Wilmington, Delaware Power Outage Today

How reliable is Delmarva Power service in Wilmington?

Delmarva Power is an investor-owned utility with 337,507 customers. In 2024 its customers averaged 0.77 interruptions and 127 minutes (about 2.1 hours) without power, so the average outage lasted about 2.8 hours.

Major event days, the severe-weather days that utilities report separately, made up about 46% of that time. Without them the average is 68 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 about 2.8 hours on average.

For comparison, Delaware as a whole averaged 116 minutes and the United States 614 minutes. That is close to the state average.

Among the 4 utilities in Delaware with at least 5,000 customers that report to the federal government, Delmarva Power ranks 4th for the fewest outage minutes (1 is best). Nationally, 63% 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 Wilmington

NOAA’s Storm Events Database lists 388 storm reports for New Castle County from 2015 through 2026, most often thunderstorm wind (234), flash flood (72), flood (23), and hail (20). The busiest full year was 2020 with 68 reports and the quietest was 2018 with 9, so the risk changes a lot from one year to the next.

Reports peak in June (112 since 2015), followed by July and August. 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 26 storm episodes in New Castle County since 2015, most often in February. 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 Wilmington 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.
• Flash 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.
• Hail. Hail rarely cuts power by itself, but it often arrives with the wind and lightning that do, and it breaks solar panels, windshields and exposed utility equipment.

Storm reports that name Wilmington

Within New Castle County, 44 NOAA storm reports since 2015 name Wilmington as their location or in their description: thunderstorm wind (23), flash flood (10), flood (5), and hail (3). That is about 11% of the county’s reports. Reports naming Wilmington are most common in June. The busiest full year was 2020 with 8. These reports record 1 death and 3 injuries in total.

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

• August 7, 2020 (thunderstorm wind): “Tree down onto power lines at Wilmington Washington Street Extension and Hanover Road in north Wilmington.” Source: NOAA Storm Events Database

Who a power outage hits hardest in Wilmington

54.5% of occupied homes in Wilmington are heated with piped natural gas, and 37.8% 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 15.5% of the population in Wilmington, close to the US share of 17.2% and 16% 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 Delmarva Power whether it keeps a priority or medical-needs list, and register before the next storm rather than during it.

About the housing: 72.1% of the housing in Wilmington was built before 1970 (US 35.5%), and older neighborhoods often have overhead service lines and mature trees close to the wires, which makes them more exposed to storm outages; 19.6% 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; 52% 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 Wilmington is $58,671, below the Delaware figure of $84,954. 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 Wilmington

The average Delmarva Power home used about 884 kWh a month in 2024 (US average 892 kWh), an average draw of 1.2 kW around the clock, and paid about 17.2 cents per kWh (16.3 in the state, 15.8 nationally), roughly $152 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 2.8 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 Wilmington

About 70,851 people live in Wilmington, the largest of the 3 Delaware cities on this site. Report the outage to the utility so a ticket exists for your address, then check Delmarva Power’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.

Wilmington power outage map

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

Wilmington power outage questions