Austin, Texas Power Outage Today

How reliable is Austin Energy service in Austin?

Austin Energy is a city-owned utility with 557,039 customers. In 2024 its customers averaged 0.96 interruptions and 92 minutes (92 minutes) without power, so the average outage lasted 96 minutes.

Little of that came from major storms (about 17%). Without major event days the average is still 76 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 96 minutes on average.

For comparison, Texas as a whole averaged 1,271 minutes and the United States 614 minutes. That puts Austin Energy below the state average, which is better.

Among the 70 utilities in Texas with at least 5,000 customers that report to the federal government, Austin Energy ranks 19th for the fewest outage minutes (1 is best). Nationally, 71% 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 Austin

NOAA’s Storm Events Database lists 419 storm reports for Travis County from 2015 through 2026, most often hail (167), thunderstorm wind (119), flash flood (110), and lightning (9). The busiest full year was 2015 with 64 reports and the quietest was 2018 with 17, so the risk changes a lot from one year to the next.

Reports peak in May (135 since 2015), followed by April and June. 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 6 storm episodes in Travis 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 Austin do to the grid:

• 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.
• 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.

Storm reports that name Austin

Within Travis County, 247 NOAA storm reports since 2015 name Austin as their location or in their description: hail (96), flash flood (70), thunderstorm wind (68), and lightning (7). That is about 59% of the county’s reports, so Austin accounts for much of the county’s storm history. Reports naming Austin are most common in May. The busiest full year was 2015 with 38. These reports record 7 deaths and 2 injuries in total.

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

• May 10, 2026 (thunderstorm wind): “Power lines were downed across the Austin metropolitan area from strong thunderstorm winds and downed trees.” Source: NOAA Storm Events Database
• May 23, 2015 (lightning): “in Austin and power outages were reported.” Source: NOAA Storm Events Database
• April 18, 2015 (thunderstorm wind): “Austin Energy Utility Company reported 7500 customers without power in the Austin Metro area.” Source: NOAA Storm Events Database

Who a power outage hits hardest in Austin

57% of occupied homes in Austin 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 10.4% of the population in Austin, below the US share of 17.2% and 9.7% 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 Austin Energy whether it keeps a priority or medical-needs list, and register before the next storm rather than during it.

About the housing: 15% of the housing in Austin 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; 26.1% 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; 56.6% 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 Austin

The average Austin Energy home used about 834 kWh a month in 2024 (US average 892 kWh), an average draw of 1.1 kW around the clock, and paid about 12.6 cents per kWh (14.9 in the state, 15.8 nationally), roughly $105 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 96 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 Austin

About 978,908 people live in Austin, the 4th largest of the 20 Texas cities on this site. Report the outage to the utility so a ticket exists for your address, then check Austin Energy’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.

Austin power outage map

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

Austin power outage questions