Do other affluent countries have more reliable electricity than the US?

In its national competitiveness rankings, the World Economic Forum includes electricity “supply quality,” measured by losses in distribution and transmission. In 2019 the U.S. ranked 23rd out of 141 countries.

Concerns about the U.S.’s aging, fragmented electricity supply system gain attention in extreme weather. They‘ve been voiced for years by engineers and economists. A 2006 article observed that the frequency of outages “is no less today than it was a quarter-century ago.” A 2012 report to Congress noted that the U.S. had the highest “average annual outage time per customer” among nine leading nations.

In 2019 the average U.S. customer experienced nearly five hours without electricity. In 2020, Popular Science noted that, with blackouts costing the economy at least $150 billion a year, “in the long-term, the hefty costs of upgrading electric facilities may be worth it.”