Black Hills Electric Coop, Inc
Cooperative electric utility · South Dakota · #1,059 of 3,199 U.S. utilities by customers · EIA utility #1769
Black Hills Electric Coop, Inc is a cooperative electric utility serving 11,478 customers in South Dakota. In 2025 it sold 166 gigawatt-hours of electricity for $24.53M in revenue, an average realized rate of 14.78¢ per kWh across all customer classes and 14.79¢ per kWh for residential customers. Its reported service territory covers 6 counties. EIA records its activities as: buying transmission, distribution.
Customers, sales and rates by customer class (2025)
| Class | Customers | Sales (GWh) | Revenue | Avg realized rate | Share of sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residential | 9,415 | 127 | $18.73M | 14.79¢ | |
| Commercial | 1,969 | 37.1 | $5.38M | 14.51¢ | |
| Industrial | 94 | 2.2 | $412.60K | 18.60¢ | |
| Total | 11,478 | 166 | $24.53M | 14.78¢ |
Average realized rate = revenue divided by sales as reported on EIA Form 861. It blends fixed charges, demand charges and riders into one per-kWh figure; it is not the utility's tariff rate. Estimated residential bill assumes the average residential customer's actual 2025 usage (1,122 kWh/month).
Five-year trend
| Year | Customers | Sales (GWh) | Revenue | Residential rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 10,557 | 158 | $22.23M | 14.22¢ |
| 2022 | 11,014 | 169 | $23.55M | 13.94¢ |
| 2023 | 11,185 | 161 | $22.96M | 14.28¢ |
| 2024 | 11,278 | 161 | $23.70M | 14.76¢ |
| 2025 | 11,478 | 166 | $24.53M | 14.79¢ |
Reliability (2025)
Average outage time (SAIDI): 2,487 minutes per customer per year
Average outages (SAIFI): 3.41 per customer
Average restoration time (CAIDI): 730 minutes
As reported for South Dakota under the IEEE standard, with major event days included where the standard reports them. Lower is better; see the reliability rankings.
Energy supply (2025)
Net generation: — GWh
Wholesale power purchased: 180 GWh
Winter peak demand: 52 MW
Energy losses: 7.6% of energy handled
Meters & rooftop solar (2025)
Smart (AMI) meters: 100.0% of 11,478 meters
Customer-sited generation (net metering): 91 installations, 0.8 MW of capacity
Counties served
Custer, SDFall River, SDLawrence, SDMeade, SDOglala Lakota, SDPennington, SD
Other large utilities in South Dakota
- Black Hills Power, Inc. - 85,804 customers, residential 15.07¢
- NorthWestern Energy - (SD) - 65,396 customers, residential 13.35¢
- Sioux Valley SW Elec Coop - 30,059 customers, residential 13.87¢
- Southeastern Electric Coop Inc - (SD) - 24,428 customers, residential 12.98¢
- West River Electric Assn Inc - 21,332 customers, residential 15.16¢
- Watertown Municipal Utilities - 14,497 customers, residential 9.29¢
- City of Brookings - (SD) - 12,568 customers, residential 10.69¢
- Butte Electric Coop, Inc - 7,472 customers, residential —
All South Dakota utilities and rates
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-861 2025 (filed by the utility; figures as published). Utility #1769 in the EIA frame.