Unequal power outages induced by natural disasters

Bo Wang, Han Shi (), Yueming ‘Lucy’ Qiu (), Nana Deng (), Destenie Nock, Xingchi Shen, Zhaohua Wang () and Yi ‘David’ Wang
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Bo Wang: Beijing Institute of Technology
Han Shi: Beijing Institute of Technology
Yueming ‘Lucy’ Qiu: University of Maryland College Park
Nana Deng: Digital Economy and Policy Intelligentization Key Laboratory of Ministry of Industry and Information Technology
Destenie Nock: Carnegie Mellon University
Xingchi Shen: Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Zhaohua Wang: Digital Economy and Policy Intelligentization Key Laboratory of Ministry of Industry and Information Technology
Yi ‘David’ Wang: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract Natural disasters increasingly threaten energy system reliability. However, little empirical research has examined the unequal impact of such events on power outages. Here, we employ a nationwide high-frequency point-level power outage and natural disasters dataset in China, spanning from 2019 to 2021, to empirically assess the impact of natural disasters on power outages. We focus on the poverty counties, identified by the Chinese government, based on income, infrastructure, geographical location, and other criteria. We find that these impacts of natural disasters on power outage are not distributed evenly between poverty counties (5.19% and 8.96% increase in frequency and duration, respectively) and non-poverty counties (3.80% and 5.34%). Long-term projections under SSP-RCP scenarios suggest that climate change exacerbates the disparity. This paper highlights the need for planners to evaluate disaster-induced outages in vulnerable regions to target climate funds to areas with the utmost necessity.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-64012-x

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