Sacramento, California Power Outage Today

How reliable is Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) service in Sacramento?

Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) is a public power district utility with 669,155 customers. In 2024 its customers averaged 1.43 interruptions and 228 minutes (about 3.8 hours) without power, so the average outage lasted about 2.7 hours.

About 81% of that time came on major event days, the severe-weather days that utilities report separately. On ordinary days the average falls to 44 minutes. A handful of severe-weather days, not everyday faults, set this utility’s year.

The typical outage was repaired in about 2.7 hours.

For comparison, California as a whole averaged 280 minutes and the United States 614 minutes. That puts Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) 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, Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) ranks 21st for the fewest outage minutes (1 is best). Nationally, 44% of the 926 utilities of that size reported more outage minutes in 2024.

This utility reports with its own method rather than the IEEE standard, so compare its numbers with other utilities loosely.

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 Sacramento

NOAA’s Storm Events Database lists 186 storm reports for Sacramento County from 2015 through 2026, most often flood (154), heavy rain (12), thunderstorm wind (6), and flash flood (5). The busiest full year was 2023 with 38 reports and the quietest was 2015 with 3, so the risk changes a lot from one year to the next.

Reports peak in January (49 since 2015), followed by February and December. 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 35 storm episodes in Sacramento 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 Sacramento 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.
• 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.

Storm reports that name Sacramento

Within Sacramento County, 60 NOAA storm reports since 2015 name Sacramento as their location or in their description: flood (46), heavy rain (6), flash flood (3), and thunderstorm wind (2). That is about 32% of the county’s reports. Reports naming Sacramento are most common in January. The busiest full year was 2017 with 14. These reports record 1 death and 1 injury in total.

Who a power outage hits hardest in Sacramento

55.1% of occupied homes in Sacramento are heated with piped natural gas, and 41.3% 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 14.2% of the population in Sacramento, below the US share of 17.2% and 12.9% 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 Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) whether it keeps a priority or medical-needs list, and register before the next storm rather than during it.

About the housing: 40.6% of the housing in Sacramento was built before 1970 (US 35.5%); 48.3% 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 Sacramento

The average Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) home used about 702 kWh a month in 2024 (US average 892 kWh), an average draw of 1.0 kW around the clock, and paid about 17.9 cents per kWh (29.0 in the state, 15.8 nationally), roughly $126 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 2.7 hours takes about 1.1 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 Sacramento

About 524,943 people live in Sacramento, the 6th largest of the 20 California cities on this site. Report the outage to the utility so a ticket exists for your address, then check Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD)’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.

Sacramento power outage map

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

Sacramento power outage questions