Maine electricity customers experienced more frequent and longer power outages on average in 2022, compared to the national average, according to recently released federal data.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, U.S. electricity consumers in 2022 experienced one or two outages, averaging about 5.5 total hours of power outage. According to EIA, major incidents like storms are most likely to cause outages with extended durations, while heavily forested states are most likely to experience a higher frequency of outages.
EIA tracks reliability and outages through two key metrics: SAIFI (which measures the frequency of service interruptions) and SAIDI (which measures duration). Some states are outliers with respect to both these metrics of electric grid reliability. The chart below, prepared by EIA, shows how various states' utilities performed in 2022 with respect to SAIDI and SAIFI.
The average customer in Maine experienced three outages totaling over 15 hours without power in 2022. Only Alaska and Tennessee experienced more frequent outages than Maine, and only Florida and West Virginia experienced greater total durations of outages than Maine. Maine's outage duration in 2022 was roughly the same as in 2021; both were down compared to 2017, when the average Maine customer went without power for about 42 hours. According to EIA, "Power interruptions resulting from falling tree branches are common, especially because of winter ice and snowstorms that weigh down tree limbs and power lines."
Meanwhile, the District of Columbia had both the lowest frequency of service interruption and the lowest total outage duration, with an average of just 34 minutes without power in 2022. Delaware, Rhode Island, Nebraska, and Iowa also had top rankings for low outage duration.
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