission interruption

A sign informs patrons of a store closure due to widespread power outages.
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Logan Cyrus // Getty Images

#3. Duke Energy Carolinas outage (Dec. 24)

- Customers affected: 295,000 people
- Estimated power lost: 1000 megawatts
- States impacted: North Carolina, South Carolina
- Duration: 11 hours, 0 minutes
- Cause: severe weather

Down power lines and electric equipment in residential neighborhood.
49 / 50
Scott Alan Ritchie // Shutterstock

#2. Duke Energy Florida outage (Sept. 28-Oct. 3)

- Customers affected: 676,000 people
- Estimated power lost: unknown
- State impacted: Florida
- Duration: 120 hours, 53 minutes
- Cause: severe weather

Evergy sign on the side of a building with radio antennas on top.
50 / 50
APN Photography // Shutterstock

#1. Evergy outage (June 8)

- Customers affected: 911,888 people
- Estimated power lost: unknown
- States impacted: Missouri, Kansas
- Duration: 5 hours, 0 minutes
- Cause: severe weather/transmission interruption

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