The Burrow

Power Outage Hotspots

James McCay

Feb 27, 2026

Unfortunately, power outages can be a frequent reality for many households, which can lead not only to daily life disruptions but also to financial losses and increased household energy costs. Recent analysis by the energy comparison experts at Compare the Market highlights the areas most affected by outages, helping households understand where power cuts are most common and why.

Different regions around the globe can have varying levels of reliability on their electricity grids, with some being more dependent than others. To help you understand more about the potential risks you may face in your area, we have ranked a selection of regions by determining the financial impacts power outages can have on households.

To understand where power outages have the greatest impact on households, we analysed publicly available electricity reliability data across selected OECD countries, U.S. states, and Australian states and territories.

We used five years of average outage duration figures and household population estimates to assess both the cost per household and the overall regional impact of power outages.

Below is a regional breakdown of which locations are most and least impacted.

Key findings for each region

We’ve broken down the results by region to highlight the most and least affected areas, along with the financial impact of power outages.

U.S. Locations

Here are the most affected U.S. states:

  1. California: This state experiences an average of 2.36 hours of outages per year, resulting in a relatively high cost per household of US$23.58. The total area cost amounts to US$316.79 million, which reflects both a high population and significant outage duration.
  2. Texas: With a System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI) of 2.31 hours annually and a cost per household of US$23.09, Texas has a total area cost of US$248.15 million, showing substantial financial exposure to outages.
  3. Michigan: Ranked third with a SAIDI of 2.78 hours and a household cost of US$27.81, Michigan has a total area cost of US$112.37 million. This indicates that there are significant outage-related disruptions in this region.
  4. Ohio: Ohio ranks fourth overall, with households experiencing an average of 2.23 hours of power outages per year. Ohio’s large number of households means the overall financial impact is still significant. On average, outages cost households US$22.31 per year, adding up to an estimated US$107.75 million annually across the state, highlighting how even relatively moderate disruptions can scale into substantial regional costs.
  5. Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania’s SAIDI is 2.05 hours, with power outages costing the average household US$20.48 a year. That adds up to a statewide total of around US$107.2 million every year.

These are the least affected U.S. locations:

  1. District of Columbia: With a SAIDI of 0.56 hours, D.C. is the state with the lowest outage duration in the U.S. Due to a small number of households, its financial exposure is low, with a total area cost of just US$1.79 million.
  2. Wyoming: The landlocked state of Wyoming is the second least affected US state, recording a total area cost of US$4.33 million.
  3. Delaware: Despite having a low SAIDI of 1.14 hours, Delaware has a modest cost per household of US$11.40. This results in a total area cost of $4.52 million and showcases a better energy reliability overall.

Australian Locations

Here are the most affected Australian states:

  1. New South Wales: NSW ranks as the most impacted state overall, driven by high average outage duration at 2.07 hours. The scale of the state means power disruptions cost households around AU$20.7 per year, adding up to a total annual impact of AU$69.6 million, the highest in Australia.
  2. Queensland: Queensland experiences the longest outages in Australia with a SAIDI of 3.02 hours and a cost per household of AU$30.20. This makes the total area cost AU$64.82 million, reflecting its high outage duration and large number of households affected.
  3. Victoria: With a SAIDI of 1.24 hours and a lower cost per household (AU$12.40), Victoria faces a comparatively smaller total area cost of AU$35.60 million. This demonstrates that Victoria has a relatively efficient energy infrastructure.

Here are the least affected Australian states:

  1. Australian Capital Territory: The ACT boasts the shortest SAIDI of 0.69 hours and has a low cost per household of AU$6.90. Despite its lower outage duration, the financial exposure remains minimal, with a total area cost of just AU$1.30 million.
  2. Northern Territory: The Northern Territory records an average outage duration of 2.27 hours, translating to a household cost of AU$22.7. Due to its limited number of households, the total annual cost remains comparatively low at AU$1.92 million.

OECD Countries

These are the most affected OECD countries:

  1. United States: With a SAIDI of 0.94 hours and a cost per household of US$9.40, the U.S. faces a total area cost of US$1.25 billion, making it the largest power outage market in terms of overall economic impact.
  2. Colombia: Despite having a high SAIDI of 5.82 hours, Colombia’s total area cost is much lower due to fewer households, amounting to US$831.24 million. This does, however, result in a very high cost per household of US$58.20.
  3. Chile: Chile’s SAIDI of 3.2 hours, combined with a cost per household of US$32.86, results in a total area cost of US$178.78 million. This shows that despite having strong energy reliability, they are more heavily impacted financially when there is an outage.
  4. Italy: Italy follows closely behind, with a lower SAIDI of 71 hours keeping household costs modest at US$7.10 per year. However, its large population means total outage-related costs still reach US$177.6 million annually.
  5. Mexico: Mexico ranks fifth overall. While it benefits from short outage durations (52 hours), its large number of households results in a total annual cost of US$176.2 million, showing how population scale can outweigh strong grid reliability.

