Interruptions in electricity service vary in frequency and duration across the nearly 3,000 electric distribution systems in the United States. Power interruptions are caused by many factors, including weather, vegetation patterns, and utility practices. In 2018, power outage durations for U.S. electricity customers averaged 5.8 hours per customer. One way to measure the reliability of electric utilities is the System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI) metric, which is the total time an average customer experiences a non-momentary power interruption during a year. For utilities that report SAIDI metrics ... (full story)