How reliable is the power in California?
California ranks 37th of 45 states without major events and 21st with them (1st = fewest minutes), 35 above the U.S. 129 and 376 below the U.S. 662. Major events added 121 minutes, 42% of the with-events total. The figure covers 15,180,110 customers, 91% of the 16,672,854 EIA lists for California.
California with and without major events
minutes without power per customer, 2024, California and U.S.
- 165California, no major events
- 129U.S., no major events
- 285California, with major events
- 662U.S., with major events
| Measure | California without | California with | U.S. without | U.S. with |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SAIDI, minutes per customer | 165 | 285 | 129 | 662 |
| SAIFI, interruptions per customer | 1.18 | 1.35 | 1.06 | 1.53 |
| CAIDI, minutes per interruption | 139 | 211 | 122 | 433 |
| Median utility, SAIDI minutes | 58 | 76 | — | — |
Which California utilities move the number
Pacific Gas & Electric Co. serves 38% of the customers in the California figure: 68% of lost customer-minutes with major events, 64% without. Without Pacific Gas & Electric Co., the weighted figure would be 147 minutes with major events and 96 without, against 285 and 165.
- Pacific Gas & Electric Co.: 5,795,693 customers (38%), 276 min without and 509 with; 68% of lost minutes with major events, 64% without.
- Southern California Edison Co: 5,316,264 customers (35%), 100 min without and 158 with; 19% of lost minutes with major events, 21% without.
- San Diego Gas & Electric Co: 1,527,274 customers (10%), 71 min without and 157 with; 6% of lost minutes with major events, 4% without.
All California utilities in the 2024 file
73 utilities in the 2024 EIA-861 files for California: 22 follow IEEE 1366, 6 use another method, 45 filed no reliability figures. 28 are listed.
| City of Azusa | Municipal | IEEE 1366 | 17,461 | 11 | — | 0.14 | — | — | 1 of 18 | — |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City of Lodi - (CA) | Municipal | IEEE 1366 | 25,940 | 17 | 17 | 0.27 | 0.27 | 0 | 2 of 18 | — |
| City of Redding - (CA) | Municipal | IEEE 1366 | 47,176 | 34 | 34 | 0.26 | 0.26 | 0 | 3 of 18 | — |
| Modesto Irrigation District | Political Subdivision | IEEE 1366 | 120,484 | 43 | 58 | 0.47 | 0.61 | 26 | 4 of 18 | — |
| City of Pasadena - (CA) | Municipal | IEEE 1366 | 66,608 | 43 | 43 | 0.45 | 0.45 | 0 | 5 of 18 | — |
| City of Anaheim - (CA) | Municipal | IEEE 1366 | 117,000 | 46 | 46 | 0.63 | 0.63 | 0 | 6 of 18 | — |
| Turlock Irrigation District | Political Subdivision | IEEE 1366 | 90,557 | 49 | 74 | 0.52 | 0.79 | 34 | 7 of 18 | — |
| Alameda Municipal Power | Municipal | IEEE 1366 | 37,072 | 55 | 55 | 0.88 | 0.88 | 0 | 8 of 18 | — |
| Imperial Irrigation District | Political Subdivision | IEEE 1366 | 165,674 | 61 | 61 | 0.69 | 0.69 | 0 | 9 of 18 | — |
| Bear Valley Electric Service | Investor Owned | IEEE 1366 | 24,837 | 64 | 101 | 0.80 | 0.90 | 36 | 10 of 18 | — |
| San Diego Gas & Electric Co | Investor Owned | IEEE 1366 | 1,527,274 | 71 | 157 | 0.54 | 0.61 | 55 | 11 of 18 | — |
| City of Riverside - (CA) | Municipal | IEEE 1366 | 113,373 | 77 | 77 | 0.61 | 0.61 | 0 | 12 of 18 | — |
| Southern California Edison Co | Investor Owned | IEEE 1366 | 5,316,264 | 100 | 158 | 0.90 | 0.99 | 37 | 13 of 18 | — |
| Los Angeles Department of Water & Power | Municipal | IEEE 1366 | 1,563,515 | 111 | 111 | 0.66 | 0.66 | 0 | 14 of 18 | — |
| City of Santa Clara - (CA) | Municipal | IEEE 1366 | 60,620 | 162 | 209 | 0.85 | 0.91 | 23 | 15 of 18 | — |
| PacifiCorp | Investor Owned | IEEE 1366 | 47,083 | 197 | 587 | 1.87 | 3.11 | 66 | 16 of 18 | — |
| Pacific Gas & Electric Co. | Investor Owned | IEEE 1366 | 5,795,693 | 276 | 509 | 1.82 | 2.15 | 46 | 17 of 18 | — |
| Liberty Utilities | Investor Owned | IEEE 1366 | 50,151 | 496 | 743 | 2.37 | 2.57 | 33 | 18 of 18 | — |
| Sacramento Municipal Util Dist | Political Subdivision | Other method | 669,155 | 44 | 228 | 0.75 | 1.43 | — | Not ranked | other method, not comparable |
| City of Glendale - (CA) | Municipal | Other method | 94,560 | 160 | 160 | 1.12 | 1.12 | — | Not ranked | other method, not comparable |
| City of Roseville - (CA) | Municipal | Other method | 70,475 | 22 | 23 | 0.21 | 0.22 | — | Not ranked | other method, not comparable |
| City of Burbank Water and Power | Municipal | Other method | 52,500 | 23 | 23 | 0.30 | 0.30 | — | Not ranked | other method, not comparable |
| City of Palo Alto - (CA) | Municipal | IEEE 1366 | 30,183 | — | 135 | — | 0.88 | — | Not ranked | — |
| City of Colton - (CA) | Municipal | Other method | 18,950 | 50 | 50 | 0.17 | 0.17 | — | Not ranked | other method, not comparable |
| City of Moreno Valley - (CA) | Municipal | IEEE 1366 | 8,944 | 45 | 45 | 0.37 | 0.37 | 0 | Not ranked | under 10,000 customers |
| City of Shasta Lake - (CA) | Municipal | IEEE 1366 | 4,597 | 76 | 76 | — | 0.64 | — | Not ranked | under 10,000 customers |
| City of Vernon | Municipal | Other method | 2,035 | 47 | 47 | 0.58 | 0.58 | — | Not ranked | other method, not comparable; under 10,000 customers |
| City of Corona - (CA) | Municipal | IEEE 1366 | 1,845 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | — | Not ranked | under 10,000 customers |
California utilities with no reliability figures
45 in the sales file, no SAIDI or SAIFI row; the 25 largest are listed.
