Billings, Montana Power Outage Today

How reliable is NorthWestern Energy service in Billings?

NorthWestern Energy is an investor-owned utility with 376,392 customers. In 2024 its customers averaged 1.3 interruptions and 233 minutes (about 3.9 hours) without power, so the average outage lasted about 3 hours.

Major event days, the severe-weather days that utilities report separately, made up about 49% of that time. Without them the average is 118 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 3 hours.

For comparison, Montana as a whole averaged 352 minutes and the United States 614 minutes. That puts NorthWestern Energy below the state average, which is better.

Among the 6 utilities in Montana with at least 5,000 customers that report to the federal government, NorthWestern Energy ranks 2nd for the fewest outage minutes (1 is best). Nationally, 43% 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 Billings

NOAA’s Storm Events Database lists 351 storm reports for Yellowstone County from 2015 through 2026, most often hail (197), thunderstorm wind (141), flash flood (9), and flood (2). The busiest full year was 2019 with 77 reports and the quietest was 2017 with 8, so the risk changes a lot from one year to the next.

Reports peak in August (112 since 2015), followed by July 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 Yellowstone 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 Billings do to the grid:

• 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.
• 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.

Storm reports that name Billings

Within Yellowstone County, 153 NOAA storm reports since 2015 name Billings as their location or in their description: hail (80), thunderstorm wind (64), flash flood (7), and flood (1). That is about 44% of the county’s reports, so Billings accounts for much of the county’s storm history. Reports naming Billings are most common in August. The busiest full year was 2019 with 44. These reports record 2 injuries in total.

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

• June 19, 2015 (thunderstorm wind): “Some power lines were blown down just west of Billings.” Source: NOAA Storm Events Database

Who a power outage hits hardest in Billings

73.2% of occupied homes in Billings are heated with piped natural gas, and 23.2% 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 18.8% of the population in Billings, close to the US share of 17.2% and 14.9% 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 NorthWestern Energy whether it keeps a priority or medical-needs list, and register before the next storm rather than during it.

About the housing: 34.4% of the housing in Billings was built before 1970 (US 35.5%).

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

Backup power and electricity use in Billings

The average NorthWestern Energy home used about 711 kWh a month in 2024 (US average 892 kWh), an average draw of 1.0 kW around the clock, and paid about 14.2 cents per kWh (12.7 in the state, 15.8 nationally), roughly $101 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 hours takes about 1.2 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 Billings

About 117,116 people live in Billings, the largest of the 4 Montana cities on this site. Report the outage to the utility so a ticket exists for your address, then check NorthWestern Energy’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.

Billings power outage map

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

Billings power outage questions