Anaheim, California Power Outage Today

How reliable is Anaheim Public Utilities service in Anaheim?

Anaheim Public Utilities is a city-owned utility with 117,000 customers. In 2024 its customers averaged 0.63 interruptions and 46 minutes (46 minutes) without power, so the average outage lasted 74 minutes.

Little of that came from major storms (about 0%). Without major event days the average is still 46 minutes, so the figure mostly reflects everyday faults: failed equipment, tree limbs, animals and vehicles hitting poles.

Outages are infrequent, fewer than one per customer a year, and each was fixed in 74 minutes on average.

For comparison, California as a whole averaged 280 minutes and the United States 614 minutes. That puts Anaheim Public Utilities below the state average, which is better.

Among the 24 utilities in California with at least 5,000 customers that report to the federal government, Anaheim Public Utilities ranks 7th for the fewest outage minutes (1 is best). Nationally, 85% of the 926 utilities of that size reported more outage minutes in 2024.

These are the figures the utility itself reported to the US Energy Information Administration (Form EIA-861, 2024) and describe the whole service territory, not one street. Your own address can be better or worse.

Storm season and outages in Anaheim

NOAA’s Storm Events Database lists 150 storm reports for Orange County from 2015 through 2026, most often flood (52), heavy rain (43), flash flood (27), and thunderstorm wind (11). The busiest full year was 2025 with 28 reports and the quietest was 2015 with 7, so the risk changes a lot from one year to the next.

Reports peak in February (33 since 2015), followed by March and January. October is outside those three months, so an outage now is less likely to be weather-related.

NOAA’s own narratives name power outages in 4 storm episodes in Orange County since 2015, most often in March. That count is a floor, since the database records outages only when a spotter or agency mentions them.

What the most common storm types in Anaheim do to the grid:

• Flood. Floodwater reaches ground-level transformers, meters and low-lying substations. Utilities may shut power off ahead of the water on purpose, and wading near flooded equipment can electrocute.
• Heavy rain. Saturated ground topples shallow-rooted trees onto lines, and standing water slows crews trying to reach the damage.

Storm reports that name Anaheim

Within Orange County, 4 NOAA storm reports since 2015 name Anaheim as their location or in their description: flood (2), flash flood (1), and heavy rain (1). That is about 3% of the county’s reports, so most of the county’s weather history happened elsewhere.

Who a power outage hits hardest in Anaheim

68.1% of occupied homes in Anaheim are heated with piped natural gas, and 25.2% with electricity (US 41.3% electric). A gas furnace still needs electricity for its blower and ignition, so a long winter outage leaves these homes cold too, though a gas supply stays on when the grid fails. Never heat a home with an oven, grill or camp stove indoors.

Residents aged 65 or older are 13% of the population in Anaheim, below the US share of 17.2% and 10.2% report a disability (US 13.3%). These are the households most likely to depend on powered medical equipment such as oxygen concentrators, CPAP machines and refrigerated medicine. If someone in your home does, ask Anaheim Public Utilities whether it keeps a priority or medical-needs list, and register before the next storm rather than during it.

About the housing: 42% of the housing in Anaheim was built before 1970 (US 35.5%); 23.5% of homes are in buildings with 20 or more units (US 10.3%), where an outage also stops elevators and water pumps, which matters for upper floors and anyone who cannot use stairs; 53.8% of households rent (US 34.8%), so many residents depend on a landlord to restore building systems and cannot add a generator or battery themselves.

Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 (housing, heating fuel, age and disability tables).

Backup power and electricity use in Anaheim

The average Anaheim Public Utilities home used about 467 kWh a month in 2024 (US average 892 kWh), an average draw of 0.6 kW around the clock, and paid about 17.1 cents per kWh (29.0 in the state, 15.8 nationally), roughly $80 a month.

Keeping only the essentials on (a refrigerator, router, a few lights and phone chargers, about 400 watts) through an outage that lasts the average 74 minutes takes less than 1 kWh. A portable power station or a power bank covers that; a generator is more than most households here need for a typical outage.

A generator must never run indoors, in a garage or near a window; generator and food-safety rules are in the power outage guide linked below.

If the power is out in Anaheim

About 346,824 people live in Anaheim, the 10th largest of the 20 California cities on this site. Report the outage to the utility so a ticket exists for your address, then check Anaheim Public Utilities’s outage map for an estimate. If neighbors have power and you do not, report it again: the fault may be on the line to your house alone, which is a separate repair.

Anaheim power outage map

Anaheim Public Utilities’s outage map has the official restoration estimate for your address; the count above comes from residents. Food and generator safety: power outage guide.

Anaheim power outage questions