Prince William 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 24, 2021 | 3 hrs | 38,810 (13%) | Unnamed event |
| Jan 3, 2022 | 81 hrs | 33,253 (11%) | Unnamed event |
| Mar 2, 2018 | 91 hrs | 32,321 (11%) | Unnamed event |
| May 31, 2025 | 8 hrs | 15,218 (5%) | Unnamed event |
| Jul 17, 2019 | 19 hrs | 13,679 (5%) | Thunderstorm Wind |
Was There an Outage on a Specific Date?
Pick a date to see whether a power outage was recorded for Prince William County, Virginia that day.
Over the 12 years from 2014 to 2025, Prince William County recorded 1,140 distinct power outage events, averaging 2.0 hours per event.
The single worst outage on record in Prince William County started August 24, 2021, lasting 3 hours and leaving up to 38,810 customers without power (13% of the county) at its peak.
July has historically been the worst month for outages in Prince William County, with 157 events recorded during that month across the dataset.
Based on this history, Prince William County earns a Reliability Grade of A, placing it in the 88th percentile nationally for grid reliability (higher percentile = more reliable).
Similar counties in Virginia
Counties with the closest reliability grade and national percentile to Prince William County.
| County | Grade | National percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Frederick County | A | 86th |
| Richmond County | A | 86th |
| Winchester County | A | 93rd |
| Radford County | A | 95th |
| Staunton County | A | 82nd |
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 Prince William County?
Between 2014 and 2025, Prince William County recorded 1,140 outage events, averaging 2.0 hours each.
What is Prince William County's reliability grade?
Prince William County has a Reliability Grade of A, in the 88th national percentile.
What was the worst power outage in Prince William County?
The worst outage on record started August 24, 2021, lasting 3 hours and affecting up to 38,810 customers.