Indianapolis, Indiana Power Outage Today

How reliable is AES Indiana service in Indianapolis?

AES Indiana is an investor-owned utility with 525,000 customers. In 2024 its customers averaged 1.25 interruptions and 247 minutes (about 4.1 hours) without power, so the average outage lasted about 3.3 hours.

About 65% of that time came on major event days, the severe-weather days that utilities report separately. On ordinary days the average falls to 87 minutes. A handful of severe-weather days, not everyday faults, set this utility’s year.

The typical outage was repaired in about 3.3 hours.

For comparison, Indiana as a whole averaged 312 minutes and the United States 614 minutes. That puts AES Indiana below the state average, which is better.

Among the 37 utilities in Indiana with at least 5,000 customers that report to the federal government, AES Indiana ranks 22nd for the fewest outage minutes (1 is best). Nationally, 41% 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 Indianapolis

NOAA’s Storm Events Database lists 298 storm reports for Marion County from 2015 through 2026, most often thunderstorm wind (170), hail (75), flash flood (28), and flood (17). The busiest full year was 2016 with 53 reports and the quietest was 2022 with 8, so the risk changes a lot from one year to the next.

Reports peak in June (58 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 18 storm episodes in Marion 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 Indianapolis 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.
• 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 Indianapolis

Within Marion County, 67 NOAA storm reports since 2015 name Indianapolis as their location or in their description: thunderstorm wind (42), flood (9), flash flood (8), and hail (6). That is about 22% of the county’s reports. Reports naming Indianapolis are most common in July. The busiest full year was 2015 with 13. These reports record 1 death and 5 injuries in total.

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

• July 16, 2024 (thunderstorm wind): “Thunderstorm winds also downed multiple power lines in Indianapolis.” Source: NOAA Storm Events Database

Who a power outage hits hardest in Indianapolis

55.7% of occupied homes in Indianapolis are heated with piped natural gas, and 41.6% 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 13.1% of the population in Indianapolis, below the US share of 17.2% and 13.9% 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 AES Indiana whether it keeps a priority or medical-needs list, and register before the next storm rather than during it.

About the housing: 46.7% of the housing in Indianapolis 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.

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

Backup power and electricity use in Indianapolis

The average AES Indiana home used about 896 kWh a month in 2024 (US average 892 kWh), an average draw of 1.2 kW around the clock, and paid about 13.7 cents per kWh (14.8 in the state, 15.8 nationally), roughly $123 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 3.3 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 Indianapolis

About 887,642 people live in Indianapolis, the largest of the 5 Indiana cities on this site. Report the outage to the utility so a ticket exists for your address, then check AES Indiana’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.

Indianapolis power outage map

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

Indianapolis power outage questions