Municipal · California · EIA 14401
City of Palo Alto - (CA)
Municipal · California · 30K customers. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's EIA Form 861, reliability for 2023 shows SAIDI 172 minutes/customer.
Reliability verdict
City of Palo Alto - (CA) shows near-benchmark chronic reliability in 2023: 172 minutes SAIDI across 30K customers.
- 172 min
- SAIDI 2023
- 1.56
- SAIFI 2023
- 30K
- Customers
Chronic reliability judged on SAIDI excluding major event days when reported (IEEE 1366). Source: EIA Form 861 · August 2026.
Signature read: mid-cohort SAIDI between the 96 and 258 minute tercile cuts.
What mid-pack City of Palo Alto - (CA) filings show
City of Palo Alto - (CA) is a municipally-owned utility operating in California under EIA identifier 14401. It reports service to approximately 29,854 customer accounts and generated about $0.15 billion in annual electric revenue, with a service footprint spanning 15 ZIP codes. Municipal ownership means a local board or city council typically oversees this utility, and it is exempt from federal income tax.
In 2023, the average City of Palo Alto - (CA) customer experienced 171.9 minutes of power interruptions, a metric called SAIDI (System Average Interruption Duration Index). That falls inside the typical 120–180 minute national benchmark, in line with what most U.S. distribution utilities report. Over the same period, SAIFI (outage events per customer) was 1.56, putting the typical customer at roughly 2 distinct interruptions that year.
The EIA dataset includes 4 years of continuous reporting (2020–2023) for City of Palo Alto - (CA), which lets you see whether reliability is trending up or down rather than judging from a single snapshot. SAIDI has increased from 35.6 to 171.9 minutes, which may reflect either worsening weather exposure or delayed grid modernization.
Based on this utility's own EIA Form 861 reliability record -- baseline (major-event- excluded) outage duration, total outage duration, and outage frequency -- each benchmarked against every reporting utility nationwide. Not a measure of electricity rates or customer service, which this portal does not track.
172 minutes per customer per year
Power-out minutes per year (2023)
SAIDI by year (2020-2023)
Minutes per customer-year · EIA Form 861
Year-by-year SAIDI for City of Palo Alto - (CA) from the same EIA filings as the table below. Lower is better; major-event years can spike the headline figure.
City of Palo Alto - (CA) SAIDI trend
City of Palo Alto - (CA) vs the nationwide SAIDI distribution
Where this utility's headline SAIDI sits among every EIA Form 861 utility with a reported figure
172 Around the middle fewer outage minutes than 48% of 911 utilities
Utilities nationwide, banded by latest reported SAIDI (minutes)
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more utilities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. EIA Form 861 reliability filings · August 2026
Price vs. reliability
Where City of Palo Alto - (CA) sits on price vs. reliability
Among the 781 U.S. utilities large enough to report both revenue per customer and a recent outage record, City of Palo Alto - (CA) charges more per customer than 97% of them, and is more reliable (lower SAIDI) than 52% of them, placing it in the quadrant where it pays more and is more reliable. Revenue per customer and outage minutes are independent figures: paying more does not guarantee fewer outages.
Revenue per customer: $5,184/year · Latest SAIDI: 171.9 minutes/year.
Reliability Trend (2020–2023)
| Year | SAIDI (min) | SAIFI | Customers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 35.6 | 0.490 | 29,136 |
| 2021 | 81.7 | 0.540 | 29,136 |
| 2022 | 97.1 | 0.820 | 29,136 |
| 2023 | 171.9 | 1.560 | 30,172 |
Service Area
City of Palo Alto - (CA) serves 15 ZIP codes in California.
Frequently Asked Questions
How reliable is City of Palo Alto - (CA)?
City of Palo Alto - (CA) had a SAIDI of 171.9 minutes in 2023. Excluding major storm impacts, this tracks roughly with the national average.
What type of utility is City of Palo Alto - (CA)?
City of Palo Alto - (CA) is classified as a Municipal serving California.
How many customers does City of Palo Alto - (CA) serve?
City of Palo Alto - (CA) serves approximately 29,854 customers in California.
How has City of Palo Alto - (CA)'s reliability changed over time?
City of Palo Alto - (CA) has 4 years of reliability data (2020-2023). This utility's SAIDI has stayed fairly flat over the period. Review the trend table above for year-by-year detail.
Utility Profile
- Type
- Municipal
- State
- California
- Customers
- 29,854
- Annual Revenue
- $0.15B
- EIA ID
- 14401
Explore
Utilities with similar EIA profiles
Two cross-state peer sets for City of Palo Alto - (CA). Same-state SAIDI neighbors stay in Read-with below; these neighborhoods are nearest other-state utilities with at least 10,000 reported customers.
Similar customer count
Nearest utilities by Form 861 customers (30K here), outside California.
Similar chronic SAIDI
Nearest utilities by latest SAIDI minutes (171.9 here), outside California, excluding the customer-peer set.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration Form 861 annual electric power industry survey · ZIP service territory: OpenEI. Disclaimer: informational only, not professional advice. See full disclaimer · methodology.