Washington power outages by utility

20 Washington utilities report outage minutes to EIA. The state median is 146 minutes a year; the range runs from 40 to 605.

Ranking by outage minutes

Washington, SAIDI without major event days, 2024; lower is better; 20 utilities.

Rank	Washington utility	Owner type	Washington home accounts	SAIDI min	Interruptions (SAIFI)	SAIDI with storms	Washington storm share	Price ¢/kWh
1	PUD No 1 of Benton County	Political Subdivision	50,072	40	0.40	53	25%	8.81
2	City of Centralia	Municipal	9,068	56	0.34	180	69%	9.88
3	PUD No 1 of Clark County	Political Subdivision	219,477	59	1.13	145	59%	10.41
4	City of Tacoma	Municipal	180,357	80	0.55	171	53%	10.81
5	City of Richland	Municipal	25,687	94	0.73	94	0%	9.82
6	PUD No 1 of Chelan County	Political Subdivision	42,120	95	0.74	174	45%	3.67
7	City of Seattle	Municipal	459,964	111	0.76	324	66%	14.09
8	Avista Corp	Investor Owned	246,055	112	0.82	152	26%	11.87
9	PUD No 1 of Cowlitz County	Political Subdivision	48,267	126	1.00	263	52%	8.80
10	Peninsula Light Company	Cooperative	35,478	136	1.42	652	79%	10.50
11	Benton Rural Electric Assn	Cooperative	13,422	156	1.09	1887	92%	9.27
12	PUD No 1 of Snohomish County	Political Subdivision	346,532	181	1.56	621	71%	11.51
13	Big Bend Electric Coop, Inc	Cooperative	5,841	192	0.79	248	23%	9.10
14	PUD No 1 of Grays Harbor County	Political Subdivision	39,881	202	1.00	471	57%	12.52
15	Puget Sound Energy Inc	Investor Owned	1,091,599	203	1.20	1196	83%	14.63
16	Orcas Power & Light Coop	Cooperative	13,948	212	1.86	252	16%	18.38
17	Columbia Rural Elec Assn, Inc	Cooperative	4,339	214	1.96	258	17%	14.15
18	Inland Power & Light Company	Cooperative	41,684	278	1.09	386	28%	8.98
19	PUD No 1 of Jefferson County	Political Subdivision	18,661	424	2.71	522	19%	13.01
20	PUD No 1 of Lewis County	Political Subdivision	29,417	605	3.30	722	16%	9.48

Washington outage minutes by owner type

In Washington, 87% of 3,368,978 home accounts sit with the 20 qualifying utilities out of 37 in the file. Washington customer-weighted SAIDI is 158 minutes against a median of 146, and 14 of 20 Washington utilities exceed the U.S. median of 99. Counting major event days adds a median 49% to SAIDI.

Washington owner type	Washington utilities	Washington home accounts	Washington median SAIDI	Washington weighted SAIDI	Washington median SAIFI	Washington storm share	Washington median price ¢/kWh
Investor Owned	2	1,337,654	158	186	1.01	55%	13.25
Political Subdivision	8	794,427	153	153	1.07	49%	9.95
Municipal	4	675,076	87	101	0.64	59%	10.35
Cooperative	6	114,712	202	205	1.26	25%	9.89

By owner type, Municipal utilities have the lowest median SAIDI in Washington (87 minutes, 4 of 20) and Cooperative the highest (202 minutes, 6 of 20).

Washington utilities that stand out

Why it stands out	Washington utility	Washington owner type	Washington accounts	Washington SAIDI min	Washington SAIDI rank	Washington SAIFI	Washington SAIDI with storms	Washington price ¢/kWh	Washington price rank
the most reliable	PUD No 1 of Benton County	Political Subdivision	50,072	40	1 of 20	0.40	53	8.81	3 of 20
the least reliable	PUD No 1 of Lewis County	Political Subdivision	29,417	605	20 of 20	3.30	722	9.48	7 of 20
the largest	Puget Sound Energy Inc	Investor Owned	1,091,599	203	15 of 20	1.20	1,196	14.63	19 of 20
the most storm-driven	Benton Rural Electric Assn	Cooperative	13,422	156	11 of 20	1.09	1,887	9.27	6 of 20
the most improved	Big Bend Electric Coop, Inc	Cooperative	5,841	192	13 of 20	0.79	248	9.10	5 of 20
the one that slipped most	Orcas Power & Light Coop	Cooperative	13,948	212	16 of 20	1.86	252	18.38	20 of 20
the cheapest	PUD No 1 of Chelan County	Political Subdivision	42,120	95	6 of 20	0.74	174	3.67	1 of 20

Does a higher price buy fewer outages?

