Powell Valley Electric Coop, VA
How often Powell Valley Electric Coop goes out
4.6 separate outages last year, 3 hours without power in total - that is Powell Valley Electric Coop's record for Virginia, running ahead of the national median. That is 61% less outage time than the Virginia state average of 7.7 hours a year.
What a typical outage at Powell Valley Electric Coop looks like
A single outage here averages 39 minutes. That is squarely in battery-power-station range; a fuel generator is overkill for most of these. Why outage length, not count, picks the backup: how often vs how long.
The generator question for Powell Valley Electric Coop
Serving 8,406 customers here, Given how often Powell Valley Electric Coop goes out, you should consider a backup generator rather than treat it as optional.
Where this number comes from
These figures come from EIA Form 861, the reliability report a member-owned cooperative like Powell Valley Electric Coop files with federal regulators every year - serving 8,406 customers hereaveraged across the whole territory, not any one address or storm. Want the Virginia average instead of just this one utility? Virginia's statewide record is here. Storm days are counted in - here is why.