Lowell, Massachusetts Power Outage Today

How reliable is National Grid service in Lowell?

National Grid is an investor-owned utility with 1,345,044 customers. In 2024 its customers averaged 1 interruptions and 134 minutes (about 2.2 hours) without power, so the average outage lasted about 2.2 hours.

Major event days, the severe-weather days that utilities report separately, made up about 32% of that time. Without them the average is 91 minutes, so weather matters here but ordinary equipment faults and tree contact account for most of the total.

The typical outage was repaired in about 2.2 hours.

For comparison, Massachusetts as a whole averaged 102 minutes and the United States 614 minutes. That puts National Grid above the state average.

Among the 18 utilities in Massachusetts with at least 5,000 customers that report to the federal government, National Grid ranks 16th 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 Lowell

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 Lowell 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 Lowell

Within Middlesex County, 26 NOAA storm reports since 2015 name Lowell as their location or in their description: thunderstorm wind (15), flood (8), flash flood (2), and hail (1). That is about 5% of the county’s reports, so most of the county’s weather history happened elsewhere. Reports naming Lowell are most common in July. The busiest full year was 2023 with 7.

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

• July 20, 2025 (thunderstorm wind): “In Lowell, a tree and multiple power lines were down.” Source: NOAA Storm Events Database
• July 23, 2016 (thunderstorm wind): “Trees and power lines on Lowell Road were downed by thunderstorm winds.” Source: NOAA Storm Events Database

Who a power outage hits hardest in Lowell

67.1% of occupied homes in Lowell are heated with piped natural gas, and 24.3% 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 12.6% of the population in Lowell, below the US share of 17.2% and 15.2% 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 National Grid whether it keeps a priority or medical-needs list, and register before the next storm rather than during it.

About the housing: 64.2% of the housing in Lowell 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; 18.5% 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; 56.8% 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 Lowell is $78,658, below the Massachusetts figure of $103,960. 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 Lowell

The average National Grid home used about 492 kWh a month in 2024 (US average 892 kWh), an average draw of 0.7 kW around the clock, and paid about 33.6 cents per kWh (26.3 in the state, 15.8 nationally), roughly $165 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 2.2 hours 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 Lowell

About 110,997 people live in Lowell, the 5th largest of the 5 Massachusetts cities on this site. Report the outage to the utility so a ticket exists for your address, then check National Grid’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.

Lowell power outage map

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

Lowell power outage questions