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COSTS OF ELECTRICAL POWER OUTAGES IN UNITED STATES

The costs of electric power outages to U.S. electric customers are generally called “socioeconomic” costs. Attempts have been made to quantify these costs but the estimates vary widely. One source reports that the costs are $26 billion each year and that they have been increasing as the electric power industry is restructured. A 2001 report from the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) states that power outages and problems with power quality cost the U.S. economy over $119 billion per year. Costs are due to:
  1. Loss of life due to accidents (e.g., no street lights)
  2. Loss of life of the ill and elderly (death rates go up)
  3. Loss of productivity by industry
  4. Loss of sales by business
  5. Loss of wages of labor
  6. Damage to equipment in industry
  7. Fires and explosions
  8. Riots and thefts
  9. Increased insurance rates

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