Outage Q&A
What causes power outages in Clark County?
| Trees and limbs (non-preventable) | 50% |
| Loss of wholesale power supply | 13% |
| Vehicle accidents | 12% |
| Birds and animals | 8% |
Why can’t you prevent outages from occurring?
We consistently maintain and upgrade our entire electric system, which does prevent some damage. Unfortunately, no system can always withstand falling trees, branches across lines and other side effects of severe weather.
Why not put all power lines underground, or at least in rural areas where outage repairs are more difficult?
Underground lines don’t prevent all outages, and have their own unique maintenance problems. In rural areas, underground service is unaffordable—it requires larger stretches of line and would cost rural customers up to 10 times more to install.