Power outages in Alabama
In 2025, Alabama customers experienced an average of 6.2 hours (372 minutes) of power outages. This is 44% above the US median of 4.3 hours.
Trend
After 2020's worst year with 29.1 hours of outages, reliability improved sharply to 3.5 hours in 2022 but has risen again to 6.2 hours in 2025.
Utilities in 2025
Baldwin County El Member Corp delivered the best reliability at 0.8 hours (46 minutes), while Cullman Electric Coop experienced the worst at 13.0 hours (779 minutes).
| Utility | Customers | Hours / yr | Interruptions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cullman Electric Coop, Inc | 48,573 | 13.0 | 3.4 |
| Tallapoosa River Elec Coop Inc | 31,143 | 9.4 | 3.1 |
| Central Alabama Electric Coop | 47,827 | 7.8 | — |
| Alabama Power Co | 1,526,528 | 6.8 | 2.1 |
| Coosa Valley Electric Coop Inc | 18,631 | 5.8 | 2.4 |
| Dixie Electric Coop - (AL) | 26,553 | 4.3 | 2.0 |
| South Alabama Elec Coop, Inc | 17,985 | 3.9 | 2.3 |
| Joe Wheeler Elec Member Corp | 46,870 | 3.6 | 1.9 |
| Covington Electric Coop, Inc | 25,037 | 3.5 | 2.3 |
| Wiregrass Electric Coop, Inc | 26,902 | 1.9 | 1.5 |
| City of Dothan - (AL) | 32,385 | 1.4 | 0.7 |
| Foley Board of Utilities | 59,442 | 1.2 | 1.1 |
| Decatur Utilities | 26,889 | 1.0 | 0.6 |
| Baldwin County El Member Corp | 92,539 | 0.8 | 1.5 |
What this means for backup power
For everyday outages, plan for 3.1 hours—the average length of one interruption. To cover a year like 2020, the worst on record, size your system for 29.1 hours of total backup time.
FAQ
How many power outages can I expect per year in Alabama?
Alabama customers average 2.0 interruptions per year based on 2025 data, with each outage lasting about 3.1 hours.
Does my utility make a difference?
Yes. In 2025, the best utility had just 0.8 hours of outages while the worst had 13.0 hours.
How do I use these numbers with the backup calculator?
Enter 3.1 hours for everyday outages. If you want protection like 2020 required, enter 29.1 hours to size for the worst year's total outage time.
Utility pages
Source: U.S. EIA Form 861 Reliability file. Data snapshot 2026-11-05.