BLACKOUT: EXTREME WEATHER, CLIMATE CHANGE AND POWER OUTAGES

The report finds that weather-related power outages in the U.S. have increased significantly, with weather causing 80% of all major outages between 2003 and 2012. It identifies the Midwest and East as particularly vulnerable regions and argues that climate change acts as a 'threat multiplier,' increasing the frequency and intensity of storms, heat waves, and flooding that strain an aging electrical infrastructure.

• There was a tenfold increase in major power outages—defined as those affecting more than 50,000 customers—between the mid-1980s and 2012. Even after stricter reporting requirements were implemented in 2003, the average annual number of weather-related outages doubled.
• Between 2003 and 2012, weather-related incidents were the primary driver of power loss, accounting for 80 percent of all analyzed outages and affecting approximately 147 million customers.
• The Midwest and East are the most vulnerable regions; 64 percent of weather-related outages occurred in the Reliability First Corporation (RFC) and SERC Reliability Council (SERC) regions. Michigan, Texas, and Ohio were the states with the highest number of major weather-related outages between 2003 and 2012.
• Storms and severe weather were the leading causes of outages (59%), followed by cold weather and ice storms (nearly 19%) and hurricanes and tropical storms (18%). Extreme heat and wildfires caused 2% of outages, though heat waves also triggered 64 restricted power advisories.
• Major weather-related power outages result in significant economic losses, with recent estimates placing the annual cost to Americans between $20 billion and $55 billion.
• Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of weather events that damage the grid. Specifically, the Northeast, Midwest, and Southeast have seen increases in the amount of total precipitation falling in heavy events (74%, 45%, and 26% respectively).
• The report concludes that the increase in outages is a result of both an aging grid serving higher demand and the increasing violence of storms and heat waves fueled by a warming planet.

APA

Kenward, A., & Raja, U. (2014). BLACKOUT: EXTREME WEATHER, CLIMATE CHANGE AND POWER OUTAGES. Climate Central. https://assets.climatecentral.org/pdfs/PowerOutages.pdf

Chicago

Kenward, Alyson, and Urooj Raja. BLACKOUT: EXTREME WEATHER, CLIMATE CHANGE AND POWER OUTAGES. Climate Central, 2014. https://assets.climatecentral.org/pdfs/PowerOutages.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Kenward |first1=Alyson |last2=Raja |first2=Urooj |title=BLACKOUT: EXTREME WEATHER, CLIMATE CHANGE AND POWER OUTAGES |publisher=Climate Central |date=2014 |url=https://assets.climatecentral.org/pdfs/PowerOutages.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{kenward2014blackout, author = {Kenward, Alyson and Raja, Urooj}, title = {{BLACKOUT: EXTREME WEATHER, CLIMATE CHANGE AND POWER OUTAGES}}, institution = {Climate Central}, year = {2014}, url = {https://assets.climatecentral.org/pdfs/PowerOutages.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }