High Point, North Carolina Power Outage Today

How reliable is power in High Point?

High Point Electric

High Point Electric is a city-owned utility with 47,285 customers. In 2024 its customers averaged 0.83 interruptions and 79 minutes (79 minutes) without power, so the average outage lasted 94 minutes.

Little of that came from major storms (about 18%). Without major event days the average is still 65 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 94 minutes on average.

For comparison, North Carolina as a whole averaged 1,441 minutes and the United States 614 minutes. That puts High Point Electric below the state average, which is better.

Among the 44 utilities in North Carolina with at least 5,000 customers that report to the federal government, High Point Electric ranks 8th for the fewest outage minutes (1 is best). Nationally, 74% of the 926 utilities of that size reported more outage minutes in 2024.

Duke Energy

Duke Energy is an investor-owned utility with 2,211,457 customers. In 2024 its customers averaged 1.96 interruptions and 1,626 minutes (about 27 hours) without power, so the average outage lasted about 13.9 hours.

About 90% of that time came on major event days, the severe-weather days that utilities report separately. On ordinary days the average falls to 168 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 Duke Energy customers, they stayed out for about 13.9 hours on average, which is long enough to spoil refrigerated food and strain medical needs.

For comparison, North Carolina as a whole averaged 1,441 minutes and the United States 614 minutes. That is close to the state average.

Among the 44 utilities in North Carolina with at least 5,000 customers that report to the federal government, Duke Energy ranks 40th for the fewest outage minutes (1 is best). Nationally, 6% 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 High Point

NOAA’s Storm Events Database lists 302 storm reports for Guilford County from 2015 through 2026, most often thunderstorm wind (187), flash flood (68), hail (42), and tornado (3). The busiest full year was 2019 with 47 reports and the quietest was 2015 with 15, so the risk changes a lot from one year to the next.

Reports peak in July (66 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 30 storm episodes in Guilford 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 High Point 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.

Storm reports that name High Point

Within Guilford County, 12 NOAA storm reports since 2015 name High Point as their location or in their description: thunderstorm wind (6) and flash flood (6). That is about 4% of the county’s reports, so most of the county’s weather history happened elsewhere.

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

• August 15, 2023 (thunderstorm wind): “Several trees and power lines were down in the areas of High Point, Pleasant Garden, and Jamestown.” Source: NOAA Storm Events Database
• August 5, 2015 (thunderstorm wind): “Two power lines were reported down in High Point, North Carolina.” Source: NOAA Storm Events Database

Who a power outage hits hardest in High Point

Home heating in High Point is mixed: 48.3% of occupied homes use electricity (US 41.3%) and 47.8% use piped natural gas. Either way, furnaces and heat pumps need grid power to run, so a winter outage means a cold house for most households.

Residents aged 65 or older are 15.9% of the population in High Point, close to the US share of 17.2% and 13% 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 High Point Electric whether it keeps a priority or medical-needs list, and register before the next storm rather than during it.

About the housing: 28.9% of the housing in High Point 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 High Point

The average High Point Electric home used about 881 kWh a month in 2024 (US average 892 kWh), an average draw of 1.2 kW around the clock, and paid about 11.6 cents per kWh (14.1 in the state, 15.8 nationally), roughly $102 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 94 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 High Point

About 112,791 people live in High Point, the 9th largest of the 10 North Carolina cities on this site. Report the outage to the utility so a ticket exists for your address, then check High Point Electric’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.

High Point power outage map

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

High Point power outage questions