North Carolina power outages by utility

35 North Carolina utilities report outage minutes to EIA. The state median is 93 minutes a year; the range runs from 18 to 566.

Ranking by outage minutes

North Carolina, SAIDI without major event days, 2024; lower is better; 35 utilities.

Rank	North Carolina utility	Owner type	North Carolina home accounts	SAIDI min	Interruptions (SAIFI)	SAIDI with storms	North Carolina storm share	Price ¢/kWh
1	New River Light & Power Co	State	7,247	18	0.34	307	94%	12.45
2	City of Monroe	Municipal	10,543	18	0.33	22	19%	12.28
3	City of Albemarle	Municipal	11,248	27	0.22	41	35%	10.85
4	Brunswick Electric Member Corp	Cooperative	105,562	31	0.57	44	30%	13.66
5	Greenville Utilities Comm	Municipal	65,731	33	0.46	33	0%	11.97
6	Town of Apex- (NC)	Municipal	29,289	36	0.41	116	69%	10.52
7	City of New Bern	Municipal	21,226	41	0.60	144	71%	12.65
8	Jones-Onslow Elec Member Corp	Cooperative	79,690	45	0.66	125	64%	13.09
9	Union Electric Membership Corp	Cooperative	84,602	53	0.71	357	85%	13.37
10	City of Wilson	Municipal	32,078	56	0.80	123	55%	12.13
11	City of Kinston	Municipal	10,042	57	0.41	57	0%	13.07
12	Town of High Point	Municipal	38,079	65	0.70	79	18%	11.63
13	Carteret-Craven El Member Corp	Cooperative	38,858	70	0.81	104	33%	12.15
14	City of Rocky Mount	Municipal	25,407	70	1.26	87	19%	12.18
15	Fayetteville Public Works Commission	Municipal	75,987	71	0.99	129	45%	12.21
16	City of Statesville	Municipal	12,120	76	0.62	87	13%	11.71
17	Edgecombe-Martin County E M C	Cooperative	10,716	83	1.00	113	27%	16.06
18	Blue Ridge Elec Member Corp	Cooperative	71,926	93	1.26	6038	98%	14.59
19	City of Gastonia	Municipal	27,008	97	1.02	1378	93%	12.40
20	Roanoke Electric Member Corp	Cooperative	12,049	108	1.08	127	15%	21.14
21	Wake Electric Membership Corp	Cooperative	53,268	108	1.47	166	35%	13.42
22	Tri-County Elec Member Corp (NC)	Cooperative	22,523	112	1.05	112	0%	12.76
23	Randolph Electric Member Corp	Cooperative	31,086	114	1.37	224	49%	15.91
24	EnergyUnited Elec Member Corp	Cooperative	121,995	124	1.33	424	71%	11.54
25	Lumbee River Elec Member Corp	Cooperative	64,396	128	1.29	283	55%	12.81
26	Duke Energy Progress	Investor Owned	1,356,079	141	1.19	1803	92%	15.54
27	Central Electric Membership Corp.	Cooperative	22,071	153	No data	443	65%	14.34
28	Tideland Electric Member Corp	Cooperative	21,551	154	1.83	268	42%	16.18
29	Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC	Investor Owned	1,919,372	168	1.24	1626	90%	13.94
30	Piedmont Electric Member Corp	Cooperative	30,334	170	1.50	398	57%	15.60
31	City of Concord	Municipal	29,857	172	1.91	172	0%	11.84
32	Pee Dee Electric Member Corp	Cooperative	19,396	187	2.37	532	65%	14.77
33	Surry-Yadkin Elec Member Corp	Cooperative	28,080	213	1.55	1432	85%	16.06
34	Rutherford Elec Member Corp	Cooperative	70,743	350	1.11	5532	94%	13.13
35	Haywood Electric Member Corp	Cooperative	29,078	566	3.60	9612	94%	16.60

North Carolina outage minutes by owner type

In North Carolina, 91% of 5,067,762 home accounts sit with the 35 qualifying utilities out of 48 in the file. North Carolina customer-weighted SAIDI is 144 minutes against a median of 93, and 16 of 35 North Carolina utilities exceed the U.S. median of 99. Counting major event days adds a median 55% to SAIDI.

North Carolina owner type	North Carolina utilities	North Carolina home accounts	North Carolina median SAIDI	North Carolina weighted SAIDI	North Carolina median SAIFI	North Carolina storm share	North Carolina median price ¢/kWh
Investor Owned	2	3,275,451	155	157	1.21	91%	14.74
Cooperative	19	917,924	114	132	1.27	57%	14.34
Municipal	13	388,615	57	65	0.62	19%	12.13
State	1	7,247	18	18	0.34	94%	12.45

By owner type, State utilities have the lowest median SAIDI in North Carolina (18 minutes, 1 of 35) and Investor Owned the highest (155 minutes, 2 of 35).

North Carolina utilities that stand out

Why it stands out	North Carolina utility	North Carolina owner type	North Carolina accounts	North Carolina SAIDI min	North Carolina SAIDI rank	North Carolina SAIFI	North Carolina SAIDI with storms	North Carolina price ¢/kWh	North Carolina price rank
the most reliable	New River Light & Power Co	State	7,247	18	1 of 35	0.34	307	12.45	14 of 35
the least reliable	Haywood Electric Member Corp	Cooperative	29,078	566	35 of 35	3.60	9,612	16.60	34 of 35
the largest	Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC	Investor Owned	1,919,372	168	29 of 35	1.24	1,626	13.94	24 of 35
the most storm-driven	Blue Ridge Elec Member Corp	Cooperative	71,926	93	18 of 35	1.26	6,038	14.59	26 of 35
the most improved	City of Albemarle	Municipal	11,248	27	3 of 35	0.22	41	10.85	2 of 35
the one that slipped most	City of New Bern	Municipal	21,226	41	7 of 35	0.60	144	12.65	15 of 35
the cheapest	Town of Apex- (NC)	Municipal	29,289	36	6 of 35	0.41	116	10.52	1 of 35
the priciest	Roanoke Electric Member Corp	Cooperative	12,049	108	20 of 35	1.08	127	21.14	35 of 35

Does a higher price buy fewer outages?

