How long does your power go out?

EIA-861 outage hours for all 50 states + matched backup power specs.

Top Outage States:South Carolina · 52hMaine · 29hTexas · 27hFlorida · 25h
Homeowner connecting a portable LiFePO4 backup power station to a garage transfer switch
EIA-861 Verified50 States + DC Ranked
  • EIA 2024 data
  • Ranked by outage minutes
  • 0 paid placements
3,155 min
South Carolina, most outage minutes per customer in 2024
50 states + DC
ranked by EIA outage minutes
4 h 57 min
median state, 2024
EIA-861
data year 2024, checked October 23, 2026

Most outage minutes in 2024

  1. 1South Carolina52 h 35 min
  2. 2Maine29 h 9 min
  3. 3Texas26 h 54 min
  4. 4North Carolina25 h 18 min
  5. 5Florida24 h 48 min
  6. 6Georgia20 h 8 min
  7. 7West Virginia19 h 26 min
  8. 8Virginia16 h 2 min
  9. 9Vermont14 h 56 min
  10. 10New Hampshire12 h 16 min

See all 50 states + DC

60-SECOND OUTAGE SIZING CHEAT SHEETEIA-861 · 3 Quick Rules

Size home backup power in 60 seconds

01 · USABLE POWER

Usable Battery Rule

85%1,000 Wh → 850 Wh Usable

Every inverter uses ~15% energy converting DC to household AC.

02 · FRIDGE RUNTIME

Blackout Runtime Math

26+ HRS2,048 Wh LFP Station
1,736 Wh ÷ 65W Fridge = 26.7 Hrs

Divide usable Wh by your appliance's running watts.

03 · SOLAR REFILL

Daily Solar Refill

1,350 Wh/d400W Solar Panel
400W × 4.5 Sun Hrs × 0.75

400W of portable solar refills a full day of fridge power.

How it works

  1. Check your state

    See average outage minutes and how much comes from major storms.

  2. Size your backup

    Match battery or generator size to how long you lose power.

  3. Compare options

    Read sourced costs and specs before you buy.

Compare Backup Power Options

Home backup transfer panel and generator cost comparison$5k–$16k Installed

Generator cost

2026 installed prices & permit math.

Questions

Where does the outage data come from?

From the U.S. Energy Information Administration's Form EIA-861, data year 2024, which utilities file each year. We use the IEEE-standard state totals for 50 states + DC.

Do you test generators or power stations?

No. We don't do hands-on testing and we don't publish star ratings. Our guides explain specs and sourced prices so you can compare models yourself.

Can a brand pay to rank higher?

No. The state ranking is sorted only by EIA outage minutes. No brand or advertiser can change it.

Know your outage minutes first

Check your state

Planning a standby unit? See our whole house generator cost, Generac generator cost, and home generator installation guides.