Baltimore, Maryland Power Outage Today

How reliable is BGE service in Baltimore?

BGE is an investor-owned utility with 1,341,009 customers. In 2024 its customers averaged 0.8 interruptions and 133 minutes (about 2.2 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 50% of that time. Without them the average is 67 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, Maryland as a whole averaged 118 minutes and the United States 614 minutes. That is close to the state average.

Among the 7 utilities in Maryland with at least 5,000 customers that report to the federal government, BGE ranks 4th for the fewest outage minutes (1 is best). Nationally, 61% 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 Baltimore

NOAA’s Storm Events Database lists 65 storm reports for Baltimore from 2015 through 2025, most often thunderstorm wind (34), flash flood (14), flood (6), and hail (6). The busiest full year was 2021 with 13 reports and the quietest was 2015 with 1, so the risk changes a lot from one year to the next.

Reports peak in July (21 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 narratives for Baltimore do not name a power outage in any storm since 2015. That does not mean none occurred; the database records an outage only when a spotter or agency mentions it, so utility reliability figures are the better measure.

What the most common storm types in Baltimore 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 Baltimore

Within Baltimore, 29 NOAA storm reports since 2015 name Baltimore as their location or in their description: thunderstorm wind (14), flash flood (6), tornado (4), and hail (4). That is about 45% of the county’s reports, so Baltimore accounts for much of the county’s storm history. Reports naming Baltimore are most common in July. The busiest full year was 2021 with 8. These reports record 2 deaths in total.

Who a power outage hits hardest in Baltimore

62.1% of occupied homes in Baltimore are heated with piped natural gas, and 31.1% 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 15.3% of the population in Baltimore, close to the US share of 17.2% and 16.5% 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 BGE whether it keeps a priority or medical-needs list, and register before the next storm rather than during it.

About the housing: 75.8% of the housing in Baltimore 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; 15% 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; 52.5% 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 Baltimore is $62,177, below the Maryland figure of $103,678. 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 Baltimore

The average BGE home used about 869 kWh a month in 2024 (US average 892 kWh), an average draw of 1.2 kW around the clock, and paid about 17.9 cents per kWh (17.5 in the state, 15.8 nationally), roughly $156 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 Baltimore

About 575,584 people live in Baltimore, the largest of the 5 Maryland cities on this site. Report the outage to the utility so a ticket exists for your address, then check BGE’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.

Baltimore power outage map

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

Baltimore power outage questions