Countries such as Luxembourg, Estonia, Lithuania, Finland and Ireland record the lowest total area costs, combining short outage durations with low household costs. South Korea stands out with the shortest average outage time (0.07 hours) and the lowest household cost (US$0.72 per year), while Luxembourg records the smallest overall impact at just US$0.86 million annually.

How you can mitigate the financial burdens of outages

While certain regions struggle more with power outages than others, Compare the Market’s Head of Energy, Meredith O’Brien, says there are steps that can be taken to reduce the impact of outages, particularly in more affected areas:

Backup power solutions: For those in areas that are frequently hit by power outages, investing in backup power can make a big difference. While upfront costs for solar panels, batteries, or backup generators can be hefty, they can help minimise daily disruptions and financial losses in the long run.

Optimise your energy usage: This doesn’t mean overhauling your energy habits entirely but becoming more mindful of how you use power. Simple steps, like placing your Wi-Fi router in an open, well-ventilated area to prevent overheating when electricity is restored, or switching to LED lighting, which uses less energy and lasts longer during outages, can help households to stay efficient.

Comparing energy providers: It’s important for households to review their current electricity and gas bills, with comparison sites helping customers to look for an option that best suits their needs. By comparing providers, you may be able to find one that offers a competitive deal and helps you lower household costs.

Methodology

This dataset ranks a selection of OECD countries, U.S. states, and Australian states and territories based on the estimated financial impact of power outages on households.

To ensure meaningful comparability, the global ranking was restricted to selected OECD countries only. Developing countries often experience extremely long outage durations, which would disproportionately inflate household cost estimates and obscure differences between advanced economies with broadly similar infrastructure and living standards. Some OECD countries were excluded where consistent data was unavailable across the required metrics.

For all three rankings, the most recent five available years of outage data in each dataset were averaged to produce a stable estimate of typical outage conditions based on the latest reporting periods available.

Factors used

Outage duration (SAIDI): System Average Interruption Duration Index, measuring the average number of hours each customer is without electricity per year.

Household counts: The estimated number of households in each country or state, used to scale household-level outage impact into total annual regional cost.

Regional data treatment

United States: U.S. reliability data was sourced from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) Electric Power Annual using ‘Event filter: Without Major Event Days’. This version excludes extreme disruption days caused by major events such as hurricanes, wildfires, and severe storms. This approach better reflects underlying grid reliability under normal operating conditions and improves comparability with regulatory-style reporting used in other countries.

Australia: Australian reliability data was sourced from the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) operational performance dataset.

Outage duration values are reported at electricity distribution network (provider) level. These provider-level SAIDI values were grouped by state and territory service areas and averaged across providers to produce state and territory level figures.

Cost calculation

For each region:

Annual cost per household

SAIDI (hours) × $10

The $10 value represents a standard value of lost load assumption used in energy economics to estimate the cost of being without power (for example food spoilage, heating/cooling loss, internet disruption, and general inconvenience). This is not based on local electricity prices.

Total annual household cost

Cost per household × Number of households

Rankings were produced using:

  • Cost per household (individual financial exposure).
  • Total annual household cost (regional economic exposure).
  • This allows the analysis to support both consumer-focused and policy-focused perspectives.

Currency conversion used: 1 United States Dollar = 1.42 Australian Dollar, correct as of 9.2.26.

Rules

  • Higher SAIDI values indicate worse reliability.
  • Higher costs indicate greater household and regional impact.
  • Five-year SAIDI averages were used for all rankings.
  • Rankings reflect relative positions within each geographic group only.

Limitations

Different data sources and statistical systems were used for the global, U.S., and Australian datasets. As a result, total cost figures across these three rankings are not directly additive or strictly comparable and should be interpreted within their respective geographic scopes.

All data is accurate as of 23/1/26 and comes from publicly available sources. Rankings reflect these sources but may not capture every local or real-world nuance.

Sources

To view the 2023 iteration of this data, click here.

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