Each dot is one of 20 Washington utilities.

Washington, 2024: first 8 of 20 rows

	Home price, cents per kWh	SAIDI, minutes a year
PUD No 1 of Benton County	8.81	40
City of Centralia	9.88	56
PUD No 1 of Clark County	10.41	59
City of Tacoma	10.81	80
City of Richland	9.82	94
PUD No 1 of Chelan County	3.67	95
City of Seattle	14.09	111
Avista Corp	11.87	112

20 rows from EIA-861 survey.

CSV

Washington utilities, change in their own SAIDI

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

Rank	Washington utility	Washington years	Washington SAIDI first	Washington SAIDI last	Washington change
1	Big Bend Electric Coop, Inc	2022 to 2024	354	192	-46%
2	Avista Corp	2016 to 2024	127	112	-12%
3	PUD No 1 of Benton County	2015 to 2025	36	36	-1%
4	Puget Sound Energy Inc	2015 to 2025	161	178	+11%
5	Inland Power & Light Company	2015 to 2025	255	283	+11%
6	Columbia Rural Elec Assn, Inc	2018 to 2024	157	214	+36%
7	City of Richland	2016 to 2025	28	39	+37%
8	PUD No 1 of Lewis County	2015 to 2025	262	400	+53%
9	PUD No 1 of Cowlitz County	2019 to 2025	74	116	+56%
10	Peninsula Light Company	2015 to 2025	58	98	+68%
11	PUD No 1 of Clark County	2015 to 2025	27	51	+90%
12	City of Centralia	2015 to 2025	50	95	+92%
13	PUD No 1 of Snohomish County	2019 to 2024	91	181	+99%
14	City of Seattle	2015 to 2025	62	129	+107%
15	PUD No 1 of Grays Harbor County	2018 to 2025	141	338	+140%
16	PUD No 1 of Jefferson County	2015 to 2024	68	424	+521%
17	City of Tacoma	2018 to 2025	56	471	+734%
18	Orcas Power & Light Coop	2015 to 2025	14	323	+2146%

Analyst note

The worst Washington record, 605 minutes, ranks 7 of 40 among state worst cases. Of 20 Washington utilities with 1,000+ home accounts that report SAIDI, PUD No 1 of Benton County is lowest at 40 minutes a year and PUD No 1 of Lewis County highest at 605, a 15.3 to 1 spread. The state median is 146 minutes, +47% against the U.S. median reporter. Over each utility's own record, Big Bend Electric Coop, Inc improved most (354 to 192 minutes, -46%, 2022 to 2024) and Orcas Power & Light Coop changed the other way (14 to 323, +2146%); 3 of 18 fell. Home price and outage minutes line up at r = +0.16 across 20 Washington utilities: price tells almost nothing here. That is Washington's pattern, not a cause.

Questions on Washington outages

How bad is the worst Washington utility?

PUD No 1 of Lewis County reports 605 minutes, rank 7 of 40 among state worst cases.

Which Washington utility has the fewest outage minutes?

PUD No 1 of Benton County: 40 minutes a year, SAIDI without major events, 2024.

Which Washington utility has the most?

PUD No 1 of Lewis County: 605 minutes a year in 2024.

What is the typical SAIDI in Washington?

The median of 20 reporting utilities is 146 minutes, +47% on the U.S. median reporter.

Do cheaper Washington utilities have more outages?

Across 20 utilities r = +0.16, so the link is weak.

How much of Washington outage time comes from storms?

At Benton Rural Electric Assn 92% of all-event SAIDI is major event days.

How reliable is the largest Washington utility?

Puget Sound Energy Inc serves 1,091,599 home accounts and reports 203 minutes, rank 15 of 20; weighted by customers the state figure is 158.

Do Washington co-ops and investor-owned utilities differ?

4 owner types report in Washington: Political Subdivision 8 utilities with 794,427 home accounts, Municipal 4 utilities with 675,076 home accounts, Investor Owned 2 utilities with 1,337,654 home accounts, Cooperative 6 utilities with 114,712 home accounts.

What share of Washington home accounts do these utilities serve?

87% of 3,368,978 accounts, 20 of 37 utilities; 14 are above the U.S. median of 99 minutes.