Erie, Pennsylvania Power Outage Today

How reliable is Penelec (FirstEnergy) service in Erie?

Penelec (FirstEnergy) is an investor-owned utility with 2,076,402 customers. In 2024 its customers averaged 1.85 interruptions and 403 minutes (about 6.7 hours) without power, so the average outage lasted about 3.6 hours.

Major event days, the severe-weather days that utilities report separately, made up about 45% of that time. Without them the average is 221 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 3.6 hours.

For comparison, Pennsylvania as a whole averaged 336 minutes and the United States 614 minutes. That puts Penelec (FirstEnergy) above the state average.

Among the 9 utilities in Pennsylvania with at least 5,000 customers that report to the federal government, Penelec (FirstEnergy) ranks 7th for the fewest outage minutes (1 is best). Nationally, 25% 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 Erie

NOAA’s Storm Events Database lists 160 storm reports for Erie County from 2015 through 2026, most often thunderstorm wind (117), hail (28), flash flood (6), and flood (5). The busiest full year was 2019 with 32 reports and the quietest was 2018 with 4, so the risk changes a lot from one year to the next.

Reports peak in July (33 since 2015), followed by June and April. 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 11 storm episodes in Erie 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 Erie 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.
• 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.

Storm reports that name Erie

Within Erie County, 33 NOAA storm reports since 2015 name Erie as their location or in their description: thunderstorm wind (21), flash flood (5), flood (4), and hail (3). That is about 21% of the county’s reports. Reports naming Erie are most common in July. The busiest full year was 2023 with 11. These reports record 2 deaths and 3 injuries in total.

Who a power outage hits hardest in Erie

84.4% of occupied homes in Erie are heated with piped natural gas, and 11% 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 16.4% of the population in Erie, close to the US share of 17.2% and 18.3% 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 Penelec (FirstEnergy) whether it keeps a priority or medical-needs list, and register before the next storm rather than during it.

About the housing: 77.2% of the housing in Erie 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; 45.9% 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 Erie is $46,113, below the Pennsylvania figure of $77,971. 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 Erie

The average Penelec (FirstEnergy) home used about 857 kWh a month in 2024 (US average 892 kWh), an average draw of 1.2 kW around the clock, and paid about 17.4 cents per kWh (17.2 in the state, 15.8 nationally), roughly $149 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 3.6 hours takes about 1.5 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 Erie

About 94,940 people live in Erie, the 5th largest of the 10 Pennsylvania cities on this site. Report the outage to the utility so a ticket exists for your address, then check Penelec (FirstEnergy)’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.

Erie power outage map

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

Erie power outage questions