Stable Power Supply Positions Arizona as a Prime Market for EVs and Industry Expansion

A new study has revealed the US states least likely to experience a power cut with Arizona placing joint fifth. The study by Texas Electricity Ratings researched power reliability across all U.S. states plus Washington D.C. The analysis examined three main factors which included blackout length (SAIDI), how often they occurred (SAIFI), and repair times (CAIDI). These were then calculated to give each state a score out of 10.

Nebraska takes the top spot with a perfect score of 10.00, thanks to its low average yearly outage time of just 72.6 minutes. This is second only to the capital and is four minutes and 40 seconds less than the third-lowest outage time.

Washington D.C. follows closely behind in second place with a score of 9.9. Residents there experienced only 0.37 outages per year per customer, showing how reliable their service is.

South Dakota takes third with a 9.7 reliability score. The state’s power companies restored electricity faster than anywhere else when problems struck. Repair crews got the lights back on in just 76.2 minutes on average, quicker than any other state in America.

Four states tie for fourth place, scoring 9.6 stability ratings. Rhode Island, Colorado, Delaware, and Iowa all have a similar range in scores, with Colorado in particular standing out for its shorter annual outage duration compared to the others.

New Jersey, Arizona, and New York completed the top five, each scoring 9.5 out of 10 based on minimal interruptions and quick repairs. Despite older infrastructure, and heavy power demands, New York kept yearly outages to just 120 minutes. Arizona also stands out for having the quickest power restoration among the three.

Despite these states having low frequencies of power outages and a low duration without power, many still experience a long time to fix any issues. This could be due to a number of factors including severe or adverse weather, which leads to repair crews battling against high winds and rain, affecting their overall time taken.

The data shows that these top states also have an average of between 71-120 minutes without power per year, a figure that is up to 80% lower than the national average of 366.6.

States least likely to experience a power cut:

On the other end of the scale these are the states that have experiencing the most power cuts:

Maine recorded the worst performance for power cuts by far. Residents suffered through more than 31 hours without electricity each year across multiple outages. This is more than 400% longer than the national average. Maine also logged America’s highest blackout frequency at 3.31 interruptions per customer annually, reflecting the challenges of adverse weather.

Michigan performed slightly better than Maine but still only scored 3.0 out of 10. Michigan residents wait 723.5 minutes, exceeding 12 hours, for repairs when the power goes out. The restoration takes nearly six times longer than top-ranked Nebraska, pointing to infrastructure weaknesses, staffing shortages, or equipment gaps hampering repairs across the state.

Tennessee, Arkansas, and Oklahoma rounded out the bottom five states for grid reliability, scoring 4.6. Tennessee recorded the second-highest rate of power cuts at 2.81 interruptions per customer yearly, showing frequent system failures disrupting both homes and businesses while taxing backup systems at hospitals, water plants, and emergency services.

Karl Trollinger, CEO of Texas Electricity Ratings commented:

“Your state’s power grid reliability touches every part of daily life. Our study shows huge gaps between states giving steady service and places where people regularly face long blackouts ruining food, stopping work, and causing real problems for those needing medical equipment at home.

“The gap between best and worst states jumps out at you. Nebraska homes might lose power for half an hour every six months, while Maine residents go dark for more than 31 hours annually.

“The study uncovered a regional pattern across the South. Four southern states fell into the bottom ten for reliability, pointing to vulnerability from hurricanes, tornadoes and thunderstorms that damage power lines, transformers and substations, especially in coastal areas prone to violent weather hitting large regions simultaneously and overwhelming repair teams.

“Population size showed little effect on grid reliability. Small states like Nebraska with 1.9 million residents matched or beat large ones like New York with 19.5 million people. Good grid management works at any scale, with key factors including money spent, maintenance quality, weather patterns, local geography, and how old the power lines and equipment are across each state.”