Dane 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 22, 2024 | 24 hrs | 46,973 (15%) | Hail |
| Jun 13, 2022 | 69 hrs | 18,824 (6%) | Hail |
| Jul 6, 2016 | 14 hrs | 16,821 (6%) | Thunderstorm Wind |
| Jul 29, 2023 | 25 hrs | 16,785 (5%) | Thunderstorm Wind |
| Jul 20, 2017 | 16 hrs | 15,944 (5%) | Thunderstorm Wind |
Was There an Outage on a Specific Date?
Pick a date to see whether a power outage was recorded for Dane County, Wisconsin that day.
Over the 12 years from 2014 to 2025, Dane County recorded 974 distinct power outage events, averaging 2.0 hours per event.
The single worst outage on record in Dane County started May 22, 2024 (Hail), lasting 24 hours and leaving up to 46,973 customers without power (15% of the county) at its peak.
July has historically been the worst month for outages in Dane County, with 133 events recorded during that month across the dataset.
Based on this history, Dane County earns a Reliability Grade of A, placing it in the 92nd percentile nationally for grid reliability (higher percentile = more reliable).
Similar counties in Wisconsin
Counties with the closest reliability grade and national percentile to Dane County.
| County | Grade | National percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Crawford County | A | 92nd |
| Douglas County | A | 91st |
| Price County | A | 92nd |
| Richland County | A | 91st |
| Columbia County | A | 90th |
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 Dane County?
Between 2014 and 2025, Dane County recorded 974 outage events, averaging 2.0 hours each.
What is Dane County's reliability grade?
Dane County has a Reliability Grade of A, in the 92nd national percentile.
What was the worst power outage in Dane County?
The worst outage on record started May 22, 2024 (Hail), lasting 24 hours and affecting up to 46,973 customers.