Minot, North Dakota Power Outage Today

How reliable is Xcel Energy service in Minot?

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 Minot

NOAA’s Storm Events Database lists 136 storm reports for Ward County from 2015 through 2026, most often hail (71), thunderstorm wind (53), funnel cloud (9), and tornado (2). The busiest full year was 2020 with 22 reports and the quietest was 2017 with 3, so the risk changes a lot from one year to the next.

Reports peak in June (50 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 7 storm episodes in Ward 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 Minot 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.
• Funnel cloud. Funnel clouds are a warning sign for the wind damage that usually follows.

Storm reports that name Minot

Within Ward County, 60 NOAA storm reports since 2015 name Minot as their location or in their description: thunderstorm wind (28), hail (27), and funnel cloud (5). That is about 44% of the county’s reports, so Minot accounts for much of the county’s storm history. Reports naming Minot are most common in July. The busiest full year was 2020 with 9.

Who a power outage hits hardest in Minot

60.6% of occupied homes in Minot are heated with piped natural gas, and 36.5% 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 14.3% of the population in Minot, close to the US share of 17.2% and 15.4% 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: 31.9% of the housing in Minot was built before 1970 (US 35.5%); 17.9% 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; 8.5% of homes are mobile or manufactured homes (US 5.6%), which are more exposed to high wind and falling limbs.

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

Backup power and electricity use in Minot

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 Minot

About 47,911 people live in Minot, the 4th 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.

Minot 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.

Minot power outage questions