Power outages in South Carolina
In 2025, the average South Carolina customer was without power for 2.5 hours (151.1 minutes). That is below the US median of 4.3 hours (258.7 minutes) across the 50 states compared.
Trend
Outage time moved up and down from 2020 to 2023, between 2.0 and 5.4 hours a year. 2024 was the worst year at 52.3 hours, and 2025 fell back to 2.5 hours.
Utilities in 2025
In 2025, Greer Commission of Public Wks had the lowest SAIDI at 0.6 hours (36.9 minutes). Newberry Electric Coop, Inc had the highest at 8.5 hours (511.9 minutes).
| Utility | Customers | Hours / yr | Interruptions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newberry Electric Coop, Inc | 13,990 | 8.5 | 3.2 |
| Mid-Carolina Electric Coop Inc | 61,058 | 4.5 | 2.2 |
| Tri-County Electric Coop, Inc (SC) | 18,488 | 4.4 | 2.5 |
| Edisto Electric Coop, Inc | 21,495 | 3.9 | — |
| City of Orangeburg - (SC) | 24,572 | 3.7 | 1.8 |
| Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC | 738,436 | 3.7 | 1.3 |
| Santee Electric Coop, Inc | 45,110 | 3.5 | — |
| Laurens Electric Coop, Inc | 64,821 | 3.5 | 1.8 |
| Blue Ridge Electric Coop Inc - (SC) | 74,014 | 3.4 | — |
| Lynches River Elec Coop, Inc | 22,629 | 3.4 | 2.0 |
| Aiken Electric Coop Inc | 54,254 | 3.2 | — |
| Fairfield Electric Coop, Inc | 34,123 | 2.3 | 1.5 |
| MPD Electric Cooperative | 38,997 | 2.3 | 1.2 |
| Dominion Energy South Carolina, Inc | 835,280 | 2.2 | 1.3 |
| Duke Energy Progress - (NC) | 180,575 | 2.0 | 1.1 |
| Berkeley Electric Coop Inc | 135,213 | 1.9 | 1.4 |
| Horry Electric Coop Inc | 100,332 | 1.8 | 1.3 |
| Broad River Electric Coop, Inc | 25,117 | 1.8 | — |
| Greenwood CPW | 12,022 | 1.7 | 0.9 |
| Black River Electric Coop, Inc - (SC) | 34,766 | 1.6 | 1.1 |
| Easley Combined Utility System | 17,677 | 1.5 | 1.3 |
| City of Rock Hill - (SC) | 40,729 | 1.2 | 0.8 |
| York Electric Coop Inc | 73,706 | 1.1 | 0.5 |
| Palmetto Electric Coop Inc | 81,346 | 0.8 | 0.8 |
| South Carolina Public Service Authority | 215,561 | 0.7 | 0.7 |
What this means for backup power
For everyday outages, enter 2.0 hours in the calculator, which is the average length of one interruption. To ride out a year like 2024, size for 52.3 hours, which is all of that year's outage time added together.
FAQ
What does SAIDI mean for my home?
SAIDI is the total time the average customer is without power in a year. It is not the length of one outage. In South Carolina in 2025 it was 2.5 hours.
How long does one outage usually last?
One interruption lasts about 2.0 hours on average. Customers had about 1.25 interruptions in 2025.
How much backup power should I plan for?
For everyday outages, plan for about 2.0 hours. If you want to cover a year like 2024, when outages added up to 52.3 hours, size for that total instead.
Utility pages
Source: U.S. EIA Form 861 Reliability file. Data snapshot 2026-11-05.