Each dot is one of 35 North Carolina utilities.

North Carolina, 2024: first 8 of 35 rows

	Home price, cents per kWh	SAIDI, minutes a year
New River Light & Power Co	12.45	18
City of Monroe	12.28	18
City of Albemarle	10.85	27
Brunswick Electric Member Corp	13.66	31
Greenville Utilities Comm	11.97	33
Town of Apex- (NC)	10.52	36
City of New Bern	12.65	41
Jones-Onslow Elec Member Corp	13.09	45

35 rows from EIA-861 survey.

CSV

North Carolina utilities, change in their own SAIDI

First to last year each utility reported, best change first.

Rank	North Carolina utility	North Carolina years	North Carolina SAIDI first	North Carolina SAIDI last	North Carolina change
1	City of Albemarle	2016 to 2025	43	7	-84%
2	Brunswick Electric Member Corp	2015 to 2024	48	31	-35%
3	Tideland Electric Member Corp	2015 to 2025	248	164	-34%
4	Tri-County Elec Member Corp (NC)	2023 to 2025	131	89	-32%
5	Union Electric Membership Corp	2015 to 2025	67	47	-29%
6	Edgecombe-Martin County E M C	2015 to 2025	136	104	-24%
7	Roanoke Electric Member Corp	2015 to 2025	232	179	-23%
8	City of Monroe	2018 to 2025	22	18	-19%
9	Randolph Electric Member Corp	2015 to 2025	132	108	-18%
10	Lumbee River Elec Member Corp	2015 to 2025	117	100	-15%
11	Town of Apex- (NC)	2022 to 2024	42	36	-13%
12	Central Electric Membership Corp.	2015 to 2025	156	148	-5%
13	Duke Energy Progress	2015 to 2025	141	145	+3%
14	Blue Ridge Elec Member Corp	2015 to 2024	82	93	+14%
15	City of Concord	2015 to 2025	56	65	+17%
16	Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC	2015 to 2025	143	172	+20%
17	EnergyUnited Elec Member Corp	2015 to 2025	98	121	+23%
18	Pee Dee Electric Member Corp	2015 to 2025	134	171	+27%
19	Haywood Electric Member Corp	2015 to 2025	392	554	+41%
20	City of Rocky Mount	2015 to 2025	50	72	+42%
21	Town of High Point	2015 to 2025	60	86	+43%
22	Piedmont Electric Member Corp	2015 to 2025	101	146	+45%
23	Greenville Utilities Comm	2020 to 2025	18	28	+53%
24	Surry-Yadkin Elec Member Corp	2015 to 2025	94	176	+89%
25	City of Gastonia	2023 to 2025	78	150	+94%
26	New River Light & Power Co	2015 to 2025	16	36	+130%
27	Rutherford Elec Member Corp	2015 to 2025	55	135	+143%
28	Wake Electric Membership Corp	2015 to 2025	50	128	+155%
29	Fayetteville Public Works Commission	2017 to 2025	27	72	+164%
30	City of Kinston	2019 to 2025	19	64	+230%
31	City of Wilson	2015 to 2025	14	51	+266%
32	City of New Bern	2015 to 2025	4	37	+807%

Analyst note

North Carolina has 35 qualifying reporters, rank 3 of 40 states by count. Of 35 North Carolina utilities with 1,000+ home accounts that report SAIDI, New River Light & Power Co is lowest at 18 minutes a year and Haywood Electric Member Corp highest at 566, a 32.3 to 1 spread. The state median is 93 minutes, -7% against the U.S. median reporter. Over each utility's own record, City of Albemarle improved most (43 to 7 minutes, -84%, 2016 to 2025) and City of New Bern changed the other way (4 to 37, +807%); 12 of 32 fell. Home price and outage minutes line up at r = +0.41 across 35 North Carolina utilities: the pricier ones report more minutes. That is North Carolina's pattern, not a cause.

Questions on North Carolina outages

How many North Carolina utilities qualify for this ranking?

35 of 48 North Carolina utilities, rank 3 of 40 states by count.

Which North Carolina utility has the fewest outage minutes?

New River Light & Power Co: 18 minutes a year, SAIDI without major events, 2024.

Which North Carolina utility has the most?

Haywood Electric Member Corp: 566 minutes a year in 2024.

What is the typical SAIDI in North Carolina?

The median of 35 reporting utilities is 93 minutes, -7% on the U.S. median reporter.

Do cheaper North Carolina utilities have more outages?

Across 35 utilities r = +0.41, so the link is positive: higher price goes with more outage minutes.

How much of North Carolina outage time comes from storms?

At Blue Ridge Elec Member Corp 98% of all-event SAIDI is major event days.

How reliable is the largest North Carolina utility?

Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC serves 1,919,372 home accounts and reports 168 minutes, rank 29 of 35; weighted by customers the state figure is 144.

Do North Carolina co-ops and investor-owned utilities differ?

4 owner types report in North Carolina: State 1 utility with 7,247 home accounts, Municipal 13 utilities with 388,615 home accounts, Cooperative 19 utilities with 917,924 home accounts, Investor Owned 2 utilities with 3,275,451 home accounts.

What share of North Carolina home accounts do these utilities serve?

91% of 5,067,762 accounts, 35 of 48 utilities; 16 are above the U.S. median of 99 minutes.