El Paso, Texas Power Outage Today

How reliable is El Paso Electric service in El Paso?

El Paso Electric is an investor-owned utility with 357,299 customers. In 2024 its customers averaged 0.73 interruptions and 56 minutes (56 minutes) without power, so the average outage lasted 77 minutes.

Little of that came from major storms (about 0%). Without major event days the average is still 56 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 77 minutes on average.

For comparison, Texas as a whole averaged 1,271 minutes and the United States 614 minutes. That puts El Paso Electric 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, El Paso Electric ranks 11th for the fewest outage minutes (1 is best). Nationally, 82% 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 El Paso

NOAA’s Storm Events Database lists 154 storm reports for El Paso County from 2015 through 2026, most often hail (58), flash flood (55), thunderstorm wind (37), and heavy rain (3). The busiest full year was 2015 with 28 reports and the quietest was 2024 with 5, so the risk changes a lot from one year to the next.

Reports peak in June (38 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 1 storm episode in El Paso County since 2015. 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 El Paso 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.
• 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 El Paso

Within El Paso County, 62 NOAA storm reports since 2015 name El Paso as their location or in their description: flash flood (29), thunderstorm wind (21), hail (9), and heavy rain (3). That is about 40% of the county’s reports, so El Paso accounts for much of the county’s storm history. Reports naming El Paso are most common in June. The busiest full year was 2015 with 8. These reports record 3 deaths in total.

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

• June 6, 2023 (thunderstorm wind): “Trees were reported to have fallen on power lines in northeast El Paso.” Source: NOAA Storm Events Database

Who a power outage hits hardest in El Paso

71.8% of occupied homes in El Paso are heated with piped natural gas, and 26% 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 14.3% of the population in El Paso, close to the US share of 17.2% and 14.3% 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 El Paso Electric whether it keeps a priority or medical-needs list, and register before the next storm rather than during it.

About the housing: 28.5% of the housing in El Paso was built before 1970 (US 35.5%).

Median household income in El Paso is $59,745, below the Texas figure of $78,476. 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 El Paso

The average El Paso Electric home used about 710 kWh a month in 2024 (US average 892 kWh), an average draw of 1.0 kW around the clock, and paid about 13.5 cents per kWh (14.9 in the state, 15.8 nationally), roughly $96 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 77 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 El Paso

About 681,124 people live in El Paso, the 6th largest of the 20 Texas cities on this site. Report the outage to the utility so a ticket exists for your address, then check El Paso Electric’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.

El Paso power outage map

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

El Paso power outage questions