Brown 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 29, 2023 | 2 hrs | 6,685 (27%) | Flood |
| Jul 3, 2022 | 6 hrs | 6,204 (25%) | Flood |
| Jul 6, 2022 | 3 hrs | 5,328 (22%) | Flood |
| Feb 16, 2021 | 3 hrs | 3,279 (13%) | Extreme Cold/Wind Chill |
| May 23, 2023 | 3 hrs | 3,268 (13%) | Flood |
Was There an Outage on a Specific Date?
Pick a date to see whether a power outage was recorded for Brown County, South Dakota that day.
Over the 7 years from 2019 to 2025, Brown County recorded 120 distinct power outage events, averaging 3.0 hours per event.
The single worst outage on record in Brown County started August 29, 2023 (Flood), lasting 2 hours and leaving up to 6,685 customers without power (27% of the county) at its peak.
July has historically been the worst month for outages in Brown County, with 19 events recorded during that month across the dataset.
Based on this history, Brown County earns a Reliability Grade of A, placing it in the 90th percentile nationally for grid reliability (higher percentile = more reliable).
Similar counties in South Dakota
Counties with the closest reliability grade and national percentile to Brown County.
| County | Grade | National percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Charles Mix County | A | 90th |
| Davison County | A | 90th |
| Hutchinson County | A | 90th |
| Douglas County | A | 90th |
| Brookings 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 Brown County?
Between 2019 and 2025, Brown County recorded 120 outage events, averaging 3.0 hours each.
What is Brown County's reliability grade?
Brown County has a Reliability Grade of A, in the 90th national percentile.
What was the worst power outage in Brown County?
The worst outage on record started August 29, 2023 (Flood), lasting 2 hours and affecting up to 6,685 customers.