Most power cuts are short, but official sources show the electricity system is being asked to do more with thinner margins. Demand is growing fast, partly because of data centres, and extreme weather keeps testing the wires. Online services have also failed in big ways that have nothing to do with your home. None of this means disaster is coming. It means a few days of water, light, warmth and phone power is a sensible, low-cost habit.
Demand is growing quickly
The U.S. Energy Information Administration expects record electricity generation in 2026 and 2027, with data centres a main driver. More demand on the same grid leaves less spare room on extreme days.
Regulators see tighter margins
NERC says 13 of 23 assessment areas face resource adequacy challenges within five years, and PJM fell about 6,625 MW short of its reserve target for 2027-28. Some analysts argue the forecasts are too pessimistic, so the honest picture is uncertain but tighter.
Weather still causes the longest outages
A January 2026 winter storm cut power to more than 1 million customers across the South, and Hurricane Isaias left nearly 900,000 without power this October. Heat waves and wildfire shutoffs add to the list.
Winter is the stress test
NERC's winter assessment says supplies are adequate in normal weather but tight in extreme, widespread cold. NOAA expects a very strong El Niño this winter, which favours a stormier South.
The internet and phones can fail on their own
In the past year a cloud outage, a Cloudflare error and a Verizon outage each disrupted apps, payments or calls while homes still had power. A blackout in Spain and Portugal showed how a whole region can go dark in seconds.
Official advice is simple and cheap
Ready.gov asks households to keep several days of water, food, a radio, light and phone backup power. Our kits turn that list into a shopping list you can buy in one click.
The news, with sources
Summaries in our own words. Follow each link to read the original.
NOAA's winter outlook: a very strong El Niño and a stormier South
NOAA released its December 2026 to February 2027 outlook on October 15, 2026. It favours warmer-than-average temperatures across the northern U.S. and wetter-than-average conditions along the southern tier and the East Coast. The agency's weather service director called it "a very strong El Nino" that is likely to shift the jet stream southward and eastward.
What it means for you: A warmer winter is not a storm-free winter, so keep a plan for heavy rain, ice or snow knocking out power and know how to stay warm without it.
Hurricane Isaias leaves nearly 900,000 without power on the Gulf Coast
Isaias came ashore near Pensacola late on a Friday as a Category 2 storm, after holding Category 3 strength for much of that day. At its peak nearly 900,000 customers lost power, and more than 700,000 were still out at 2 p.m. CT the next day, mostly in the Florida Panhandle, Alabama and Georgia.
What it means for you: Even a season forecast to be quieter can deliver one storm that leaves a region without power for days, so water, light and a charged phone matter before landfall.
PG&E turns off power to about 2,500 customers to reduce wildfire risk
On September 14, 2026 PG&E shut off power in Butte, Colusa, Glenn, Tehama and Yolo counties because of strong winds, low humidity and high fire danger. The event was first forecast to reach about 14,000 customers in 12 northern counties. PG&E says these shutoffs are a last-resort safety measure and reported that essentially all customers were restored by evening.
What it means for you: In wildfire country a planned shutoff can happen with only short notice, so keep lights, phone power and a radio ready before wind season.
EIA expects record U.S. electricity generation in 2026 and 2027
The Energy Information Administration expects U.S. generation to rise 2.2% to a record 4,368 billion kilowatthours in 2026, then grow another 1.7% in 2027. Electricity sales are forecast at 4,135 billion kilowatthours in 2026, almost 2% above 2025, and 4,211 billion in 2027.
What it means for you: More demand on the same wires and plants leaves less spare room when weather is extreme, which is why short outages are more likely to turn into long ones.
PJM grid issues emergency alerts as a heat wave nears its all-time record
On July 2, 2026 PJM expected a peak of 166,241 MW, which would beat its 2006 summer record of 165,563 MW. It issued a Maximum Generation Alert, activated Pre-Emergency Demand Response, and received a Department of Energy 202(c) order allowing it to direct data centers and other large loads with backup generation to curtail as a last resort before voltage reduction or load shed.
