Rochester, New York Power Outage Today

How reliable is RG&E service in Rochester?

RG&E is an investor-owned utility with 384,882 customers. In 2024 its customers averaged 1.07 interruptions and 139 minutes (about 2.3 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 42% of that time. Without them the average is 81 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, New York as a whole averaged 220 minutes and the United States 614 minutes. That puts RG&E below the state average, which is better.

Among the 11 utilities in New York with at least 5,000 customers that report to the federal government, RG&E ranks 7th for the fewest outage minutes (1 is best). Nationally, 60% of the 926 utilities of that size reported more outage minutes in 2024.

This utility reports with its own method rather than the IEEE standard, so compare its numbers with other utilities loosely.

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 Rochester

NOAA’s Storm Events Database lists 219 storm reports for Monroe County from 2015 through 2026, most often thunderstorm wind (144), flash flood (24), hail (20), and flood (16). The busiest full year was 2017 with 32 reports and the quietest was 2016 with 7, so the risk changes a lot from one year to the next.

Reports peak in July (52 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 own narratives name power outages in 14 storm episodes in Monroe 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 Rochester 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.
• Heavy rain. Saturated ground topples shallow-rooted trees onto lines, and standing water slows crews trying to reach the damage.

Storm reports that name Rochester

Within Monroe County, 26 NOAA storm reports since 2015 name Rochester as their location or in their description: thunderstorm wind (18), flash flood (4), heavy rain (2), and lightning (1). That is about 12% of the county’s reports. Reports naming Rochester are most common in July. The busiest full year was 2018 with 4.

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

• July 25, 2023 (thunderstorm wind): “Multiple trees and power lines were downed and blocking portions of State Route 590 in Rochester.” Source: NOAA Storm Events Database

Who a power outage hits hardest in Rochester

71.7% of occupied homes in Rochester are heated with piped natural gas, and 22.1% 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 13.1% of the population in Rochester, below the US share of 17.2% and 19.1% 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 RG&E whether it keeps a priority or medical-needs list, and register before the next storm rather than during it.

About the housing: 79.4% of the housing in Rochester 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; 61.9% 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 Rochester is $47,213, below the New York figure of $85,974. 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 Rochester

The average RG&E home used about 678 kWh a month in 2024 (US average 892 kWh), an average draw of 0.9 kW around the clock, and paid about 18.8 cents per kWh (23.8 in the state, 15.8 nationally), roughly $127 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 Rochester

About 211,328 people live in Rochester, the 4th largest of the 10 New York cities on this site. Report the outage to the utility so a ticket exists for your address, then check RG&E’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.

Rochester power outage map

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

Rochester power outage questions