Dakota CountyPower Outage History
What this grade means
Top 20% most reliable nationally — infrequent, short outages. This county ranks in the most reliable fifth of all US counties in our dataset, based on 12 years of real DOE outage records: outages happen less often here, and when they do occur they tend to be resolved quickly compared to the rest of the country. Baseline outage risk is low, though a severe local storm can still occasionally cause a longer-than-usual outage regardless of the long-term track record.
Outages by year
Outages by month (seasonality)
Worst outage events on record
| Date | Duration | Customers affected | Cause |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 1, 2023 | 42 hrs | 21,324 (11%) | Winter Storm |
| Jun 16, 2022 | 1 hrs | 20,538 (10%) | Unnamed event |
| Nov 15, 2023 | <1 hr | 20,486 (10%) | Unnamed event |
| Jun 18, 2023 | <1 hr | 18,971 (10%) | Unnamed event |
| Jun 29, 2022 | <1 hr | 17,679 (9%) | Unnamed event |
Was There an Outage on a Specific Date?
Pick a date to see whether a power outage was recorded for Dakota County, Minnesota that day.
Over the 12 years from 2014 to 2025, Dakota County recorded 1,074 distinct power outage events, averaging 2.0 hours per event.
The single worst outage on record in Dakota County started April 1, 2023 (Winter Storm), lasting 42 hours and leaving up to 21,324 customers without power (11% of the county) at its peak.
June has historically been the worst month for outages in Dakota County, with 190 events recorded during that month across the dataset.
Based on this history, Dakota County earns a Reliability Grade of A, placing it in the 87th percentile nationally for grid reliability (higher percentile = more reliable).
Similar counties in Minnesota
Counties with the closest reliability grade and national percentile to Dakota County.
| County | Grade | National percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Stearns County | A | 87th |
| Blue Earth County | A | 87th |
| Wadena County | A | 88th |
| Swift County | A | 87th |
| Lyon County | A | 88th |
Most reliable counties nationally
The top 3 counties nationally by reliability grade and percentile.
| County | State | Grade | National percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clay County | South Dakota | A | 100th |
| Clearwater County | Minnesota | A | 99th |
| Limestone County | Alabama | A | 99th |
Least reliable counties nationally
The bottom 3 counties nationally by reliability grade and percentile.
| County | State | Grade | National percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clay County | West Virginia | F | 0th |
| Lincoln County | West Virginia | F | 0th |
| Cameron Parish | Louisiana | F | 0th |
FAQ
How often does power go out in Dakota County?
Between 2014 and 2025, Dakota County recorded 1,074 outage events, averaging 2.0 hours each.
What is Dakota County's reliability grade?
Dakota County has a Reliability Grade of A, in the 87th national percentile.
What was the worst power outage in Dakota County?
The worst outage on record started April 1, 2023 (Winter Storm), lasting 42 hours and affecting up to 21,324 customers.