Polk County, NC Power Outages
Only some utilities serving Polk County, North Carolina share live outage data (Rutherford Elec Member Corp), and none of them report outages here right now. Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC and Broad River Electric Coop, Inc do not share live data, so check their outage maps for real-time status.
Polk County on the North Carolina outage map
- Normal
- Minor
- Moderate
- Major
- Severe
- Limited data
Current outages
Weather alerts
No active outage-relevant weather alerts from the National Weather Service.
Polk County power outage history
Every significant outage recorded in Polk County since late 2014, with likely causes from NOAA storm reports
Since late 2014, DOE's EAGLE-I monitoring system has recorded 393 significant power outages in Polk County, meaning events that left at least 1% of customers in the dark. The largest (Sep 24 – Oct 14, 2024) came when flooding left 17,366 customers (100% of the county) without power.
From 2018 to 2025, the average customer here lost about 101 hr 47 min of power per year, more than the North Carolina average of 26 hr 3 min. That ranks 16th of 100 North Carolina counties for outage time, where 1st has the most.
October is the riskiest month: it accounted for 41% of all customer outage time from 2018 to 2025. On 242 days in that period, at least 5% of customers were out at the same time. Outage time in Polk County has risen recently: about 149 hr 12 min per customer per year in 2022–2025, versus 54 hr 24 min in 2018–2021.
The most recent significant outage on record (Dec 14–15, 2025) affected 399 customers (7.7%).
Worst outages on record
| # | When | Peak customers out | Days | Likely cause (NOAA) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sep 24 – Oct 14, 2024 | 17,366(100%) | 21 | Flooding |
| 2 | Oct 29 – Nov 3, 2020 | 10,904(100%) | 6 | Hurricane Zeta |
| 3 | Dec 9–13, 2018 | 7,675(100%) | 5 | Winter storm |
| 4 | Jul 28, 2025 | 4,869(93.4%) | 1 | Extreme heat |
| 5 | Jan 20–22, 2019 | 4,593(88.1%) | 3 | Extreme cold |
Hours without power per customer, by year
When outages happen
Source: DOE/ORNL EAGLE-I recorded electricity outages, 2014–2025 (CC BY 4.0), with likely causes from the NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database. EAGLE-I coverage was partial before 2018, so averages use 2018–2025. Peak counts are the highest number of customers out at one time.
Who provides electricity in Polk County?
Electric companies with service territory in Polk County (EIA-861, 2025)
| Utility | Type | Customers (NC) | Avg. outage time / yr | Live data |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duke Energy Carolinas | Investor Owned | 2,274,896 | Not reporting | |
| Rutherford Elec Member Corp | Cooperative | 78,498 | Reporting | |
| Broad River Electric Coop, Inc | Cooperative | 498 | Not reporting |
Customer counts are each utility's statewide total in North Carolina. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-861 & Electric Power Annual.
Local outage news
No Polk County outage headlines in the past week.
Nearby counties
Polk County power outage FAQ
Is the power out in Polk County right now?
No outages are currently reported for Polk County by participating utilities. Live coverage is limited here, so If your power is out, report it to your electric company.
Which electric company serves Polk County?
According to EIA-861 service territory data, Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC, Rutherford Elec Member Corp, Broad River Electric Coop, Inc provide electric service in Polk County, North Carolina.
What was the worst power outage in Polk County?
The largest outage recorded by DOE's EAGLE-I system since 2014 was Sep 24 – Oct 14, 2024. It peaked at 17,366 customers without power (100% of the county). NOAA storm reports for that period point to flooding.
How often does the power go out in Polk County?
EAGLE-I has recorded 393 significant outages here since late 2014. From 2018 to 2025 the average customer lost about 101 hr 47 min of power per year, and on 242 days at least 5% of customers were out at once.
Cite this page
You may reuse our derived data under CC BY 4.0 with attribution. Underlying government data is public domain.
PowerOutageTracker.com. "Polk County, NC Power Outages." Accessed November 3, 2026. https://poweroutagetracker.com/outages/north-carolina/polk-county