Study shows power outage improvements are made in Oklahoma

A recent study of Oklahoma’s six regulated electric utilities showed that customers in northeast Oklahoma averaged the most time without power in 2022.

It was the claim of the 2023 Reliability Scorecard given to Oklahoma Corporation Commissioners in May of this year.  The report indicated Northeast Oklahoma custsomers “averaged the most time without power in 2022, that being 182.34 minutes or 3.04 hours.”

OG&E had the second time time without power, per the scorecard, at 163.39 minutes or 2.72 hours. Canadian Valley customers were without power for the shortest time in 2022, an average of 44.97 minutes. PSO and Empire customers were without power for an average of 107.10 and 95.78 minutes, respectively, during 2022.

Altogether, customers of Oklahoma’s regulated electric utilities were without power for an average of 111.43 minutes last
year, according to the scorecard.

Over the past seven years, NOEC and OG&E customers, on average, were without power the longest, while Canadian Valley customers averaged the least amount of power outage time
during the period.

The scorecard graded the power outages over a 7-year period and covered Arkansas Valley Electric Cooperative Corp., Canadian Valley Electric Cooperative, Inc., Empire District Electric Co., Northeast Oklahoma Electric Cooperative, Inc., Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co. and Public Service Company of Oklahoma.

On average, a customer served by a regulated electric utility was without power for 143.90 minutes or 2.40 hours over the seven year period. The two largest utilities, OG&E and PSO had longer averages. OGE’s average was 149.23 minutes or 2.49 hours while PSO’s average outage was 105.16 minutes or 1.75 hours, according to the scorecard.

While recent storms left customers in some areas of the state without power for longer periods, the scorecard found that the average time a customer of a regulated electric utility has decreased since 2016.

What other conclusions can be drawn from the study? The scorecard determined that over the past seven years, PSO and OG&E experienced “relatively slight chances in the duration of outages,” something that suggests service was more consistent the service of the other four regulated electric utilities.

The study found that some of the utilities have succeeded in improving their service reliability and reducing the number and duration of the power outages. But it also concluded that “others of these electric utilities have more work to do” to achive the levels of progress achieve by the most reliable service providers.