Johnson City, Tennessee Power Outage Today

How reliable is BrightRidge service in Johnson City?

BrightRidge is a city-owned utility with 83,793 customers. In 2024 its customers averaged 2.2 interruptions and 659 minutes (about 11 hours) without power, so the average outage lasted about 5 hours.

About 77% of that time came on major event days, the severe-weather days that utilities report separately. On ordinary days the average falls to 152 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 BrightRidge customers, they stayed out for about 5 hours on average, which is long enough to spoil refrigerated food and strain medical needs.

For comparison, Tennessee as a whole averaged 279 minutes and the United States 614 minutes. That puts BrightRidge above the state average.

Among the 52 utilities in Tennessee with at least 5,000 customers that report to the federal government, BrightRidge ranks 45th for the fewest outage minutes (1 is best). Nationally, 16% 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 Johnson City

NOAA’s Storm Events Database lists 76 storm reports for Washington County from 2015 through 2026, most often thunderstorm wind (39), hail (15), flash flood (13), and flood (8). The busiest full year was 2023 with 13 reports and the quietest was 2017 with 2, so the risk changes a lot from one year to the next.

Reports peak in May (18 since 2015), followed by August and July. October is outside those three months, so an outage now is less likely to be weather-related.

NOAA’s narratives for Washington County do not name a power outage in any storm since 2015. That does not mean none occurred; the database records an outage only when a spotter or agency mentions it, so utility reliability figures are the better measure.

What the most common storm types in Johnson City 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 Johnson City

Within Washington County, 12 NOAA storm reports since 2015 name Johnson City as their location or in their description: flash flood (6), thunderstorm wind (5), and heavy rain (1). That is about 16% of the county’s reports.

Who a power outage hits hardest in Johnson City

74% of occupied homes in Johnson City 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 15.8% of the population in Johnson City, close to the US share of 17.2% and 14.9% 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 BrightRidge whether it keeps a priority or medical-needs list, and register before the next storm rather than during it.

About the housing: 33.2% of the housing in Johnson City was built before 1970 (US 35.5%); 48.7% 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 Johnson City

The average BrightRidge home used about 1,156 kWh a month in 2024 (US average 892 kWh), an average draw of 1.6 kW around the clock, and paid about 12.4 cents per kWh (12.4 in the state, 15.8 nationally), roughly $143 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 5 hours takes about 2.0 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 Johnson City

About 70,945 people live in Johnson City, the 8th largest of the 10 Tennessee cities on this site. Report the outage to the utility so a ticket exists for your address, then check BrightRidge’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.

Johnson City power outage map

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

Johnson City power outage questions