Awful Outage Histories: These Are The U.S. Counties That Go Dark Most Often

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While the total costs of Hurricane Helene are still being tallied, the Category 4 storm brought widespread destruction to the Southeast last week, killing at least 160 people and leaving thousands stranded without power.

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Severe weather is the leading cause of disruption to the U.S. power grid. Data from the Department of Energy shows that electricity disruptions due to severe weather increased sharply over the last decade, rising at an annual average rate of 11.9% from 2013 to 2023. And while electricity outages are difficult to track at the national level, researchers recently published a new, harmonized dataset of U.S. electricity outages at the county level. A detailed look at the data reveals a handful of counties throughout California, the Gulf Coast, and other regions that have historically dealt with power outage burdens dozens of times greater than the national average.

To determine the counties with the most power outages, Climate Crisis 247 reviewed data on power outages in 15-minute intervals from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Counties were ranked based on the number of average annual customer-hours of power outage per resident in the years 2021 to 2023. Supplemental data on historic hurricane loss ratings are from the FEMA National Risk Index and are based on hurricane damage from 1996 to 2019.

25. Alpine County, CA

Pexels / Fatih Yurtman

  • Average annual customer-hours of power outage: 40.4 per resident
  • Average scale of power outage: 4.6% of population affected
  • Historic hurricane loss rating: Not Applicable
  • County seat: Markleeville

24. Marion County, TX

Pexels / Martinus

  • Average annual customer-hours of power outage: 40.8 per resident
  • Average scale of power outage: 2.7% of population affected
  • Historic hurricane loss rating: Relatively Moderate
  • County seat: Jefferson

23. Lincoln County, WV

Pexels / Killian Eon

  • Average annual customer-hours of power outage: 41.6 per resident
  • Average scale of power outage: 0.9% of population affected
  • Historic hurricane loss rating: Relatively Low
  • County seat: Hamlin

22. Wilkinson County, MS

Pexels / Tim Mossholder

  • Average annual customer-hours of power outage: 45.0 per resident
  • Average scale of power outage: 1.0% of population affected
  • Historic hurricane loss rating: Relatively High
  • County seat: Woodville

21. Irion County, TX

Pexels / Pok Rie

  • Average annual customer-hours of power outage: 46.3 per resident
  • Average scale of power outage: 1.1% of population affected
  • Historic hurricane loss rating: Relatively Low
  • County seat: Mertzon

20. Mariposa County, CA

Pixabay

  • Average annual customer-hours of power outage: 47.0 per resident
  • Average scale of power outage: 1.5% of population affected
  • Historic hurricane loss rating: Not Applicable
  • County seat: Mariposa

19. Tangipahoa Parish, LA

Pexels / Kelly

  • Average annual customer-hours of power outage: 47.1 per resident
  • Average scale of power outage: 0.7% of population affected
  • Historic hurricane loss rating: Very High
  • County seat: Amite City

18. Alcona County, MI

Pexels / Miguel Á. Padriñán

  • Average annual customer-hours of power outage: 47.3 per resident
  • Average scale of power outage: 2.8% of population affected
  • Historic hurricane loss rating: Relatively Low
  • County seat: Harrisville

17. Plaquemines Parish, LA

Pexels / Steve Johnson

  • Average annual customer-hours of power outage: 47.3 per resident
  • Average scale of power outage: 1.2% of population affected
  • Historic hurricane loss rating: Relatively High
  • County seat: Pointe à la Hache

16. Claiborne County, MS

Pexels / Hakan Erenler

  • Average annual customer-hours of power outage: 49.2 per resident
  • Average scale of power outage: 1.1% of population affected
  • Historic hurricane loss rating: Relatively Moderate
  • County seat: Port Gibson

15. Wayne County, WV

Pexels / Ulrick Trappschuh

  • Average annual customer-hours of power outage: 49.4 per resident
  • Average scale of power outage: 1.0% of population affected
  • Historic hurricane loss rating: Relatively Low
  • County seat: Wayne

14. Franklin, VA

Pexels / Trinh Trần

  • Average annual customer-hours of power outage: 51.2 per resident
  • Average scale of power outage: 1.3% of population affected
  • Historic hurricane loss rating: Relatively High
  • County seat: Franklin

13. St. James Parish, LA

Pexels / Kostiantyn Klymovets

  • Average annual customer-hours of power outage: 55.1 per resident
  • Average scale of power outage: 1.9% of population affected
  • Historic hurricane loss rating: Very High
  • County seat: Convent

12. St. Charles Parish, LA

Pexels / Frank Cone

  • Average annual customer-hours of power outage: 58.7 per resident
  • Average scale of power outage: 1.6% of population affected
  • Historic hurricane loss rating: Relatively High
  • County seat: Hahnville

11. Austin County, TX

Pexels / Francesco Paggiaro

  • Average annual customer-hours of power outage: 60.4 per resident
  • Average scale of power outage: 0.8% of population affected
  • Historic hurricane loss rating: Relatively High
  • County seat: Bellville

10. Glasscock County, TX

Pexels / Rene Terp

  • Average annual customer-hours of power outage: 62.5 per resident
  • Average scale of power outage: 3.1% of population affected
  • Historic hurricane loss rating: Relatively High
  • County seat: Garden City

9. St. John the Baptist Parish, LA

Pexels / Lance Stephenson

  • Average annual customer-hours of power outage: 62.8 per resident
  • Average scale of power outage: 1.6% of population affected
  • Historic hurricane loss rating: Relatively High
  • County seat: Edgard

8. Wharton County, TX

pexels / Xrona

  • Average annual customer-hours of power outage: 67.1 per resident
  • Average scale of power outage: 0.9% of population affected
  • Historic hurricane loss rating: Very High
  • County seat: Wharton

7. Plumas County, CA

Pexels / Jonathan Cooper

  • Average annual customer-hours of power outage: 68.8 per resident
  • Average scale of power outage: 2.4% of population affected
  • Historic hurricane loss rating: Not Applicable
  • County seat: Quincy

6. Lafourche Parish, LA

Pexels / MD Molla

  • Average annual customer-hours of power outage: 70.1 per resident
  • Average scale of power outage: 1.5% of population affected
  • Historic hurricane loss rating: Very High
  • County seat: Thibodaux

5. Edwards County, TX

Pexels / thevibrantmachine

  • Average annual customer-hours of power outage: 91.0 per resident
  • Average scale of power outage: 9.2% of population affected
  • Historic hurricane loss rating: Very High
  • County seat: Rocksprings

4. St. Helena Parish, LA

Pexels / Brett Sayles

  • Average annual customer-hours of power outage: 91.4 per resident
  • Average scale of power outage: 3.9% of population affected
  • Historic hurricane loss rating: Relatively High
  • County seat: Greensburg

3. Sierra County, CA

Pexels / Amol Mande

  • Average annual customer-hours of power outage: 105.9 per resident
  • Average scale of power outage: 7.1% of population affected
  • Historic hurricane loss rating: Not Applicable
  • County seat: Downieville

2. Kenedy County, TX

Pexels / Benjamin Farren

  • Average annual customer-hours of power outage: 124.9 per resident
  • Average scale of power outage: 18.9% of population affected
  • Historic hurricane loss rating: Very High
  • County seat: Sarita

1. Loving County, TX

Pexels / Miguel Á. Padriñán

  • Average annual customer-hours of power outage: 125.5 per resident
  • Average scale of power outage: 12.9% of population affected
  • Historic hurricane loss rating: Relatively Moderate
  • County seat: Mentone

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