Laramie, Wyoming Power Outage Today

How reliable is Rocky Mountain Power service in Laramie?

Rocky Mountain Power is an investor-owned utility with 147,268 customers. In 2024 its customers averaged 0.86 interruptions and 92 minutes (92 minutes) without power, so the average outage lasted 107 minutes.

Little of that came from major storms (about 0%). Without major event days the average is still 92 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 107 minutes on average.

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

Among the 5 utilities in Wyoming with at least 5,000 customers that report to the federal government, Rocky Mountain Power ranks 2nd for the fewest outage minutes (1 is best). Nationally, 71% 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 Laramie

NOAA’s Storm Events Database lists 129 storm reports for Albany County from 2015 through 2026, most often hail (57), thunderstorm wind (45), flash flood (14), and tornado (10). The busiest full year was 2019 with 19 reports and the quietest was 2016 with 3, so the risk changes a lot from one year to the next.

Reports peak in July (52 since 2015), followed by June 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 Albany 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 Laramie 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 Laramie

Within Albany County, 59 NOAA storm reports since 2015 name Laramie as their location or in their description: hail (24), thunderstorm wind (21), flash flood (7), and tornado (6). That is about 46% of the county’s reports, so Laramie accounts for much of the county’s storm history. Reports naming Laramie are most common in June. The busiest full year was 2023 with 12.

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

• September 16, 2025 (thunderstorm wind): “Emergency Management reported downed power lines with power loss in Laramie and Univ of Wyoming.” Source: NOAA Storm Events Database

Who a power outage hits hardest in Laramie

59.3% of occupied homes in Laramie are heated with piped natural gas, and 36.2% 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 11% of the population in Laramie, below the US share of 17.2% and 11.4% 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 Rocky Mountain Power whether it keeps a priority or medical-needs list, and register before the next storm rather than during it.

About the housing: 37% of the housing in Laramie was built before 1970 (US 35.5%); 55.9% 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.

Median household income in Laramie is $55,613, below the Wyoming figure of $76,176. 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 Laramie

The average Rocky Mountain Power home used about 739 kWh a month in 2024 (US average 892 kWh), an average draw of 1.0 kW around the clock, and paid about 13.4 cents per kWh (12.5 in the state, 15.8 nationally), roughly $99 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 107 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 Laramie

About 32,599 people live in Laramie, the 4th largest of the 4 Wyoming cities on this site. Report the outage to the utility so a ticket exists for your address, then check Rocky Mountain 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.

Laramie power outage map

Rocky Mountain 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.

Laramie power outage questions