Canton, Ohio Power Outage Today

How reliable is AEP Ohio service in Canton?

AEP Ohio is an investor-owned utility with 1,535,393 customers. In 2024 its customers averaged 1.13 interruptions and 272 minutes (about 4.5 hours) without power, so the average outage lasted about 4 hours.

Major event days, the severe-weather days that utilities report separately, made up about 42% of that time. Without them the average is 158 minutes, so weather matters here but ordinary equipment faults and tree contact account for most of the total.

The long average outage is the notable figure: when the lights went out for AEP Ohio customers, they stayed out for about 4 hours on average, which is long enough to spoil refrigerated food and strain medical needs.

For comparison, Ohio as a whole averaged 510 minutes and the United States 614 minutes. That puts AEP Ohio below the state average, which is better.

Among the 30 utilities in Ohio with at least 5,000 customers that report to the federal government, AEP Ohio ranks 21st for the fewest outage minutes (1 is best). Nationally, 38% 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 Canton

NOAA’s Storm Events Database lists 148 storm reports for Stark County from 2015 through 2026, most often thunderstorm wind (97), hail (28), tornado (7), and flood (7). The busiest full year was 2019 with 32 reports and the quietest was 2024 with 6, so the risk changes a lot from one year to the next.

Reports peak in June (41 since 2015), followed by April and May. 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 4 storm episodes in Stark 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 Canton 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.
• 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 Canton

Within Stark County, 43 NOAA storm reports since 2015 name Canton as their location or in their description: thunderstorm wind (27), hail (8), flood (4), and flash flood (4). That is about 29% of the county’s reports. Reports naming Canton are most common in May. The busiest full year was 2020 with 10. These reports record 1 injury in total.

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

• May 25, 2019 (thunderstorm wind): “Multiple roads were blocked due to fallen trees and power lines in the Canton area.” Source: NOAA Storm Events Database
• May 25, 2019 (thunderstorm wind): “Multiple trees and power lines were blown down in Canton.” Source: NOAA Storm Events Database
• March 14, 2019 (thunderstorm wind): “Several trees and power lines were blown down in North Canton.” Source: NOAA Storm Events Database

Who a power outage hits hardest in Canton

76.7% of occupied homes in Canton are heated with piped natural gas, and 20.9% 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 15.7% of the population in Canton, close to the US share of 17.2% and 16.6% 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 AEP Ohio whether it keeps a priority or medical-needs list, and register before the next storm rather than during it.

About the housing: 76.4% of the housing in Canton 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; 51.3% 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.

Median household income in Canton is $43,188, below the Ohio figure of $71,389. 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 Canton

The average AEP Ohio home used about 898 kWh a month in 2024 (US average 892 kWh), an average draw of 1.2 kW around the clock, and paid about 19.3 cents per kWh (16.5 in the state, 15.8 nationally), roughly $174 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 4 hours takes about 1.6 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 Canton

About 70,435 people live in Canton, the 8th largest of the 10 Ohio cities on this site. Report the outage to the utility so a ticket exists for your address, then check AEP Ohio’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.

Canton power outage map

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

Canton power outage questions