What it means for you: Heat waves strain the grid and the air-conditioning load at the same moment, so know how to keep a home cool and a phone charged if power is cut.
NERC's 2026 summer outlook is better, with a warning about large loads
A law-firm summary of NERC's 2026 Summer Reliability Assessment (released May 19, 2026) says every assessment area should have adequate resources for normal summer peak demand. Elevated-risk areas fell from six to three: New England, Saskatchewan and the Pacific Northwest. More than 58 GW of new generation arrived since summer 2025, but NERC calls the unpredictability of large loads a new and growing challenge.
What it means for you: Good news for a normal summer, but the same report says extreme heat or a plant failure can still tip some regions into shortfalls.
Final report explains the April 2025 Spain and Portugal blackout
ENTSO-E's expert panel published its final report on 20 March 2026. It found the blackout that began at 12:33 CEST on 28 April 2025 came from several interacting factors, including oscillations, gaps in voltage control and generators disconnecting, which caused cascading disconnections in Spain. The blackout covered continental Spain and Portugal.
What it means for you: A modern grid can go dark across two countries within seconds, so a family should be ready for a long wait without lights, payments or mobile service.
Analysts say NERC's long-term grid warning may be too pessimistic
Grid Strategies argues NERC's 2025 Long-Term Reliability Assessment pairs a high demand forecast with cautious supply assumptions. NERC assumes demand grows by 160 GW by 2030, including 90 GW from data centers, and Grid Strategies says data centre load may be double-counted or delayed.
What it means for you: Experts disagree about how big the shortfall will be, which is a good reason to prepare modestly for outages instead of either panicking or ignoring them.
NERC: 13 of 23 grid areas face resource adequacy challenges within five years
NERC's 2025 Long-Term Reliability Assessment says 13 of 23 assessment areas face resource adequacy challenges over the next five years. Summer peak demand is projected to rise by 224 GW and winter peak demand by 245 GW over 2026 to 2035. NERC names MISO, PJM, ERCOT and parts of the West among areas at high risk by 2030.
What it means for you: The official grid reliability watchdog expects tighter margins in many regions, so being able to cope for a few days at home is a sensible baseline.
Verizon outage leaves customers with phones stuck on SOS for hours
A Verizon outage that began around noon ET on January 14, 2026 affected at least 178,284 customers at one point, according to Downdetector. New York Emergency Management said some people trying to call 911 were affected and advised using another carrier's device or a landline. Verizon had not said what caused it, and offered a $20 credit.
What it means for you: Your phone can fail even when your home has power, so keep a written contact list and a backup way to get alerts.
Winter storm cuts power to more than 1 million customers across the South
NPR reported that more than 1 million customers lost power across the South at the peak of the late January 2026 storm. More than 800,000 homes and businesses were still dark by mid-morning Monday, falling below 700,000 by early afternoon. The Associated Press counted at least 25 deaths.
What it means for you: Ice and cold can take out power across several states at once, so a plan for staying warm and safe from carbon monoxide matters.
EIA: strongest four-year jump in U.S. electricity demand since 2000
In January 2026 the Energy Information Administration projected U.S. electricity use to grow 1% in 2026 and 3% in 2027. That would be the first time since 2007 that demand rises four years in a row, and the strongest four-year growth since 2000. It named large computing facilities, including data centers, as the main driver.
What it means for you: After years of flat demand, the grid is now being asked to grow quickly, and new supply takes time to build.
PJM capacity prices hit a record and the region falls short of its reliability target
PJM's auction for 2027-28 cleared at the price cap of $333.44/MW-day, a record for the third auction in a row. PJM procured 145,777 MW, about 6,625 MW below its 20% installed reserve margin target. Its demand forecast rose by 5,250 MW, almost entirely driven by data centers.
What it means for you: A thinner reserve margin in the largest U.S. grid means less cushion on the hottest and coldest days.
