Ranked: The Largest Power Outages in the U.S. (2013–2023)

Power outages—whether due to operational failures, extreme weather, vandalism, or fuel shortages—can have far-reaching impacts on both customers and utility companies.

Created in partnership with The National Public Utilities Council, this graphic shows the 10 largest power outages in the U.S. from the last decade, using data from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). 

A Decade Of Power Disruptions In Review

The U.S. DOE defines a power outage as an event in which electric service is lost to more than 50,000 customers for one hour or more. 

Between 2013 and 2023, all 10 of the largest U.S. outages—ranked by the number of customers affected—have been due to severe weather events. Hurricanes and winter storms, specifically, have caused eight of the 10 outages. 

Hurricane Irma tops this list by leaving 3.5 million Floridians without power in 2017. Irma was a Category 5 hurricane that impacted the Southeastern state and several island nations, leading to more than $50 billion in damages in Florida alone.

While Florida experienced the largest outage between 2013 and 2023, Texas has the most events in the top 10 list. These were caused by a winter storm in 2021, Hurricane Harvey in 2017, and another winter storm in 2013. 

Investing in a Resilient Grid

The causes of the U.S.’s largest outage events highlight the vulnerability of its transmission infrastructure to extreme weather. 

As of 2023, 70% of U.S. transmission lines were over 25 years old. This makes them more susceptible to power outages, cyber-attacks, and sparking wildfires. 

It is also relevant to note that extreme weather events are increasing in both frequency and intensity due to climate change. Addressing infrastructure vulnerability, therefore, may be a critical aspect of maintaining reliable power in the decades to come. 

Visualized: Countries by Grid Storage Battery Capacity in 2023

According to the International Energy Agency, 1,300 GW of battery storage will be needed by 2030 to support the renewable energy capacity required to meet the 1.5°C global warming target. But how close is the world to reaching that target?

The Energy Institute’s annual Statistical Review of World Energy reveals the grid storage battery capacity of every country in 2023.

This treemap, created in partnership with the National Public Utilities Council, visualizes which countries had the most grid-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS) in 2023.

The U.S. and China’s Acceleration

China has nearly half the world’s grid storage battery capacity and keeps growing at a breakneck pace. From 2022 to 2023, the country added over 19 gigawatts of storage to its grid, moving from 7.8 to 27.1 GW.

The U.S. also significantly increased its capacity in 2023, moving from 9.3 to 15.8 GW. The two largest economies account for over three-quarters of the world’s grid storage battery capacity. California’s 8.6 GW is the largest capacity of any state and more than twice that of second-place Texas.

Although Canada had only 0.4 GW of storage capacity in 2023, it quadrupled its capacity from the previous year. However, its 426% annual growth rate is still not the highest of the top 10 countries.

It was South Africa that had the largest growth rate of capacity in 2023 due to its new facility in Worcester. Its annual growth rate was 29,300%.

Not all countries in the top 10 are experiencing significant growth. Ireland and Germany’s capacities only grew by 28% from the previous year. Meanwhile, South Korea’s capacity remained the same.

A Promising Future

The International Energy Agency estimates that 1,300 GW of battery storage will be needed by 2030 to support the renewable energy capacity required to meet the 1.5°C global warming target.

Despite ongoing regulatory challenges, such as inadequate environmental protection, the total global grid storage battery capacity in 2023 reached 55.7 GW. This marked a 120.8% increase from the previous year.

At a 120.8% growth rate, the 2030 target will be met two years early, in 2028.