Reliability of State Power Grids

[Ben]

2021 data from fed.gov. I didn't dig into the study parameters at the gov link since they were a bit convoluted to get to. On the face of it, I would think these data would change a lot of they did county level data resolution rather than overall state level. It appears it was overall state average.

Anecdotally, it seems less than accurate. Idaho is way down on this list (down is bad), which it may very well be, but I have had MUCH LESS issue with power outages here than I ever did in CA. I have yet to plug the genny into the house here. I might actually experience more outages here, but the vast majority are brownouts of less than a second. Usually not even long enough to reset the clocks on the kitchen appliances. Maybe 10-20 per year? In CA, I may have experienced fewer outages, but they were almost always much longer - minutes to hours and even more than a day a couple of times. I think the longest outage I've had here to date was 4ish hours - not enough to change my routine.

https://generatordecision.com/states-with-the-most-least-reliable-power-grids/#limitations-of-the-data

https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/eia861/

[MillCreek]

Washington comes in at number 43 which does not surprise me: given how most of the local power delivery is via overhead lines that just happen to be next to the large number of trees in windy Washington.  I will say that the local power company, the Snohomish County PUD, has put a lot of work into improving the grid in north Snohomish County, and as a consequence, the number and duration of power outages has dropped a lot.  I have one of those Ecoflow rechargable power stations and have not had to use it yet.  I occasionally ponder buying a portable generator but have not yet done so.

[AZRedhawk44]

I'm astounded to see AZ ranked as highly as it is.  I have felt that power is unreliable here, but in retrospect perhaps that's a function of how critical the power is when it does go out.  If the temperature is 80* and the power goes out, no big deal.  But when it's 115* then it has the potential to be life threatening to some people, and your refrigerator can't combat the ambient temperature nearly as long without power.

I also have an EcoFlow (Delta II) like MillCreek mentioned.  As well as panels to keep it charged.  I tend to park it around half charged (manufacturer's recommendation) after a camping trip or something like that, and it's ready to take over for the fridge and freezer and a selection of lights around the house if needed.

[BobR]

Nevada ranks 49th in Education, last because HI and D.C does not play that game. 38th in health care and 25th in poverty level. But by god we have the most stable power in the nation, which is important so that all of those kids can stay home and play video games rather than going to school.


bob