Fresno, California Power Outage Today

How reliable is Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) service in Fresno?

Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) is an investor-owned utility with 5,795,693 customers. In 2024 its customers averaged 2.15 interruptions and 509 minutes (about 8.5 hours) without power, so the average outage lasted about 3.9 hours.

Major event days, the severe-weather days that utilities report separately, made up about 46% of that time. Without them the average is 276 minutes, so weather matters here but ordinary equipment faults and tree contact account for most of the total.

The typical outage was repaired in about 3.9 hours.

For comparison, California as a whole averaged 280 minutes and the United States 614 minutes. That puts Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) above the state average.

Among the 24 utilities in California with at least 5,000 customers that report to the federal government, Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) ranks 22nd for the fewest outage minutes (1 is best). Nationally, 21% 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 Fresno

NOAA’s Storm Events Database lists 405 storm reports for Fresno County from 2015 through 2025, most often flood (252), debris flow (40), heavy rain (36), and thunderstorm wind (34). The busiest full year was 2023 with 175 reports and the quietest was 2015 with 1, so the risk changes a lot from one year to the next.

Reports peak in January (123 since 2015), followed by March and February. 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 6 storm episodes in Fresno County since 2015, most often in January. 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 Fresno 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.
• Funnel cloud. Funnel clouds are a warning sign for the wind damage that usually follows.

Storm reports that name Fresno

Within Fresno County, 63 NOAA storm reports since 2015 name Fresno as their location or in their description: flood (39), heavy rain (11), flash flood (8), and funnel cloud (2). That is about 16% of the county’s reports. Reports naming Fresno are most common in January. The busiest full year was 2023 with 23. These reports record 5 deaths in total.

In NOAA’s own words, storms that left Fresno without power:

• March 21, 2023 (thunderstorm wind): “Several reported trees and power lines were downed in Fresno during the early afternoon of March 21.” Source: NOAA Storm Events Database
• April 13, 2017 (heavy rain): “In addition, nearly 2200 customers in Fresno lost power during the thunderstorm.” Source: NOAA Storm Events Database

Who a power outage hits hardest in Fresno

54.2% of occupied homes in Fresno are heated with piped natural gas, and 39.6% 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 12.4% of the population in Fresno, below the US share of 17.2% and 14.4% 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 Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) whether it keeps a priority or medical-needs list, and register before the next storm rather than during it.

About the housing: 32.1% of the housing in Fresno was built before 1970 (US 35.5%); 49.9% 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.

Median household income in Fresno is $70,991, below the California figure of $99,122. For many households, replacing a freezer of spoiled food or paying for a hotel during a long outage is a real hardship; dialing 211 connects to local shelters, warming or cooling centers and utility assistance programs.

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

Backup power and electricity use in Fresno

The average Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) home used about 500 kWh a month in 2024 (US average 892 kWh), an average draw of 0.7 kW around the clock, and paid about 39.6 cents per kWh (29.0 in the state, 15.8 nationally), roughly $198 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 about 3.9 hours takes about 1.6 kWh. A portable power station in the 1 to 3 kWh range covers part of that, and a small inverter generator covers all of it.

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 Fresno

About 542,107 people live in Fresno, the 5th largest of the 20 California cities on this site. Report the outage to the utility so a ticket exists for your address, then check Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E)’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.

Fresno power outage map

Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E)’s outage map has the official restoration estimate for your address; the count above comes from residents. Food and generator safety: power outage guide.

Fresno power outage questions