Cheyenne, Wyoming Power Outage Today

How reliable is Black Hills Energy service in Cheyenne?

Black Hills Energy is an investor-owned utility with 2,593 customers. In 2024 its customers averaged 0.03 interruptions and 2 minutes (2 minutes) without power, so the average outage lasted 78 minutes.

Little of that came from major storms (about 0%). Without major event days the average is still 2 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 78 minutes on average.

For comparison, Wyoming as a whole averaged 138 minutes and the United States 614 minutes. That puts Black Hills Energy below the state average, which is better.

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 Cheyenne

NOAA’s Storm Events Database lists 600 storm reports for Laramie County from 2015 through 2026, most often hail (422), thunderstorm wind (111), flash flood (41), and tornado (20). The busiest full year was 2018 with 107 reports and the quietest was 2022 with 11, so the risk changes a lot from one year to the next.

Reports peak in June (229 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 10 storm episodes in Laramie 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 Cheyenne 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Storm reports that name Cheyenne

Within Laramie County, 288 NOAA storm reports since 2015 name Cheyenne as their location or in their description: hail (218), thunderstorm wind (43), flash flood (21), and tornado (5). That is about 48% of the county’s reports, so Cheyenne accounts for much of the county’s storm history. Reports naming Cheyenne are most common in June. The busiest full year was 2018 with 56.

Who a power outage hits hardest in Cheyenne

73.1% of occupied homes in Cheyenne are heated with piped natural gas, and 22.9% 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 18.2% of the population in Cheyenne, close to the US share of 17.2% and 14.5% 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 Black Hills Energy whether it keeps a priority or medical-needs list, and register before the next storm rather than during it.

About the housing: 41.5% of the housing in Cheyenne was built before 1970 (US 35.5%).

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

Backup power and electricity use in Cheyenne

The average Black Hills Energy home used about 819 kWh a month in 2024 (US average 892 kWh), an average draw of 1.1 kW around the clock, and paid about 13.1 cents per kWh (12.5 in the state, 15.8 nationally), roughly $108 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 78 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 Cheyenne

About 64,559 people live in Cheyenne, the largest of the 4 Wyoming cities on this site. Report the outage to the utility so a ticket exists for your address, then check Black Hills 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.

Cheyenne power outage map

Black Hills 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.

Cheyenne power outage questions