Columbia, South Carolina Power Outage Today

How reliable is Dominion Energy South Carolina service in Columbia?

Dominion Energy South Carolina is an investor-owned utility with 816,766 customers. In 2024 its customers averaged 2.52 interruptions and 1,908 minutes (about 32 hours) without power, so the average outage lasted about 12.6 hours.

About 96% of that time came on major event days, the severe-weather days that utilities report separately. On ordinary days the average falls to 81 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 Dominion Energy South Carolina customers, they stayed out for about 12.6 hours on average, which is long enough to spoil refrigerated food and strain medical needs.

For comparison, South Carolina as a whole averaged 3,136 minutes and the United States 614 minutes. That puts Dominion Energy South Carolina below the state average, which is better.

Among the 27 utilities in South Carolina with at least 5,000 customers that report to the federal government, Dominion Energy South Carolina ranks 19th for the fewest outage minutes (1 is best). Nationally, 5% 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 Columbia

NOAA’s Storm Events Database lists 665 storm reports for Richland County from 2015 through 2026, most often thunderstorm wind (376), flash flood (177), hail (49), and heavy rain (31). The busiest full year was 2015 with 99 reports and the quietest was 2021 with 27, so the risk changes a lot from one year to the next.

Reports peak in June (165 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 Richland 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 Columbia do to the grid:

• 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.
• 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.
• Heavy rain. Saturated ground topples shallow-rooted trees onto lines, and standing water slows crews trying to reach the damage.

Storm reports that name Columbia

Within Richland County, 150 NOAA storm reports since 2015 name Columbia as their location or in their description: flash flood (66), thunderstorm wind (55), heavy rain (11), and hail (9). That is about 23% of the county’s reports. Reports naming Columbia are most common in June. The busiest full year was 2015 with 24. These reports record 1 death and 2 injuries in total.

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

• April 3, 2024 (thunderstorm wind): “Richland Co EM reported power lines down in the roadway at Hampton St and Laurens St in Columbia.” Source: NOAA Storm Events Database
• July 7, 2022 (thunderstorm wind): “Richland County Emergency Manager reported power lines fell on a home along Duke Ave in Columbia.” Source: NOAA Storm Events Database

Who a power outage hits hardest in Columbia

72.1% of occupied homes in Columbia 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 11.5% of the population in Columbia, below the US share of 17.2% and 12.3% 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 Dominion Energy South Carolina whether it keeps a priority or medical-needs list, and register before the next storm rather than during it.

About the housing: 40.3% of the housing in Columbia was built before 1970 (US 35.5%); 18.8% 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; 54.5% 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 Columbia

The average Dominion Energy South Carolina home used about 1,032 kWh a month in 2024 (US average 892 kWh), an average draw of 1.4 kW around the clock, and paid about 14.6 cents per kWh (14.2 in the state, 15.8 nationally), roughly $151 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 12.6 hours takes about 5.0 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 Columbia

About 136,632 people live in Columbia, the 2nd largest of the 5 South Carolina cities on this site. Report the outage to the utility so a ticket exists for your address, then check Dominion Energy South Carolina’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.

Columbia power outage map

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

Columbia power outage questions