San Antonio, Texas Power Outage Today

How reliable is CPS Energy service in San Antonio?

CPS Energy is a city-owned utility with 938,905 customers. In 2024 its customers averaged 1.15 interruptions and 74 minutes (74 minutes) without power, so the average outage lasted 64 minutes.

Little of that came from major storms (about 16%). Without major event days the average is still 62 minutes, so the figure mostly reflects everyday faults: failed equipment, tree limbs, animals and vehicles hitting poles.

The typical outage was repaired in 64 minutes.

For comparison, Texas as a whole averaged 1,271 minutes and the United States 614 minutes. That puts CPS 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, CPS Energy ranks 14th for the fewest outage minutes (1 is best). Nationally, 76% 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 San Antonio

NOAA’s Storm Events Database lists 677 storm reports for Bexar County from 2015 through 2026, most often hail (302), flash flood (236), thunderstorm wind (117), and flood (10). The busiest full year was 2016 with 98 reports and the quietest was 2017 with 23, so the risk changes a lot from one year to the next.

Reports peak in April (186 since 2015), followed by May 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 1 storm episode in Bexar 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 San Antonio 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.
• 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.
• 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 San Antonio

Within Bexar County, 364 NOAA storm reports since 2015 name San Antonio as their location or in their description: flash flood (161), hail (139), thunderstorm wind (51), and flood (7). That is about 54% of the county’s reports, so San Antonio accounts for much of the county’s storm history. Reports naming San Antonio are most common in May. The busiest full year was 2021 with 55. These reports record 20 deaths in total.

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

• May 28, 2021 (thunderstorm wind): “A thunderstorm produced wind gusts estimated at 70 mph that knocked down fences, tree limbs, and power lines in norther San Antonio.” Source: NOAA Storm Events Database

Who a power outage hits hardest in San Antonio

70.2% of occupied homes in San Antonio 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 13.4% of the population in San Antonio, below the US share of 17.2% and 16% 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 CPS Energy whether it keeps a priority or medical-needs list, and register before the next storm rather than during it.

About the housing: 29.2% of the housing in San Antonio was built before 1970 (US 35.5%); 47.8% 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 San Antonio

The average CPS Energy home used about 1,070 kWh a month in 2024 (US average 892 kWh), an average draw of 1.5 kW around the clock, and paid about 12.4 cents per kWh (14.9 in the state, 15.8 nationally), roughly $133 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 64 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 San Antonio

About 1,547,253 people live in San Antonio, the 2nd largest of the 20 Texas cities on this site. Report the outage to the utility so a ticket exists for your address, then check CPS 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.

San Antonio power outage map

CPS 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.

San Antonio power outage questions