California major outage reports
California is named in 327 DOE reports for 2014 to 2023, and California ranks 2nd of 51 by count and 32nd per resident. California runs close to the U.S. average, at 8.3 per million people. California peaked in 2020 with 56; physical attacks, vandalism and suspicious activity lead with 39% of California's reports. The largest customer count in a California-only report is 1,400,000, dated 15 May 2014. Treat 327 as DOE-threshold filings, not every California outage.
California reports by year
California filed 116 in 2014 to 2018 and 211 in 2019 to 2023, a rise of 82%, with 17% of the California total landing in 2020.
California reports a year
- 17'14
- 25'15
- 13'16
- 27'17
- 34'18
- 39'19
- 56'20
- 42'21
- 42'22
- 32'23
What California reports are about
| Cause | Reports | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Physical attacks, vandalism and suspicious activity | 126 | 39% |
| Severe weather and natural disasters | 90 | 28% |
| Equipment failures and system operations | 73 | 22% |
| Fuel supply problems | 26 | 8% |
| Supply shortfalls, load shedding and public appeals | 4 | 1% |
| Other or not stated | 4 | 1% |
| Cyber events | 4 | 1% |
| Type | Reports | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Vandalism | 87 | 27% |
| Severe Weather | 62 | 19% |
| System Operations | 54 | 17% |
| Fuel Supply Deficiency | 25 | 8% |
| Suspicious Activity | 19 | 6% |
| Severe Weather/Transmission Interruption | 9 | 3% |
24 of the 327 California reports also name another state, while 303 name California alone.
Largest California reports by customers affected
118 of 303 reports naming only California list customers, and 70 list 50,000 or more. Tables on this page show those California-only reports.
| Began | Area | Type | Customers | Length | MW |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 May 2014 | San Diego & Orange Counties, California | Public Appeal to Reduce Electricity Usage - Wild Fires | 1,400,000 | — | 3,300 |
| 16 May 2014 | San Diego & Orange Counties, California | Public Appeal to Reduce Electricity Usage - Wild Fires | 1,400,000 | 10.3 h | 3,900 |
| 26 Oct 2019 | California | Severe Weather/Transmission Interruption | 972,000 | 4.3 days | 3,190 |
| 9 Oct 2019 | California | Severe Weather/Transmission Interruption | 737,808 | — | 2,400 |
| 25 Oct 2020 | California | Severe Weather | 370,000 | 2.1 days | 1,218 |
| 4 Dec 2017 | California | Severe Weather/Transmission Interruption | 263,000 | — | 540 |
| 14 Apr 2022 | California: Los Angeles County | Transmission Interruption | 262,268 | 0.2 h | 164 |
| 26 Jan 2021 | California | Severe Weather | 255,715 | 2.0 days | 841 |
| 14 Aug 2020 | California | System Operations | 220,000 | 2.1 h | 560 |
| 15 Aug 2020 | California | System Operations | 220,000 | 1.3 h | 459 |
Longest California reports
| Began | Area | Type | Customers | Length | MW |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Mar 2016 | California: San Bernardino County | Fuel Supply Deficiency | — | 34.4 days | — |
| 8 Nov 2018 | California: Butte County | Natural Disaster/Transmission Interruption | 11,844 | 20.4 days | 32 |
| 29 Oct 2018 | California: Shasta County | Vandalism | — | 9.1 days | — |
| 9 Oct 2017 | California | Severe Weather/Transmission Interruption | 117,900 | 8.5 days | 177 |
| 26 Dec 2018 | California: Kern County | Vandalism | — | 8.4 days | — |
Latest California reports on file
| Began | Area | Type | Customers | Length | MW |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 Nov 2023 | California: Sutter County | Theft - Other | — | 1.0 h | — |
| 25 Nov 2023 | California: San Bernardino County | Unknown | — | — | — |
| 21 Nov 2023 | California: San Joaquin County | Theft | — | — | — |
| 19 Nov 2023 | California: San Joaquin County | Vandalism | — | — | — |
| 17 Nov 2023 | California: Contra Costa County | Other | — | 1.8 h | — |
| 15 Nov 2023 | California: Imperial County | Fuel supply emergency | — | 24.5 h | — |
| 9 Nov 2023 | California: Fresno County | Vandalism - Theft | — | 0.2 h | — |
| 21 Oct 2023 | California: San Joaquin County | Vandalism | — | — | — |
| 15 Oct 2023 | California: Sacramento County | Other | 6 | 5.6 h | 72 |
| 14 Oct 2023 | California: Alameda County | Unknown - Vandalism | — | — | — |
| 7 Oct 2023 | California: Contra Costa County | Vandalism - Theft | — | — | — |
| 29 Sep 2023 | California: Butte County | Weather or natural disaster | 9,082 | — | 18 |
Close in the ranking
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Sources
DOE OE-417 files hold 327 California reports; snapshot 9 Dec 2024, method.
Questions
How many California reports are in the DOE files?
California appears in 327 reports, 2nd among states and DC, and 24 of them also name a second state.
Which California report lists the most customers?
In California-only reports the top customer count is 1,400,000, a Public Appeal to Reduce Electricity Usage - Wild Fires report that began 15 May 2014 (San Diego & Orange Counties, California).
What are typical OE-417 reports in California?
The top DOE type in California is Vandalism; physical attacks, vandalism and suspicious activity cover 39% of California's reports.
Are outage reports in California going up?
California filed 116 in 2014 to 2018 and 211 in 2019 to 2023, a rise of 82%. The California count may also reflect new filing habits.