IOU · District of Columbia · EIA 15270
Potomac Electric Power Co
IOU · District of Columbia · 505K customers. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's EIA Form 861, reliability for 2023 shows SAIDI 72 minutes/customer.
Reliability verdict
Potomac Electric Power Co shows above-average chronic reliability in 2023: 33 minutes SAIDI excluding major events (72 minutes including them) across 505K customers.
- 72 min
- SAIDI 2023
- 0.37
- SAIFI 2023
- 33 min
- SAIDI ex-MED
- 505K
- Customers
Chronic reliability judged on SAIDI excluding major event days when reported (IEEE 1366). Source: EIA Form 861 · August 2026.
Signature read: short interruption minutes vs the 911 utility cohort (≤96 min tercile cut).
What short-outage Potomac Electric Power Co filings show
Potomac Electric Power Co is an investor-owned utility operating in District of Columbia under EIA identifier 15270. It reports service to approximately 504,871 customer accounts and generated about $1.06 billion in annual electric revenue, with a service footprint spanning 402 ZIP codes. Investor ownership puts this utility under the regulatory authority of the state public utility commission, which reviews its rate requests and reliability record.
In 2023, the average Potomac Electric Power Co customer experienced 71.9 minutes of power interruptions, the industry-standard SAIDI metric (System Average Interruption Duration Index). Excluding major weather events from that total, that places this utility well below the 120–180 minute national benchmark, signaling strong grid hardening and fast restoration practices. Over the same period, SAIFI (outage events per customer) was 0.37, putting the typical customer at roughly 0 distinct interruptions that year. Strip out major event days (hurricanes, ice storms) and SAIDI falls to 33.3 minutes; the difference from the headline 71.9 shows how much of the outage total came from weather rather than everyday grid issues.
With 4 consecutive years of EIA data (2020–2023), Potomac Electric Power Co's reliability record can be judged on trend rather than one isolated year. SAIDI climbed from 44.0 to 71.9 minutes over that window, a shift that can point to 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.
72 minutes per customer per year
Minutes without power per year (2023)
SAIDI by year (2020-2023)
Minutes per customer-year · EIA Form 861
Year-by-year SAIDI for Potomac Electric Power Co from the same EIA filings as the table below. Lower is better; major-event years can spike the headline figure.
Potomac Electric Power Co SAIDI trend
Potomac Electric Power Co vs the nationwide SAIDI distribution
Where this utility's headline SAIDI sits among every EIA Form 861 utility with a reported figure
72 Lower than most fewer outage minutes than 74% 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 Potomac Electric Power Co sits on price vs. reliability
Among the 781 U.S. utilities large enough to report both revenue per customer and a recent outage record, Potomac Electric Power Co charges more per customer than 22% of them, and is more reliable (lower SAIDI) than 77% of them, placing it in the quadrant where it pays less while still being more reliable, the best-value quadrant. Revenue per customer and outage minutes are independent figures: paying more does not guarantee fewer outages.
Revenue per customer: $2,099/year · Latest SAIDI: 71.9 minutes/year.
SAIDI 2023 breakdown: 71.9 minutes
Reliability Trend (2020–2023)
| Year | SAIDI (min) | SAIDI nMED | SAIFI | Customers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 44.0 | 39.0 | 0.400 | 311,590 |
| 2021 | 52.0 | 42.0 | 0.450 | 320,656 |
| 2022 | 33.7 | 26.3 | 0.302 | 327,571 |
| 2023 | 71.9 | 33.3 | 0.370 | 336,760 |
SAIDI nMED = SAIDI without major event days. Source: EIA Form 861.
Service Area
Potomac Electric Power Co serves 402 ZIP codes in District of Columbia.
Frequently Asked Questions
How reliable is Potomac Electric Power Co?
Potomac Electric Power Co had a SAIDI of 71.9 minutes in 2023 including major weather events, but 33.3 minutes excluding them (the IEEE-standard day-to-day reliability measure, the difference points to a major storm that year rather than an ongoing problem). Leaving aside major weather events, that figure comes in under the national average, pointing to above-average reliability.
What type of utility is Potomac Electric Power Co?
Potomac Electric Power Co is classified as a IOU serving District of Columbia.
How many customers does Potomac Electric Power Co serve?
Potomac Electric Power Co serves approximately 504,871 customers in District of Columbia.
How has Potomac Electric Power Co's reliability changed over time?
Potomac Electric Power Co has 4 years of reliability data (2020-2023). SAIDI has remained relatively stable over this period. Review the trend table above for year-by-year detail.
Utility Profile
- Type
- IOU
- State
- District of Columbia
- Customers
- 504,871
- Annual Revenue
- $1.06B
- EIA ID
- 15270
Explore
Utilities with similar EIA profiles
Two cross-state peer sets for Potomac Electric Power Co. 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 (505K here), outside District of Columbia.
Similar chronic SAIDI
Nearest utilities by latest SAIDI minutes (71.9 here), outside District of Columbia, 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.