Cambridge, Massachusetts Power Outage Today

How reliable is Eversource service in Cambridge?

Eversource is an investor-owned utility with 1,462,127 customers. In 2024 its customers averaged 0.69 interruptions and 81 minutes (81 minutes) without power, so the average outage lasted 116 minutes.

Little of that came from major storms (about 18%). Without major event days the average is still 66 minutes, so the figure mostly reflects everyday faults: failed equipment, tree limbs, animals and vehicles hitting poles.

Outages are infrequent, fewer than one per customer a year, and each was fixed in 116 minutes on average.

For comparison, Massachusetts as a whole averaged 102 minutes and the United States 614 minutes. That puts Eversource below the state average, which is better.

Among the 18 utilities in Massachusetts with at least 5,000 customers that report to the federal government, Eversource ranks 14th for the fewest outage minutes (1 is best). Nationally, 74% 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 Cambridge

NOAA’s Storm Events Database lists 530 storm reports for Middlesex County from 2015 through 2026, most often thunderstorm wind (325), flood (107), hail (49), and flash flood (32). The busiest full year was 2020 with 72 reports and the quietest was 2024 with 24, so the risk changes a lot from one year to the next.

Reports peak in July (142 since 2015), followed by August and June. 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 9 storm episodes in Middlesex 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 Cambridge 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.
• 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 Cambridge

Within Middlesex County, 26 NOAA storm reports since 2015 name Cambridge as their location or in their description: thunderstorm wind (15), flood (6), flash flood (4), and tornado (1). That is about 5% of the county’s reports, so most of the county’s weather history happened elsewhere. Reports naming Cambridge are most common in June. The busiest full year was 2017 with 9.

Who a power outage hits hardest in Cambridge

63.6% of occupied homes in Cambridge are heated with piped natural gas, and 27.8% 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 12.2% of the population in Cambridge, below the US share of 17.2% and 7.5% 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 Eversource whether it keeps a priority or medical-needs list, and register before the next storm rather than during it.

About the housing: 58.6% of the housing in Cambridge 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; 36.5% 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; 66.5% 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 Cambridge is $130,748, above the Massachusetts figure of $103,960, and home generators and batteries are correspondingly more common. If a neighbor runs one, keep the exhaust away from every window and door, including yours.

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

Backup power and electricity use in Cambridge

The average Eversource home used about 458 kWh a month in 2024 (US average 892 kWh), an average draw of 0.6 kW around the clock, and paid about 29.9 cents per kWh (26.3 in the state, 15.8 nationally), roughly $137 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 116 minutes takes less than 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 Cambridge

About 118,403 people live in Cambridge, the 4th largest of the 5 Massachusetts cities on this site. Report the outage to the utility so a ticket exists for your address, then check Eversource’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.

Cambridge power outage map

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

Cambridge power outage questions