District of Columbia Power Outage Risk, Electric Utilities & Generator Sizing

District of Columbia households average 33 min/yr (33 minutes/year) of total blackout duration across 0.27 outages/year (Reliability Grade A — Low Outage Risk), with an average residential electricity rate of 17.72 ¢/kWh.

Browse All 57 ZIP Codes in District of Columbia →

Interactive Appliance Load Calculator

⚡ Home Backup Wattage Sizer for District of Columbia

Check the appliances you need to keep running during a blackout. We calculate your continuous running watts, highest motor starting surge, and 20% NEC safety headroom automatically.

Refrigerator / Freezer200W running · 1,200W startup surge

Gas Furnace Blower Fan700W running · 1,500W startup surge

Basement Sump Pump (1/2 HP)800W running · 2,000W startup surge

Wi-Fi Router, Phones & Laptops150W running · 150W startup surge

Medical CPAP / Garage / LED Lights200W running · 400W startup surge

Well Water Pump (1/2 HP, 240V)1,000W running · 2,200W startup surge

Window / Portable AC Unit1,200W running · 2,400W startup surge

Microwave / Coffee Maker1,200W running · 1,200W startup surge

Live Sizing Result (+20% Headroom)

3,000 W

Recommended Minimum Generator / Inverter Rating

1,250 WContinuous Running

2,250 WPeak Motor Surge

Recommended Tier

Select your appliances on the left.

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Top Cities & Towns in District of Columbia

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Electric Utilities Operating in District of Columbia (EIA Form 861)

Utility Name	Ownership	Customers	Outages/Yr	Annual Outage Time	Avg Restoration	Residential Rate
Potomac Electric Power Co (#15270)	Investor-Owned	285,878	0.27x/yr	33 min (0.5h)	120 min	16.58 ¢/kWh
CleanChoice Energy, Inc. (#58951)	Retail Power Marketer	6,940	0.27x/yr	33 min (0.5h)	120 min	21.14 ¢/kWh
SmartEnergy Holdings, LLC (#58956)	Retail Power Marketer	4,186	0.27x/yr	33 min (0.5h)	120 min	17.57 ¢/kWh
MPower Energy NJ LLC (#60218)	Retail Power Marketer	3,523	0.27x/yr	33 min (0.5h)	120 min	18.72 ¢/kWh
WGL Energy Services, Inc. (#20659)	Retail Power Marketer	3,222	0.27x/yr	33 min (0.5h)	120 min	12.98 ¢/kWh
Constellation NewEnergy, Inc (#13374)	Retail Power Marketer	1,597	0.27x/yr	33 min (0.5h)	120 min	11.95 ¢/kWh
SunSea Energy, LLC (#61972)	Retail Power Marketer	1,512	0.27x/yr	33 min (0.5h)	120 min	26.15 ¢/kWh
Inspire Energy Holdings, LLC (#59310)	Retail Power Marketer	910	0.27x/yr	33 min (0.5h)	120 min	15.93 ¢/kWh
Palmco Power DC, LLC (#61283)	Retail Power Marketer	868	0.27x/yr	33 min (0.5h)	120 min	22.05 ¢/kWh
IDT Energy, Inc. (#55815)	Retail Power Marketer	749	0.27x/yr	33 min (0.5h)	120 min	16.15 ¢/kWh
XOOM Energy Washington DC, LLC (#59312)	Retail Power Marketer	623	0.27x/yr	33 min (0.5h)	120 min	16.31 ¢/kWh
Major Energy Electric Services (#56504)	Retail Power Marketer	615	0.27x/yr	33 min (0.5h)	120 min	15.43 ¢/kWh
Direct Energy Services (#54820)	Retail Power Marketer	495	0.27x/yr	33 min (0.5h)	120 min	13.60 ¢/kWh
Median Energy Corp. (#63168)	Retail Power Marketer	491	0.27x/yr	33 min (0.5h)	120 min	16.46 ¢/kWh
Atlantic Energy LLC (#60583)	Retail Power Marketer	481	0.27x/yr	33 min (0.5h)	120 min	23.98 ¢/kWh
Reliant Energy Northeast LLC (#57037)	Retail Power Marketer	386	0.27x/yr	33 min (0.5h)	120 min	16.42 ¢/kWh
Clearview Electric Inc. (#58974)	Retail Power Marketer	320	0.27x/yr	33 min (0.5h)	120 min	21.96 ¢/kWh
Ambit Energy Holdings, LLC (#56212)	Retail Power Marketer	247	0.27x/yr	33 min (0.5h)	120 min	14.53 ¢/kWh
Park Power LLC (#59797)	Retail Power Marketer	226	0.27x/yr	33 min (0.5h)	120 min	19.22 ¢/kWh
Stream Energy Columbia, LLC (#58476)	Retail Power Marketer	215	0.27x/yr	33 min (0.5h)	120 min	16.67 ¢/kWh
Titan Gas LLC (#59065)	Retail Power Marketer	174	0.27x/yr	33 min (0.5h)	120 min	18.04 ¢/kWh
Renaissance Power & Gas, Inc. (#61059)	Retail Power Marketer	153	0.27x/yr	33 min (0.5h)	120 min	13.69 ¢/kWh
Horizon Power and Light, LLC (#59062)	Retail Power Marketer	146	0.27x/yr	33 min (0.5h)	120 min	17.56 ¢/kWh
Eligo Energy, LLC (#59054)	Retail Power Marketer	123	0.27x/yr	33 min (0.5h)	120 min	19.00 ¢/kWh
Energywell LLC (#65310)	Retail Power Marketer	116	0.27x/yr	33 min (0.5h)	120 min	10.78 ¢/kWh
Nordic Energy Services, LLC (#59088)	Retail Power Marketer	99	0.27x/yr	33 min (0.5h)	120 min	15.21 ¢/kWh
RPA Energy, Inc. (#63695)	Retail Power Marketer	82	0.27x/yr	33 min (0.5h)	120 min	25.54 ¢/kWh
NextEra Energy Services, LLC (#7279)	Retail Power Marketer	72	0.27x/yr	33 min (0.5h)	120 min	9.41 ¢/kWh
MidAmerican Energy Services, LLC (#59931)	Retail Power Marketer	17	0.27x/yr	33 min (0.5h)	120 min	9.96 ¢/kWh
Alpha Gas and Electric, LLC (#58964)	Retail Power Marketer	16	0.27x/yr	33 min (0.5h)	120 min	16.08 ¢/kWh
Verde Energy USA (#59620)	Retail Power Marketer	2	0.27x/yr	33 min (0.5h)	120 min	13.33 ¢/kWh