For the first time, an app is available free of charge that will allow anyone to observe power outages in their area as they happen based on information collected from the entire grid—the catch is you don’t have to pay for it.
The company behind a new smartphone app says this screenshot shows a map pinpointing where thousands of homes and businesses suffered power failures in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy.
Created by Ting, the same company famous for its plug-in electrical fire sensor, the app uses a huge community of devices to bring neighborhood-level updates on when the power goes out and when it returns.
How the real-time outage map functions and alerts users
The app is listening for short, binary signals from connected Ting homes: power on, or power off. When clutches of devices in any given area go dark, the system flags an outage on a live map and may push a notification to users who follow that location. Then, when service is restored, the map is updated and a second alert issued. You don’t need to own a Ting sensor to see the map or get notifications, a key point.
A lot of utilities have text alerts and email updates for outages, but those tend to be behind the reality. It’s not unusual for customers to receive notices of “power restored” long after the lights have come back, or for initial alerts during high-volume events to be delayed. Since Ting pulls in signals from all devices in the field, it can identify shifts on a street or at a neighborhood level more quickly than operational dashboards, which usually reconcile data from crews, meters and reports by customers.
Coverage and accuracy depend on network density
As with any crowdsourced network, accuracy is a matter of density. Ting says it already has more than 1 million people in its community, and the company’s CEO previously said its device is within a mile of 95% of U.S. homes. That footprint got a jolt after State Farm sent about 700,000 Ting devices to its policyholders and shared that it has designs on reaching 2 million households. But coverage can be spotty in remote or newly developed areas, so some outages won’t show up—or will appear farther afield than they actually are—until the network expands.
In reality, treat the map as an ultra-early warning system. If you notice another pin near your outage area going dark and your lights dim, it’s likely the same grid problem is sweeping across your block. If you don’t, it doesn’t prove the grid is in good shape—there may just be fewer sensors nearby. For large-scale events, verify against your utility’s official outage page or third-party aggregators like PowerOutage.us to get the bigger picture, then turn to Ting for hyper-local signs of recovery.
Why faster intel on outages matters for communities
Electric reliability is moving in the wrong direction across much of the country as extreme weather, vegetation and age stress distribution networks. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, customers experience a national average of 5 to 7 hours of outages per customer each year—with major storms accounting for most of that time. When heat waves or hurricanes hit, when ice storms knock out power or public safety shutoffs occur, minutes matter for families relying on medical devices, home offices left running critical workloads and small businesses protecting inventory.
“Speedy neighborhood-level alerts mean that people can make practical decisions sooner: switch a fridge to backup power, charge an e-bike or phone before a prolonged outage, check on an older relative across town and avoid a trip into a dark office,” the editorial board wrote. Early indications enable emergency managers and facility teams to project staffing and generator fuel needs without requiring them to wait for batch utility updates.
Privacy, cost and who should try the free outage app
The app is free, and you don’t need to buy the Ting sensor. Outage pins are created from combined device-level health, not individual customer reports, and they report at the neighborhood level, not specific street addresses. As with any utility or smart-home app, check notification settings and data permissions to your comfort level.
It’s a good fit especially for renters, caregivers to distant older relatives, students on campuses with frequent brownouts and remote employees who need an early heads-up to move meetings or projects around. Standby-generator owners and homes with portable generators will also value the quicker restoration notices to avoid unnecessary run time.
Getting started and making the outage map useful
Download the Ting app, turn on notifications and follow places that matter—home, school and work, or a parent’s neighborhood.
Zahumensky says, “Use that with your utility’s outage map and with NOAA weather alerts for context.” If you’re already a Ting sensor owner, you then get the added benefit of electrical fire monitoring; if not, no worries—the outage map can be used on its own just fine.
No app can keep the power from cutting off. But being able to turn to a free tool that consistently informs you when it’s down—and when it’s already returned—can be the difference between scrambling in the dark and staying not too far behind.