Virginia power outages in 2024
Virginia customers averaged 962.1 minutes (16 h 2 min) without power in 2024, rank 8 of 51 and above the 297-minute median. Major event days made up 75% of those minutes.
- All events
- 962.1 min
- Excl. major event days
- 245.1 min
- Outages per customer
- 2.24
- Customers counted
- 1,256,266
Outages here run long, so it's worth pricing a home standby generator alongside a battery. Never run a fuel generator indoors or in a garage.
Utility breakdown, 2024
13 utilities reported IEEE-standard reliability data in Virginia for 2024. The five largest by customers:
| Utility | Type | Customers | Outage min, all events | Excl. major events |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Appalachian Power Co | Investor-owned | 550,129 | 1,714.0 | 342.3 |
| Rappahannock Electric Coop | Co-op | 180,578 | 301.0 | 188.6 |
| Northern Virginia Elec Coop | Co-op | 177,139 | 94.6 | 62.4 |
| Shenandoah Valley Elec Coop | Co-op | 99,837 | 480.8 | 225.9 |
| Southside Electric Coop, Inc | Co-op | 59,338 | 392.1 | 309.2 |
Trend since 2013
Highest year: 2018 (1,134 min). Lowest: 2015 (249 min). Outage minutes swing widely from year to year because big storms dominate the total.
| Year | Avg outage minutes (all events) |
|---|---|
| 2013 | 878.3 |
| 2014 | 287.1 |
| 2015 | 249.0 |
| 2016 | 317.6 |
| 2017 | 279.2 |
| 2018 | 1,133.7 |
| 2019 | 478.0 |
| 2020 | 337.7 |
| 2021 | 798.2 |
| 2022 | 1,108.2 |
| 2023 | 292.8 |
| 2024 | 962.1 |
Customer-weighted average of utilities reporting under the IEEE standard each year. Our 2024 figure matches EIA's own state total exactly; earlier years may cover a different set of utilities.
How much came from major storms
In 2024, 717.0 of Virginia's 962.1 outage minutes (75%) fell on major event days, the large storm-driven outages that utilities report separately. On a normal day, customers averaged 245.1 minutes for the year.
State and utility incentives
- Virginia's annual sales tax holiday (first Friday through Sunday in August; August 7–9 in 2026) exempts portable generators priced $1,000 or less per item. Source: Virginia Tax, Sales Tax Holiday, accessed October 23, 2026.
Programs change. Confirm terms with the program before you buy.