Fargo, North Dakota Power Outage Today

How reliable is Xcel Energy service in Fargo?

Xcel Energy is an investor-owned utility with 95,754 customers. In 2024 its customers averaged 0.63 interruptions and 55 minutes (55 minutes) without power, so the average outage lasted 87 minutes.

Little of that came from major storms (about 0%). Without major event days the average is still 55 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 87 minutes on average.

For comparison, North Dakota as a whole averaged 99 minutes and the United States 614 minutes. That puts Xcel Energy below the state average, which is better.

Among the 11 utilities in North Dakota with at least 5,000 customers that report to the federal government, Xcel Energy ranks 4th for the fewest outage minutes (1 is best). Nationally, 83% 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 Fargo

NOAA’s Storm Events Database lists 335 storm reports for Cass County from 2015 through 2026, most often thunderstorm wind (164), hail (122), tornado (15), and funnel cloud (12). The busiest full year was 2019 with 46 reports and the quietest was 2024 with 8, so the risk changes a lot from one year to the next.

Reports peak in June (136 since 2015), followed by July 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 9 storm episodes in Cass County since 2015, most often in December. 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 Fargo 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 Fargo

Within Cass County, 67 NOAA storm reports since 2015 name Fargo as their location or in their description: thunderstorm wind (35), hail (16), flash flood (7), and flood (6). That is about 20% of the county’s reports. Reports naming Fargo are most common in June. The busiest full year was 2019 with 16.

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

• June 24, 2022 (thunderstorm wind): “Power outages were reported around central Fargo.” Source: NOAA Storm Events Database
• September 2, 2019 (thunderstorm wind): “Multiple power lines were toppled in north Fargo.” Source: NOAA Storm Events Database
• July 4, 2016 (thunderstorm wind): “Tree damage and power outages were reported around the Northport area of north Fargo.” Source: NOAA Storm Events Database

Who a power outage hits hardest in Fargo

52.9% of occupied homes in Fargo are heated with electricity (US 41.3%). In a winter outage those homes lose heat the moment the power fails, and electric furnaces and heat pumps are too large to run from a portable generator. Warm layers, blankets and a plan for where to stay matter more here than in a gas-heated city.

Residents aged 65 or older are 13.3% of the population in Fargo, below the US share of 17.2% and 11.8% 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 Xcel Energy whether it keeps a priority or medical-needs list, and register before the next storm rather than during it.

About the housing: 24.3% of the housing in Fargo was built before 1970 (US 35.5%); 37% 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; 56.3% 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.

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

Backup power and electricity use in Fargo

The average Xcel Energy home used about 734 kWh a month in 2024 (US average 892 kWh), an average draw of 1.0 kW around the clock, and paid about 12.1 cents per kWh (11.5 in the state, 15.8 nationally), roughly $89 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 87 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 Fargo

About 124,662 people live in Fargo, the largest of the 4 North Dakota cities on this site. Report the outage to the utility so a ticket exists for your address, then check Xcel 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.

Fargo power outage map

Xcel 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.

Fargo power outage questions