How Affordable and Reliable is Your Power?

How much does your power cost?

The cost of electricity to power your home varies from state to state. Your state regulators determine the rates you pay as a consumer.  Between each state and region are interconnected high-voltage transmission lines that are overseen by FERC.

FERC has a hand in ensuring that electricity is available at the right place and the right time for a reasonable cost, except in Texas, Hawaii, and Alaska.

Data shown is from October & November 2024. The cost ranged from 4.95 cents per kilowatt to 45.59 cents per kilowatt.

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How reliable is your power?

The reliability of the power system is critical to the lives of all Americans.  The system is constantly challenged by factors that could cause major problems. As an electric consumer, you may be familiar with periodic disruption to your home’s electric service or a “power outage.” This may occur when a tree limb falls on a distribution line during a storm or when lightning strikes a substation. This type of event involves local distribution lines owned and controlled by your utility, which are often connected to the standard wooden utility pole. These lines are overseen by your state public utility commission. FERC’s reliability jurisdiction is primarily over what is known as the “bulk power system.” The bulk power system includes the infrastructure network necessary for operating and maintaining grid reliability. 

System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI)

SAIDI measures the amount of time the average customer is out of power during the year.  SAIDI is calculated by dividing the sum of all customer interruption minutes within the year by the number of customers served during the year.  For example, a SAIDI of 100 means that the average customer on the utility’s distribution system experiences a total of 100 minutes of outage in that particular year.  When it comes to these calculations, lower numbers are better.

SAIDI Values of U.S. Distribution System by State  | 2022 - 2023

When it comes to these calculations, lower numbers are better.

System Average Interruption Frequency Index (SAIFI)

SAIFI measures the average number of times a customer is out of power during the year.  SAIFI is calculated by dividing the total number of customer interruptions by the total number of customers. For example, a SAIFI of 0.01 means that the average customer on the utility’s distribution system experiences 0.01 interruptions per year.

SAIFI Values of U.S. Distribution System by State | 2022 - 2023

When it comes to these calculations, lower numbers are better.

These statistics mostly measure local distribution reliability instead of outages due to bulk power system impacts.