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Spatiotemporal distribution of power outages with climate events and social vulnerability in the USA

Author

Listed:
  • Vivian Do

    (Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health)

  • Heather McBrien

    (Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health)

  • Nina M. Flores

    (Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health)

  • Alexander J. Northrop

    (Columbia University)

  • Jeffrey Schlegelmilch

    (Columbia University)

  • Mathew V. Kiang

    (Stanford University School of Medicine)

  • Joan A. Casey

    (Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health
    University of Washington School of Public Health)

Abstract

Power outages threaten public health. While outages will likely increase with climate change, an aging electrical grid, and increased energy demand, little is known about their frequency and distribution within states. Here, we characterize 2018–2020 outages, finding an average of 520 million customer-hours total without power annually across 2447 US counties (73.7% of the US population). 17,484 8+ hour outages (a medically-relevant duration with potential health consequences) and 231,174 1+ hour outages took place, with greatest prevalence in Northeastern, Southern, and Appalachian counties. Arkansas, Louisiana, and Michigan counties experience a dual burden of frequent 8+ hour outages and high social vulnerability and prevalence of electricity-dependent durable medical equipment use. 62.1% of 8+ hour outages co-occur with extreme weather/climate events, particularly heavy precipitation, anomalous heat, and tropical cyclones. Results could support future large-scale epidemiology studies, inform equitable disaster preparedness and response, and prioritize geographic areas for resource allocation and interventions.

Suggested Citation

  • Vivian Do & Heather McBrien & Nina M. Flores & Alexander J. Northrop & Jeffrey Schlegelmilch & Mathew V. Kiang & Joan A. Casey, 2023. "Spatiotemporal distribution of power outages with climate events and social vulnerability in the USA," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-13, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:14:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-023-38084-6
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-38084-6
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Jacob Kim-Sherman & Lee Seltzer, 2024. "Clustering in Natural Disaster Damages," Staff Reports 1135, Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
    3. Loni, Abdolah & Asadi, Somayeh, 2024. "A data-driven approach to quantify social vulnerability to power outages: California case study," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 359(C).
    4. Ping, Dazhou & Li, Chaosu & Yu, Xiaojun & Liu, Zhengxuan & Tu, Ran & Zhou, Yuekuan, 2025. "City-scale information modelling for urban energy resilience with optimal battery energy storages in Hong Kong," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 378(PA).
    5. Macmillan, Madeline & Zolan, Alexander & Bazilian, Morgan & Villa, Daniel L., 2024. "Microgrid design and multi-year dispatch optimization under climate-informed load and renewable resource uncertainty," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 368(C).

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