Polk 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 2, 2020 | 4 hrs | 4,470 (23%) | Winter Storm |
| Jun 21, 2025 | 14 hrs | 4,006 (21%) | Thunderstorm Wind |
| Jul 10, 2023 | 2 hrs | 2,473 (13%) | Unnamed event |
| Jul 28, 2024 | 8 hrs | 2,331 (12%) | Unnamed event |
| Apr 18, 2023 | 1 hrs | 1,751 (9%) | Flood |
Was There an Outage on a Specific Date?
Pick a date to see whether a power outage was recorded for Polk County, Minnesota that day.
Over the 6 years from 2020 to 2025, Polk County recorded 106 distinct power outage events, averaging 3.2 hours per event.
The single worst outage on record in Polk County started April 2, 2020 (Winter Storm), lasting 4 hours and leaving up to 4,470 customers without power (23% of the county) at its peak.
June has historically been the worst month for outages in Polk County, with 18 events recorded during that month across the dataset.
Based on this history, Polk County earns a Reliability Grade of A, placing it in the 90th percentile nationally for grid reliability (higher percentile = more reliable).
Similar counties in Minnesota
Counties with the closest reliability grade and national percentile to Polk County.
| County | Grade | National percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Mahnomen County | A | 90th |
| Renville County | A | 91st |
| Scott County | A | 91st |
| Houston County | A | 91st |
| Sherburne County | A | 91st |
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 Polk County?
Between 2020 and 2025, Polk County recorded 106 outage events, averaging 3.2 hours each.
What is Polk County's reliability grade?
Polk County has a Reliability Grade of A, in the 90th national percentile.
What was the worst power outage in Polk County?
The worst outage on record started April 2, 2020 (Winter Storm), lasting 4 hours and affecting up to 4,470 customers.