What happened in this Energy story?

EPRI's latest BESS failure database analysis shows lithium-ion energy storage systems are now statistically as reliable as oil-filled transformers, with global failure rates plummeting 98% since 2018 — though a small share of older, pre-2021 installations still carry disproportionate risk and face imminent code changes.

What is a key fact in this story? (1)

**EPRI's BESS failure incident database** shows the global failure rate for lithium-ion energy storage systems fell 98% from 2018 to 2025 and 50% from 2024 to 2025 on a per-GWh basis

What is a key fact in this story? (2)

**Stationary energy storage** annual failure rates of 0.04% to 0.14% are comparable to the 0.1% rate for oil-filled electrical transformers, EPRI said in its report, "Risk Factors and Failure Statistics of Lithium-Ion BESS"

Battery system failures fell 98% in 7 years, but older systems need special care: report — SkimNews

By Utility Dive · Summarized & edited by Kapil Samant · 2026-10-13

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EPRI's BESS failure incident database shows the global failure rate for lithium-ion energy storage systems fell 98% from 2018 to 2025 and 50% from 2024 to 2025 on a per-GWh basis
Stationary energy storage annual failure rates of 0.04% to 0.14% are comparable to the 0.1% rate for oil-filled electrical transformers, EPRI said in its report, "Risk Factors and Failure Statistics of Lithium-Ion BESS"
93% of BESS safety incidents EPRI reviewed worldwide resulted in no injuries or fatalities, and no U.S. BESS injuries or fatalities have occurred since the April 2019 Arizona Public Service explosion that seriously injured four firefighters
The January 2025 Moss Landing fire destroyed most of Vistra's 300-MW battery array inside a decommissioned 1950s-era turbine hall near Santa Cruz, California, with no injuries reported; experts later called the incident a "learning opportunity"
BESS facilities commissioned before 2021 account for just 3% of global energy storage capacity, and EPRI urges owners of those older sites to run thorough risk assessments and consider retrofits or premature decommissioning
Indoor BESS facilities fail at higher rates and sustain more damage on average than outdoor facilities, with explosion risk representing "a bigger [threat] than fire from a personnel and equipment standpoint," per EPRI's Lakshmi Srinivasan
The National Fire Protection Association plans to replace NFPA 855 with a "holistic" NFPA 800 standard this fall, and New York's fire code as of January 2026 lets local authorities require developers to fund independent technical reviews of exemption applications

Why it matters: The 98% failure-rate decline since 2018 puts grid-scale batteries statistically on par with mature transformer technology, but the 3% of pre-2021 capacity still in service carries the bulk of remaining safety risk. Owners of older indoor installations now face a choice between explosion-mitigation retrofits that may void manufacturer warranties and premature decommissioning.