NERC winter assessment: enough power in normal weather, tight in extreme cold
NERC's 2025-2026 Winter Reliability Assessment says winter peak demand forecasts rose about 20 GW (2.5%) from the year before while total resources grew by only 9.4 GW. Regions flagged as elevated risk if conditions turn extreme include Texas, parts of the Southeast, New England and Eastern Canada, and portions of the Western Interconnection.
What it means for you: A long, widespread cold snap is the scenario where a normal winter becomes a long blackout, so prepare for cold before it arrives.
Cloudflare outage breaks large parts of the web for about six hours
Cloudflare reported that failures began at 11:20 UTC on November 18, 2025 and all systems were back to normal by 17:06 UTC. A database permissions change doubled the size of a configuration file and caused the proxy software to fail and return errors. Cloudflare says it was not caused by a cyber attack.
What it means for you: A single internal error at one company can take many websites and apps offline, so keep offline copies of the key information you need.
Amazon cloud outage knocks apps, banks and games offline for hours
On October 20, 2025 a problem in the US-EAST-1 region of Amazon Web Services disrupted services including Venmo, Snapchat, Reddit, Lyft, Zoom and Bank of America, according to Engadget. AWS said the trigger was DNS resolution issues for its DynamoDB service endpoints, and that all AWS services returned to normal by 3:01 PM PT.
What it means for you: Payment apps, smart-home gadgets and messaging can all stop at once for reasons that have nothing to do with your house, so keep some cash and a non-app way to reach family.
DOE report warns outage risk could rise sharply by 2030 if plants retire unreplaced
The Department of Energy's July 2025 grid reliability report says blackouts could increase by 100 times in 2030 if reliable plants keep retiring and firm capacity is not added. It models 104 GW of firm generation retiring by 2030, and notes 209 GW of new generation is expected but only 22 GW of it is firm baseload. Some analysts dispute the modelling.
What it means for you: The report is a worst-case scenario rather than a forecast, but it shows why federal regulators are asking households and utilities to take reliability seriously.
Microsoft: faulty security update affected 8.5 million Windows devices
Microsoft estimated that 8.5 million Windows devices were affected by the CrowdStrike update on July 19, 2024. That was less than 1 percent of Windows machines globally.
What it means for you: Even a small share of devices failing can ground flights and halt payments, so cash and paper copies of key details are worth having.
CISA and partners: state-sponsored hackers have been pre-positioning in U.S. networks
A joint advisory (AA24-038A) says PRC state-sponsored cyber actors are seeking to pre-position themselves on IT networks for disruptive or destructive cyberattacks against U.S. critical infrastructure. It says they have compromised IT environments of multiple organisations, primarily in Communications, Energy, Transportation Systems, and Water and Wastewater Systems.
What it means for you: This is a government warning to infrastructure operators, not a prediction of an attack, but it is a reason to have a plan that does not depend on the internet.
Ready.gov: keep several days of water, food and basic supplies at home
Ready.gov's Build A Kit page recommends one gallon of water per person per day for several days and a non-perishable food supply that lasts several days. It also lists a battery-powered or hand-crank radio, a NOAA Weather Radio, a flashlight, a first aid kit, spare batteries and a cell phone with chargers and a backup battery. The date shown is when we last reviewed the page.
What it means for you: This is the baseline the federal government asks every household to meet, and it is the core of our Blackout Kit.
Ready.gov: how to prepare for and stay safe in a power outage
Ready.gov advises planning backup power such as a portable charger or power bank, and installing carbon monoxide detectors with battery backup on every level of the home. Generators and fuel should be used outdoors and at least 20 feet from windows, doors and attached garages. It says a full freezer keeps its temperature for about 48 hours and a refrigerator for about four. The date shown is when we last reviewed the page.
What it means for you: Most outage injuries are avoidable, and the main fixes are a working CO alarm, a closed fridge door and a generator kept outside.