Power outages in Colorado
Colorado's SAIDI in 2025 was 4.6 hours (273.6 minutes, or about 4 hours 34 minutes) of outage time per customer. That is slightly above the US median of 4.3 hours (258.7 minutes) across 50 states compared.
Trend
SAIDI fell from 2.2 hours in 2020 to 1.7 hours in 2023, then jumped to 4.3 hours in 2024 and 4.6 hours in 2025. The worst year in this period is 2025, at 4.6 hours.
Utilities in 2025
In 2025, City of Fort Collins had the lowest SAIDI at 8.07 minutes (0.1 hours). Southeast Colorado Power Assn had the highest at 1,290 minutes (21.5 hours), followed by CORE Electric Cooperative at 381.0 minutes (6.3 hours).
| Utility | Customers | Hours / yr | Interruptions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southeast Colorado Power Assn | 10,958 | 21.5 | — |
| CORE Electric Cooperative | 181,698 | 6.3 | 1.0 |
| Public Service Co of Colorado | 1,542,120 | 6.0 | 1.6 |
| United Power, Inc | 117,131 | 5.1 | 1.2 |
| Yampa Valley Electric Assn Inc | 29,128 | 4.5 | 2.0 |
| La Plata Electric Assn, Inc | 47,128 | 3.6 | 1.7 |
| Mountain Parks Electric, Inc | 23,275 | 3.0 | 2.4 |
| Empire Electric Assn, Inc | 17,322 | 2.9 | 1.4 |
| Poudre Valley REA, Inc | 56,552 | 2.5 | 1.0 |
| San Luis Valley R E C, Inc | 13,091 | 2.5 | 1.5 |
| Mountain View Elec Assn, Inc | 67,200 | 2.2 | 0.8 |
| Grand Valley Power | 20,095 | 1.9 | — |
| Delta Montrose Electric Assn | 37,658 | 1.9 | 1.0 |
| Black Hills Colorado Electric, LLC | 111,502 | 1.6 | 0.9 |
| San Isabel Electric Assn, Inc | 26,649 | 1.4 | 0.8 |
| Holy Cross Electric Assn, Inc | 61,197 | 1.2 | 1.1 |
| City of Fountain | 17,628 | 0.7 | 0.6 |
| City of Colorado Springs - (CO) | 261,349 | 0.7 | 0.7 |
| City of Longmont | 49,400 | 0.7 | 0.6 |
| City of Loveland - (CO) | 42,408 | 0.4 | 0.3 |
| City of Fort Collins - (CO) | 80,930 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
What this means for backup power
For everyday outages, enter 3.5 hours in the calculator, which is the average length of one interruption. To ride out a year like 2025, size for 4.6 hours, which is all of that year's outage hours added together.
FAQ
What does SAIDI mean?
SAIDI is the total outage time the average customer had in a year. It is not the length of one outage. In Colorado in 2025 it was 4.6 hours.
How long does a typical outage last in Colorado?
One interruption lasts about 3.5 hours on average. Customers had about 1.3 interruptions per year in 2025 (SAIFI 1.296).
How many hours of backup power should I plan for?
For a typical outage, plan for about 3.5 hours. If you want to cover a full year like 2025, plan for 4.6 hours. Enter either number in the calculator along with the devices you want to run.
Utility pages
Source: U.S. EIA Form 861 Reliability file. Data snapshot 2026-11-05.