This study characterizes power outages across the US from 2018–2020, finding an average of 520 million customer-hours annually without power. The Northeast, South, and Appalachian counties experienced the greatest prevalence of outages, with Arkansas, Louisiana, and Michigan showing a high burden of frequent long outages and high social vulnerability. 62.1% of 8+ hour outages co-occurred with extreme weather, highlighting the impact of climate change. These findings can inform disaster preparedness, resource allocation, and future epidemiology studies.
Publisher
Nature Communications
Published On
Apr 29, 2023
Authors
Vivian Do, Heather McBrien, Nina M. Flores, Alexander J. Northrop, Jeffrey Schlegelmilch, Mathew V. Kiang, Joan A. Casey
Tags
power outages
extreme weather
social vulnerability
disaster preparedness
climate change
customer-hours
resource allocation
Related Publications
Explore these studies to deepen your understanding of the subject.
