Chicago, Illinois Power Outage Today

How reliable is ComEd service in Chicago?

ComEd is an investor-owned utility with 4,229,904 customers. In 2024 its customers averaged 0.68 interruptions and 132 minutes (about 2.2 hours) without power, so the average outage lasted about 3.2 hours.

About 73% of that time came on major event days, the severe-weather days that utilities report separately. On ordinary days the average falls to 36 minutes. A handful of severe-weather days, not everyday faults, set this utility’s year.

Outages are infrequent, fewer than one per customer a year, and each was fixed in about 3.2 hours on average.

For comparison, Illinois as a whole averaged 157 minutes and the United States 614 minutes. That puts ComEd below the state average, which is better.

Among the 19 utilities in Illinois with at least 5,000 customers that report to the federal government, ComEd ranks 10th for the fewest outage minutes (1 is best). Nationally, 62% 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 Chicago

NOAA’s Storm Events Database lists 1,312 storm reports for Cook County from 2015 through 2026, most often thunderstorm wind (775), hail (202), flood (141), and flash flood (95). The busiest full year was 2024 with 177 reports and the quietest was 2016 with 27, so the risk changes a lot from one year to the next.

Reports peak in July (323 since 2015), followed by June 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 10 storm episodes in Cook 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 Chicago 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.
• 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 Chicago

Within Cook County, 193 NOAA storm reports since 2015 name Chicago as their location or in their description: thunderstorm wind (109), flash flood (38), flood (23), and tornado (9). That is about 15% of the county’s reports. Reports naming Chicago are most common in August. The busiest full year was 2022 with 44. These reports record 8 injuries in total.

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

• June 25, 2024 (thunderstorm wind): “Numerous large tree limbs near 6 inches in diameter were down and power lines were damaged in the Big Oaks neighborhood of Chicago.” Source: NOAA Storm Events Database
• July 14, 2023 (thunderstorm wind): “Power lines were down near Maplewood Ave and Belden Ave in the Bucktown neighborhood of Chicago.” Source: NOAA Storm Events Database
• July 4, 2022 (thunderstorm wind): “Numerous tree limbs and power lines were blown down in many areas across northwest Chicago including in the Edison Park, Jefferson Park and Albany Park neighborhoods.” Source: NOAA Storm Events Database

Who a power outage hits hardest in Chicago

77.5% of occupied homes in Chicago are heated with piped natural gas, and 18% 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 13.8% of the population in Chicago, below the US share of 17.2% and 12.1% 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 ComEd whether it keeps a priority or medical-needs list, and register before the next storm rather than during it.

About the housing: 67.5% of the housing in Chicago 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; 27% 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; 54% 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 Chicago

The average ComEd home used about 583 kWh a month in 2024 (US average 892 kWh), an average draw of 0.8 kW around the clock, and paid about 15.2 cents per kWh (15.1 in the state, 15.8 nationally), roughly $89 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 3.2 hours takes about 1.3 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 Chicago

About 2,693,976 people live in Chicago, the largest of the 10 Illinois cities on this site. Report the outage to the utility so a ticket exists for your address, then check ComEd’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.

Chicago power outage map

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

Chicago power outage questions