Franklin, Tennessee Power Outage Today

How reliable is Middle Tennessee Electric (MTE) service in Franklin?

Middle Tennessee Electric (MTE) is a member-owned cooperative utility with 346,813 customers. In 2024 its customers averaged 0.93 interruptions and 49 minutes (49 minutes) without power, so the average outage lasted 53 minutes.

Little of that came from major storms (about 15%). Without major event days the average is still 42 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 53 minutes on average.

For comparison, Tennessee as a whole averaged 279 minutes and the United States 614 minutes. That puts Middle Tennessee Electric (MTE) below the state average, which is better.

Among the 52 utilities in Tennessee with at least 5,000 customers that report to the federal government, Middle Tennessee Electric (MTE) ranks 6th for the fewest outage minutes (1 is best). Nationally, 85% 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 Franklin

NOAA’s Storm Events Database lists 399 storm reports for Williamson County from 2015 through 2026, most often thunderstorm wind (219), hail (103), flash flood (34), and flood (18). The busiest full year was 2025 with 71 reports and the quietest was 2018 with 22, so the risk changes a lot from one year to the next.

Reports peak in May (68 since 2015), followed by June and July. 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 16 storm episodes in Williamson County since 2015, most often in July. 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 Franklin 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 Franklin

Within Williamson County, 111 NOAA storm reports since 2015 name Franklin as their location or in their description: thunderstorm wind (50), hail (40), flash flood (10), and flood (4). That is about 28% of the county’s reports. Reports naming Franklin are most common in May. The busiest full year was 2025 with 29. These reports record 1 death in total.

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

• June 29, 2023 (thunderstorm wind): “Severe thunderstorm winds downed a large tree and power lines in Leipers Fork, southwest of Franklin.” Source: NOAA Storm Events Database
• October 12, 2022 (thunderstorm wind): “About 15 reports of downed trees and power lines were received from Franklin to Brentwood.” Source: NOAA Storm Events Database
• April 30, 2017 (thunderstorm wind): “Trees and power lines were blown down on Murfreesboro Road between Margin Street and Eddy Lane near downtown Franklin.” Source: NOAA Storm Events Database

Who a power outage hits hardest in Franklin

50.4% of occupied homes in Franklin are heated with piped natural gas, and 48.8% 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 14.7% of the population in Franklin, close to the US share of 17.2% and 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 Middle Tennessee Electric (MTE) whether it keeps a priority or medical-needs list, and register before the next storm rather than during it.

About the housing: 7% of the housing in Franklin was built before 1970 (US 35.5%), so most homes are newer and more of the local lines are likely to be buried or recently replaced; 15.1% 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.

Median household income in Franklin is $119,528, above the Tennessee figure of $69,595, and home generators and batteries are correspondingly more common. If a neighbor runs one, keep the exhaust away from every window and door, including yours.

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

Backup power and electricity use in Franklin

The average Middle Tennessee Electric (MTE) home used about 1,261 kWh a month in 2024 (US average 892 kWh), an average draw of 1.7 kW around the clock, and paid about 11.8 cents per kWh (12.4 in the state, 15.8 nationally), roughly $148 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 53 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 Franklin

About 83,654 people live in Franklin, the 7th largest of the 10 Tennessee cities on this site. Report the outage to the utility so a ticket exists for your address, then check Middle Tennessee Electric (MTE)’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.

Franklin power outage map

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

Franklin power outage questions