Omaha, Nebraska Power Outage Today

How reliable is Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) service in Omaha?

Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) is a public power district utility with 403,157 customers. In 2024 its customers averaged 1.68 interruptions and 1,186 minutes (about 19.8 hours) without power, so the average outage lasted about 11.8 hours.

About 93% of that time came on major event days, the severe-weather days that utilities report separately. On ordinary days the average falls to 86 minutes. A handful of severe-weather days, not everyday faults, set this utility’s year.

The long average outage is the notable figure: when the lights went out for Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) customers, they stayed out for about 11.8 hours on average, which is long enough to spoil refrigerated food and strain medical needs.

For comparison, Nebraska as a whole averaged 642 minutes and the United States 614 minutes. That puts Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) above the state average.

Among the 15 utilities in Nebraska with at least 5,000 customers that report to the federal government, Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) ranks 15th for the fewest outage minutes (1 is best). Nationally, 9% 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 Omaha

NOAA’s Storm Events Database lists 401 storm reports for Douglas County from 2015 through 2026, most often hail (180), thunderstorm wind (155), flash flood (40), and flood (19). The busiest full year was 2023 with 58 reports and the quietest was 2015 with 4, so the risk changes a lot from one year to the next.

Reports peak in June (100 since 2015), followed by July and April. 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 15 storm episodes in Douglas County since 2015, most often in January. 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 Omaha 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.
• 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.
• 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 Omaha

Within Douglas County, 140 NOAA storm reports since 2015 name Omaha as their location or in their description: thunderstorm wind (68), hail (39), flash flood (25), and flood (7). That is about 35% of the county’s reports. Reports naming Omaha are most common in June. The busiest full year was 2017 with 24. These reports record 1 death and 2 injuries in total.

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

• August 10, 2020 (thunderstorm wind): “Omaha Public Power District reported crews responding to widespread power outages in Omaha due to straight line wind damage.” Source: NOAA Storm Events Database

Who a power outage hits hardest in Omaha

72.3% of occupied homes in Omaha are heated with piped natural gas, and 25.4% 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 14.5% of the population in Omaha, close to the US share of 17.2% and 11.6% 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 Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) whether it keeps a priority or medical-needs list, and register before the next storm rather than during it.

About the housing: 45.7% of the housing in Omaha 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 Omaha

The average Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) home used about 885 kWh a month in 2024 (US average 892 kWh), an average draw of 1.2 kW around the clock, and paid about 12.4 cents per kWh (11.5 in the state, 15.8 nationally), roughly $109 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 11.8 hours takes about 4.7 kWh. A portable power station in the 1 to 3 kWh range covers part of that, and a small inverter generator covers all of it.

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 Omaha

About 486,051 people live in Omaha, the largest of the 4 Nebraska cities on this site. Report the outage to the utility so a ticket exists for your address, then check Omaha Public Power District (OPPD)’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.

Omaha power outage map

Omaha Public Power District (OPPD)’s outage map has the official restoration estimate for your address; the count above comes from residents. Food and generator safety: power outage guide.

Omaha power outage questions