Modesto, California Power Outage Today

How reliable is Modesto Irrigation District (MID) service in Modesto?

Modesto Irrigation District (MID) is a public power district utility with 120,484 customers. In 2024 its customers averaged 0.61 interruptions and 58 minutes (58 minutes) without power, so the average outage lasted 96 minutes.

Major event days, the severe-weather days that utilities report separately, made up about 26% of that time. Without them the average is 43 minutes, so weather matters here but ordinary equipment faults and tree contact account for most of the total.

Outages are infrequent, fewer than one per customer a year, and each was fixed in 96 minutes on average.

For comparison, California as a whole averaged 280 minutes and the United States 614 minutes. That puts Modesto Irrigation District (MID) 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, Modesto Irrigation District (MID) ranks 10th for the fewest outage minutes (1 is best). Nationally, 82% 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 Modesto

NOAA’s Storm Events Database lists 40 storm reports for Stanislaus County from 2015 through 2026, most often flood (17), thunderstorm wind (7), funnel cloud (7), and tornado (4). The busiest full year was 2023 with 9 reports and the quietest was 2018 with 1, so the risk changes a lot from one year to the next.

Reports peak in December (11 since 2015), followed by January and March. 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 9 storm episodes in Stanislaus 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 Modesto do to the grid:

• Thunderstorm wind. Straight-line wind pushes trees and limbs into distribution lines. These outages are usually local, a street or a neighborhood at a time, and crews clear them circuit by circuit.
• 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.
• Tornado. A tornado destroys poles and lines along its path. Repairs there mean rebuilding rather than reconnecting, so restoration takes days instead of hours.

Storm reports that name Modesto

Within Stanislaus County, 11 NOAA storm reports since 2015 name Modesto as their location or in their description: thunderstorm wind (5), flood (4), tornado (1), and funnel cloud (1). That is about 28% of the county’s reports.

Who a power outage hits hardest in Modesto

66.5% of occupied homes in Modesto are heated with piped natural gas, and 30.2% 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 14.4% of the population in Modesto, close to the US share of 17.2% and 13.4% 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 Modesto Irrigation District (MID) whether it keeps a priority or medical-needs list, and register before the next storm rather than during it.

About the housing: 31.9% of the housing in Modesto was built before 1970 (US 35.5%).

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

Backup power and electricity use in Modesto

The average Modesto Irrigation District (MID) home used about 808 kWh a month in 2024 (US average 892 kWh), an average draw of 1.1 kW around the clock, and paid about 21.8 cents per kWh (29.0 in the state, 15.8 nationally), roughly $176 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 96 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 Modesto

About 218,464 people live in Modesto, the 17th largest of the 20 California cities on this site. Report the outage to the utility so a ticket exists for your address, then check Modesto Irrigation District (MID)’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.

Modesto power outage map

Modesto Irrigation District (MID)’s outage map has the official restoration estimate for your address; the count above comes from residents. Food and generator safety: power outage guide.

Modesto power outage questions