Racine, Wisconsin Power Outage Today

How reliable is We Energies service in Racine?

We Energies is an investor-owned utility with 1,212,936 customers. In 2024 its customers averaged 1.04 interruptions and 296 minutes (about 4.9 hours) without power, so the average outage lasted about 4.8 hours.

About 63% of that time came on major event days, the severe-weather days that utilities report separately. On ordinary days the average falls to 109 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 We Energies customers, they stayed out for about 4.8 hours on average, which is long enough to spoil refrigerated food and strain medical needs.

For comparison, Wisconsin as a whole averaged 266 minutes and the United States 614 minutes. That is close to the state average.

Among the 31 utilities in Wisconsin with at least 5,000 customers that report to the federal government, We Energies ranks 30th for the fewest outage minutes (1 is best). Nationally, 35% 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 Racine

NOAA’s Storm Events Database lists 102 storm reports for Racine County from 2015 through 2026, most often thunderstorm wind (41), hail (36), flood (12), and tornado (7). The busiest full year was 2020 with 15 reports and the quietest was 2021 with 1, so the risk changes a lot from one year to the next.

Reports peak in April (24 since 2015), followed by May and July. 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 19 storm episodes in Racine County since 2015, most often in March. 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 Racine do to the grid:

• 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.
• 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.

Storm reports that name Racine

Within Racine County, 29 NOAA storm reports since 2015 name Racine as their location or in their description: thunderstorm wind (14), hail (7), flood (4), and flash flood (3). That is about 28% of the county’s reports. Reports naming Racine are most common in May. The busiest full year was 2020 with 6.

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

• August 24, 2023 (thunderstorm wind): “Multiple trees and branches down across Racine, some landing on power lines.” Source: NOAA Storm Events Database
• June 18, 2018 (thunderstorm wind): “Scattered trees and power lines down across the county including the city of Racine.” Source: NOAA Storm Events Database

Who a power outage hits hardest in Racine

75.1% of occupied homes in Racine are heated with piped natural gas, and 20.8% 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 13.9% of the population in Racine, below the US share of 17.2% and 16.1% 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 We Energies whether it keeps a priority or medical-needs list, and register before the next storm rather than during it.

About the housing: 77.1% of the housing in Racine 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.

Median household income in Racine is $57,740, below the Wisconsin figure of $77,485. 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 Racine

The average We Energies home used about 625 kWh a month in 2024 (US average 892 kWh), an average draw of 0.9 kW around the clock, and paid about 19.2 cents per kWh (17.2 in the state, 15.8 nationally), roughly $120 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 4.8 hours takes about 1.9 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 Racine

About 77,217 people live in Racine, the 5th largest of the 10 Wisconsin cities on this site. Report the outage to the utility so a ticket exists for your address, then check We Energies’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.

Racine power outage map

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

Racine power outage questions