Although power outages tend to be viewed as an inconvenience, they're still a consequential disruption to critical infrastructure — and as Utility Dive recently reported, they're getting longer.
What's happening?
A quick scan of regional headlines over the past few months revealed myriad scattered power outages across the United States.
A county in Washington State lost power for nearly a day, an Ohio city's electricity was knocked out for 8-12 hours, and people in San Luis Obispo County went without power for days.
Utility Dive, citing a survey by data analytics firm J.D. Power, indicated that in the aggregate, Americans have endured a sharp, sudden increase in the duration of power outages.
Quantifying power outages in terms of impact can be complex, as they often result from unpredictable events, such as a substation fire or volatile weather — the latter of which was a prominent factor in J.D. Power's U.S. Electric Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study.
In the first half of 2025, 45% of ratepayers polled endured a power outage, and half of those outages were attributed to extreme weather.
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Previous research identified a sustained increase in weather-related power outages, but J.D. Power looked at the average duration of incidents in 2025.
The firm determined the average power outage jumped from 8.1 hours in 2022 to 12.8 hours by mid-2025, per the Utility Dive report. Averages were higher on the West Coast (12.4 hours) and in the South (18.2 hours).
Mark Spalinger, J.D. Power's head of utilities intelligence, said outages have influenced consumer sentiment.
"Customers are now having to prepare and look for different solutions, whether it's solar or generators. It's almost two-thirds of the customer base," Spalinger stated.
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Not at all 🙅 Why are longer power outages so concerning?
It's easy to think of power outages as a brief break from doomscrolling, and perhaps a chance to break out the candles and board games.
However, they can be expensive — a single outage can cost a household $25,000 in property damage, a figure far higher for small businesses and large facilities.
Power outages can also be deadly for many reasons: Life-sustaining medical equipment can fail, medicines can be destroyed by a lack of refrigeration, and exposure to harsh temperatures can be fatal.
At the same time, grid infrastructure is "shockingly vulnerable" independent of other causes.
As the planet overheats, the extreme weather driving longer power outages will continue increasing in frequency and severity, compounding the issue in a destructive cycle.
What's being done about it?
As Spalinger noted, installing solar panels is one of the best ways to secure constant power, particularly when paired with a battery backup.
Understanding key climate issues, such as extreme weather, is another way to stay prepared.
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