Negative Binomial Regression of Electric Power Outages in Hurricanes

Hurricanes can cause extensive power outages, resulting in economic loss, business interruption, and secondary effects to other infrastructure systems. Currently, power companies are unable to accurately predict where outages will occur. Therefore, it is difficult for them to deploy repair personnel and materials, and make other emergency response decisions in advance of an event. This paper describes negative binomial regression models for the number of hurricane-related outages likely to occur in each one square kilometer grid cell and in each zip code in a region due to passage of a hurricane. The models are based on a large Geographic Information System database of outages in North and South Carolina from three hurricanes: Floyd (1999), Bonnie (1998), and Fran (1996). The most useful explanatory variables are the number of transformers in the area, the company affected, maximum gust wind speed, and a hurricane effect. Wind speeds were estimated using a calibrated hurricane wind speed model. Pseudo R-squared values and other diagnostic statistics are developed to facilitate model selection with generalized negative binomial models.