| Utility | Type | Customers |
|---|---|---|
| Sunrun Inc. | Behind the Meter | 325,586 |
| Tesla Inc. | Behind the Meter | 153,802 |
| Merced Irrigation District | Political Subdivision | 13,140 |
| Surprise Valley Electrification | Cooperative | 4,727 |
| City & County of San Francisco | Municipal | 2,941 |
| WAPA-- Western Area Power Administration | Federal | 95 |
| TerraForm US Energy Services, LLC | Behind the Meter | 81 |
| Valley Electric Assn, Inc | Cooperative | 44 |
| Greenbacker Renewable Energy Corporation | Behind the Meter | 16 |
| Greenskies Renewable Energy, LLC | Behind the Meter | 4 |
| City of Escondido - (CA) | Municipal | 1 |
| Kings River Conservation Dist | Political Subdivision | 1 |
| Plumas-Sierra Rural Elec Coop | Cooperative | — |
| Ava Community Energy | Not stated | — |
| Colorado River Indian Irr Proj | Federal | — |
| City of Ukiah - (CA) | Municipal | — |
| Marin Clean Energy | Not stated | — |
| Port of Stockton - (CA) | Municipal | — |
| Port of Oakland | Municipal | — |
| Sonoma Clean Power Authority | Not stated | — |
| CleanPowerSF | Not stated | — |
| BP Energy Retail LLC | Not stated | — |
| City of Banning - (CA) | Municipal | — |
| City of Biggs - (CA) | Municipal | — |
| City of Needles - (CA) | Municipal | — |
The biggest California utilities against the U.S.
- Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (investor owned, 35% of California customers in the file): SAIDI without major events 276 min, 146 above the U.S. 129; with major events 509 min against 662.
- Southern California Edison Co (investor owned, 32% of California customers in the file): SAIDI without major events 100 min, 29 below the U.S. 129; with major events 158 min against 662.
- San Diego Gas & Electric Co (investor owned, 9% of California customers in the file): SAIDI without major events 71 min, 58 below the U.S. 129; with major events 157 min against 662.
- Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (municipal, 9% of California customers in the file): SAIDI without major events 111 min, 18 below the U.S. 129; with major events 111 min against 662.
- Sacramento Municipal Util Dist (political subdivision, 4% of California customers in the file): reports on another method, SAIFI 1.43, not compared with the U.S. figure.
California by type of utility
Among California utilities that report under IEEE 1366, political subdivision utilities average 52 minutes without major events and investor owned utilities 178.
| Type | Utilities | Customers | SAIDI without | Median utility | SAIDI with |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Investor Owned | 6 | 12,761,302 | 178 | 148 | 321 |
| Municipal | 11 | 2,059,554 | 100 | 45 | 102 |
| Political Subdivision | 3 | 376,715 | 52 | 49 | 63 |
Next to California in the ranking
California report card
Smart meters: 98% of residential meters, 22 utilities (U.S. 92%). California time-based rates: 16 of 25 utilities, 24.4% of residential customers enrolled (U.S. 10.6%). California efficiency spend: $37.9 per customer (U.S. $124.2). Demand response: 34 W per customer (U.S. 77). California net-metered systems: 129.1 per 1,000 customers. Rankings.
Is your California utility better or worse than the California median?
- Loading.
More
- California against all states
- California utilities among the best and worst
- California utility reliability and price by company
- California major outage reports from the Department of Energy
- California electricity prices
- California help with your bill
28 California filings in EIA-861 2024 (retrieved 2026-10-01), 18 ranked utilities. Method and sources.
Questions
How many minutes without power did the average California customer have in 2024?
165 minutes without major events and 285 with them (22 IEEE 1366 utilities, customer-weighted).
Why do the two California numbers differ so much?
Major events add 121 of the 285 minutes (42%); Pacific Gas & Electric Co. supplies 68% of the with-events total.
Which California utility reported the fewest and the most minutes?
Among 18 utilities with 10,000+ customers: City of Azusa 11 minutes without major events, and Liberty Utilities 496.
Which California utilities use which method?
22 follow IEEE 1366, 6 use another method, 45 filed no reliability figures.