Press Release

Pennsylvania Electric Reliability Improved in 2025 – But Severe Weather Kept the Pressure On

Published on 9/21/2026

Filed under: Electric

PUC annual report shows fewer reportable outages and broad improvement in reliability measures, while nearly 2.9 million customers were still affected by significant service disruptions

HARRISBURG – Pennsylvania experienced fewer significant electric outages in 2025, and most utilities improved key measures of reliability related to restoration time, outage frequency and overall outage duration. But for customers caught in the path of severe storms, it may not have felt like a better year.

Nearly 2.9 million electric customers were affected by reportable outages during 2025 – essentially unchanged from the previous year – even as the number of those events fell from a record 71 in 2024 to 55 in 2025.

That contrast is at the heart of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission’s (PUC) latest Electric Service Reliability Report, which examines how Pennsylvania’s electric distribution systems performed during calendar year 2025.

“The numbers show improvement, but they also remind us how much work remains,” said PUC Chairman Steve DeFrank. “Reliability is ultimately measured by what customers experience – how often the lights go out, how widespread those outages are and how quickly service is safely restored. With severe weather continuing to test our electric systems, we need to keep strengthening the grid, improving storm preparation and response, and focusing investments where they can make the greatest difference for consumers.”

Pennsylvania Electric Reliability: 2025 at a Glance

The PUC’s report, issued in 2026, examines electric reliability during calendar year 2025 with several key statewide trends highlighted:

• 55 reportable outages – down from a record 71 in 2024.
• Nearly 2.9 million customers affected – essentially unchanged from 2024.
• 52 of 55 outages were weather-related – reinforcing severe weather as the dominant reliability challenge.
• Most utilities improved key reliability measures – 8 of 11 improved restoration time, 9 of 11 improved outage frequency, and 8 of 11 improved overall outage duration.
• 20 Major Events, which identify any abnormal event or extreme occurrence that stresses the electric distribution system – down from 27 in 2024, but their impact grew substantially.
• About 1.7 million customers affected by Major Events – up from approximately 696,000 in 2024.
  
  

Fewer Outages – But Millions Still Affected

The decline in reportable outages from 71 to 55 represents a notable improvement from 2024, which saw the largest number of such events since the Commission’s records began more than three decades ago.

But the number of customers affected barely changed.

Reportable outages affected 2,884,067 electric customers during 2025, compared with 2,882,795 in 2024. And while the number of approved Major Event exclusions declined from 27 to 20, those events affected approximately 1.7 million customers – more than twice the approximately 696,000 affected by Major Events the previous year.

Those numbers illustrate why the Commission looks beyond simply counting outages when evaluating reliability.

What Does “Better Reliability” Mean for Customers?

For electric customers, reliability comes down to a few basic questions:

• How often does the power go out?
• How long does it stay out?
• And how quickly is service restored when something goes wrong?
  

By those measures, 2025 showed broad improvement.

Eight of Pennsylvania’s 11 electric distribution companies improved average restoration time for customers experiencing an outage, nine improved outage frequency, and eight improved overall outage duration compared with 2024.

Still, improvement from one year to the next does not necessarily mean utilities are meeting established Commission benchmarks. Four EDCs achieved the benchmark for average restoration time, four achieved the outage-frequency benchmark and five achieved the benchmark for overall outage duration.

The report also encourages utilities to continue examining skilled staffing levels, contractor availability and response times to help ensure outages are restored as quickly and safely as possible.


Weather Remains the Common Thread

The common thread running through nearly every significant outage in 2025 was weather.

Of Pennsylvania’s 55 reportable outages during the year, 52 were caused by weather impacts on electric distribution systems. And while the annual number declined from the record experienced in 2024, the report notes that reportable outages have generally become more frequent over the longer term – including among utilities with substantial infrastructure improvement programs.

Rather than excusing reliability problems because of severe weather, the report says those conditions reinforce the need for continued attention to system hardening, vegetation management, infrastructure improvements, and storm preparation and response.

Building a More Resilient Electric System

The changing nature of severe weather is also pushing the Commission to look more closely at when ordinary weather conditions become serious threats to electric reliability.

During 2025, the PUC’s Bureau of Technical Utility Services participated in a Resiliency Deep Dive Project examining the effects of extreme weather and changing climate conditions on Pennsylvania’s electric distribution systems.

The project identified wind-speed thresholds where outage rates and customer impacts begin to increase sharply – information that can help utilities and regulators better identify higher-risk conditions and prepare for storms capable of producing disproportionate outages and restoration challenges.

The Commission continues to evaluate utility reliability performance, infrastructure and maintenance programs, vegetation management, storm response and other efforts aimed at strengthening Pennsylvania’s electric distribution systems.

The goal is straightforward: fewer outages when severe weather strikes, stronger systems when it does, and faster, safer restoration for customers when the lights go out.

About the Report

The 2025 Pennsylvania Electric Reliability Report, issued by the PUC in 2026, examines electric distribution reliability during calendar year 2025. The full report includes statewide reliability trends, outage data and detailed performance information for Pennsylvania’s jurisdictional electric distribution companies.

About the PUC

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission balances the needs of consumers and utilities; ensures safe and reliable utility service at reasonable rates; protects the public interest; educates consumers to make independent and informed utility choices; furthers economic development; and fosters new technologies and competitive markets in an environmentally sound manner.

Visit the PUC’s website at puc.pa.gov for recent news releases and video of select proceedings. You can also follow us on X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube. Search for the “Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission” or “PA PUC” on your favorite social media channel for updates on utility issues and other helpful consumer information.

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Contact:

• Nils Hagen-Frederiksen
  Press Secretary
  717-418-2701
  nhagen-fre@pa.gov
• David Hixson
  Deputy Press Secretary
  717-772-2766
  dhixson@pa.gov