North Carolina power outages in 2024
North Carolina customers averaged 1,518.1 minutes (25 h 18 min) without power in 2024, rank 4 of 51 and above the 297-minute median. Major event days made up 91% of those minutes.
- All events
- 1,518.1 min
- Excl. major event days
- 143.9 min
- Outages per customer
- 1.83
- Customers counted
- 5,279,816
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
36 utilities reported IEEE-standard reliability data in North Carolina for 2024. The five largest by customers:
| Utility | Type | Customers | Outage min, all events | Excl. major events |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC | Investor-owned | 2,211,457 | 1,626.0 | 168.0 |
| Duke Energy Progress - (NC) | Investor-owned | 1,616,285 | 1,803.1 | 141.3 |
| EnergyUnited Elec Member Corp | Co-op | 132,720 | 424.3 | 123.8 |
| Brunswick Electric Member Corp | Co-op | 112,592 | 44.5 | 31.2 |
| Jones-Onslow Elec Member Corp | Co-op | 87,495 | 124.7 | 45.5 |
Trend since 2013
Highest year: 2018 (1,878 min). Lowest: 2021 (215 min). Outage minutes swing widely from year to year because big storms dominate the total.
| Year | Avg outage minutes (all events) |
|---|---|
| 2013 | 240.4 |
| 2014 | 519.0 |
| 2015 | 220.8 |
| 2016 | 857.5 |
| 2017 | 282.2 |
| 2018 | 1,877.6 |
| 2019 | 287.5 |
| 2020 | 437.4 |
| 2021 | 215.2 |
| 2022 | 486.0 |
| 2023 | 262.5 |
| 2024 | 1,518.1 |
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, 1,374.2 of North Carolina's 1,518.1 outage minutes (91%) fell on major event days, the large storm-driven outages that utilities report separately. On a normal day, customers averaged 143.9 minutes for the year.
State and utility incentives
- Duke Energy PowerPair offers eligible Duke customers in North Carolina a one-time incentive of up to $9,000 for installing solar plus a battery together, installed by a Duke Energy Trade Ally. Capacity is limited and first-come, first-served, incentives are not guaranteed, and you must apply within 90 days of your system's operational date. Duke does not publish an end date. Source: Duke Energy, PowerPair for Trade Allies, accessed October 23, 2026.
- Program overview and application. Source: Duke Energy, PowerPair, accessed October 23, 2026.
Programs change. Confirm terms with the program before you buy.