Consumers Energy Coop, IA
How often Consumers Energy Coop goes out
Iowa's record with Consumers Energy Coop: 0.7 outages in the most recent filing year, 1.6 hours without power in total, modestly better than the national norm. That is 38% less outage time than the Iowa state average of 2.5 hours a year.
What a typical outage at Consumers Energy Coop looks like
A typical outage here runs about 2.1 hours - long enough that a battery alone usually will not see you through, but short enough that a fuel-powered portable generator is a reasonable match. The frequency-versus-duration guide covers why length decides the kind of backup.
Do Consumers Energy Coop customers need a generator
Serving 7,765 customers here, Nothing here says you should buy a generator today - Consumers Energy Coop's record is a little better than most of the country, though it is worth checking your own past outages before ruling one out.
Where this number comes from
These figures come from EIA Form 861, the reliability report a member-owned cooperative like Consumers Energy Coop files with federal regulators every year - serving 7,765 customers hereaveraged across the whole territory, not any one address or storm. Every other utility in Iowa is covered too: see Iowa's full record. One big storm can move a single year a lot; major event days explains how.