The failure rate is a reliability measure which isused for planning and operation of the power system. Thus far, average or experience based failure rates were applied to power system equipment due to their straightforward implementation. However, this approach limits the accuracy of the gained resultsand neglects the important differentiation between populationand individual failure rates. Hence, this paper discusses and demonstrates the necessity to distinguish between populationand individual failure rates and reviews the existing literature offailure rate estimation within the power system domain. The literature is categorized into statistical data driven approaches and failure rate modelling with focus on different criteria whichcan be used to describe the heterogeneity within populations. The review reveals that the environmental impact was modelled predominantly.