Why do (unplanned) blackouts happen?
Like death and taxes, power outages are an unfortunate - but also inevitable - part of life. But why do they happen, and how long does it take to repair? Occasionally a planned power outage will make national news, but the vast majority of blackouts are unplanned, unintentional, and undesired.
According to the US Department of Energy, there have been more than 2,500 major energy outages since 2002, or an average of 147 per year across the US. Power companies have steadily been moving lines underground for the past decade, meaning less disruption in the system - but at the expense of time required to get back online. Learn about some of the major cause of blackouts - and time needed to fix the outage - below:
Squirrel on a powerline
Don’t laugh (actually, go ahead and laugh). One of the most common sources of blackouts is because Rocky decided to take a little jaunt along the power lines - and maybe decided to have a snack along the way. When a squirrel (or a bird, or a rat) gets fried on a powerline, power may go out, leaving the local area without any electricity for a little while. The good news is, this is typically an easy fix - your electricity should be back on within a few hours.
Transformer overload
You may recall seeing videos of a weirdly blue sky over Queens, NYC last winter when a Con Edison transformer exploded. Transformer explosions - not usually as big as that one - are caused by the local power grid being overextended by, say, everyone turning on their TVs at the same time to watch the Superbowl, outrageous displays of Christmas lights, or too many ACs running during a heat wave. This one takes a little longer to fix, but still should be relatively quick downtime until you’re back online.
Weather
Mother Nature, our unpredictable queen. The simplest of power outages comes from a downed powerline, which can be caused by anything from a branch falling on a line during a windstorm to a buildup of too much snow or ice in the winter, which causes a line to snap over time. But there are other weather conditions that can lead to blackouts as well: with a preference for striking high, lightning is a big fan of hitting utility poles. According to the Department of Energy, weather has accounted for approximately half of all power outages since 2002, impacting a total of 211 million customers - so if you’ve been hit, you’re in good company.
Recovery time from this category varies: a simple downed line could be fixed as soon as the weather improves. On the other hand, larger storms could cause more widespread problems, requiring more company resources to repair and spreading thin company resources. Recovery is typically measured in terms of how long utility companies take to restore 95% of power in an affected area after the peak number of outages - after Hurricane Sandy, for example, 95% of New York was back up and running after 13 days. That may sound long, but it’s pretty standard after major weather events.
Bottom line
There’s no question about it, blackouts are a pain. Statistically speaking though, you’re guaranteed at least a few of them in your lifetime. You can minimize the element of surprise by keeping an eye on the weather, and knowing that storms headed in your direction increase the likelihood that the lights will go out imminently.
Find out if you’re in the midst of a regional blackout by checking your power company’s status page (Xcel Energy customers or contact list of major utilities), keep a storage of bottled water and non-perishable snacks, and learn about Hygge Power’s power storage options [here] to keep your electronics humming - even when your neighbors’ lights go off. And above all, be patient. The lights will be back on before too long.