Tacoma, Washington Power Outage Today

How reliable is Tacoma Power service in Tacoma?

Tacoma Power is a city-owned utility with 179,969 customers. In 2024 its customers averaged 0.93 interruptions and 171 minutes (about 2.9 hours) without power, so the average outage lasted about 3.1 hours.

Major event days, the severe-weather days that utilities report separately, made up about 53% of that time. Without them the average is 80 minutes, so weather matters here but ordinary equipment faults and tree contact account for most of the total.

Outages are infrequent, fewer than one per customer a year, and each was fixed in about 3.1 hours on average.

For comparison, Washington as a whole averaged 624 minutes and the United States 614 minutes. That puts Tacoma Power below the state average, which is better.

Among the 27 utilities in Washington with at least 5,000 customers that report to the federal government, Tacoma Power ranks 7th for the fewest outage minutes (1 is best). Nationally, 53% 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 Tacoma

NOAA’s Storm Events Database lists 5 storm reports for Pierce County from 2015 through 2017, most often debris flow (2), tornado (1), heavy rain (1), and flood (1).

NOAA’s own narratives name power outages in 2 storm episodes in Pierce 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 Tacoma do to the grid:

• Debris flow. Debris flows take out poles and buried lines in steep terrain.
• Heavy rain. Saturated ground topples shallow-rooted trees onto lines, and standing water slows crews trying to reach the damage.

Storm reports that name Tacoma

Within Pierce County, 3 NOAA storm reports since 2015 name Tacoma as their location or in their description: debris flow (2) and heavy rain (1). That is about 60% of the county’s reports, so Tacoma accounts for much of the county’s storm history.

Who a power outage hits hardest in Tacoma

62.9% of occupied homes in Tacoma 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% of the population in Tacoma, close to the US share of 17.2% and 15.8% 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 Tacoma Power whether it keeps a priority or medical-needs list, and register before the next storm rather than during it.

About the housing: 52.4% of the housing in Tacoma was built before 1970 (US 35.5%), and older neighborhoods often have overhead service lines and mature trees close to the wires, which makes them more exposed to storm outages; 16.6% 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.

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

Backup power and electricity use in Tacoma

The average Tacoma Power home used about 907 kWh a month in 2024 (US average 892 kWh), an average draw of 1.2 kW around the clock, and paid about 10.8 cents per kWh (11.9 in the state, 15.8 nationally), roughly $98 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 3.1 hours takes about 1.2 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 Tacoma

About 219,346 people live in Tacoma, the 3rd largest of the 10 Washington cities on this site. Report the outage to the utility so a ticket exists for your address, then check Tacoma Power’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.

Tacoma power outage map

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

Tacoma power outage questions