Lea 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 3, 2023 | 4 hrs | 16,490 (35%) | Hail |
| Aug 8, 2023 | 9 hrs | 15,710 (33%) | Unnamed event |
| Feb 16, 2021 | 9 hrs | 6,217 (13%) | Unnamed event |
| Sep 30, 2023 | 26 hrs | 6,092 (13%) | Hail |
| Oct 6, 2018 | 7 hrs | 4,795 (10%) | Unnamed event |
Was There an Outage on a Specific Date?
Pick a date to see whether a power outage was recorded for Lea County, New Mexico that day.
Over the 12 years from 2014 to 2025, Lea County recorded 574 distinct power outage events, averaging 2.0 hours per event.
The single worst outage on record in Lea County started July 3, 2023 (Hail), lasting 4 hours and leaving up to 16,490 customers without power (35% of the county) at its peak.
June has historically been the worst month for outages in Lea County, with 96 events recorded during that month across the dataset.
Based on this history, Lea County earns a Reliability Grade of A, placing it in the 83rd percentile nationally for grid reliability (higher percentile = more reliable).
Similar counties in New Mexico
Counties with the closest reliability grade and national percentile to Lea County.
| County | Grade | National percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Bernalillo County | A | 83rd |
| San Juan County | A | 83rd |
| De Baca County | A | 84th |
| Otero County | A | 80th |
| San Miguel County | B | 80th |
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 Lea County?
Between 2014 and 2025, Lea County recorded 574 outage events, averaging 2.0 hours each.
What is Lea County's reliability grade?
Lea County has a Reliability Grade of A, in the 83rd national percentile.
What was the worst power outage in Lea County?
The worst outage on record started July 3, 2023 (Hail), lasting 4 hours and affecting up to 16,490 customers.