Cooperative · Minnesota · EIA 5574
East Central Energy
Cooperative · Minnesota · 62K customers. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's EIA Form 861, reliability for 2023 shows SAIDI 82 minutes/customer.
Reliability verdict
East Central Energy shows above-average chronic reliability in 2023: 63 minutes SAIDI excluding major events across 62K customers.
- 82 min
- SAIDI 2023
- 0.79
- SAIFI 2023
- 63 min
- SAIDI ex-MED
- 62K
- Customers
Chronic reliability judged on SAIDI excluding major event days when reported (IEEE 1366). Source: EIA Form 861 · August 2026.
Signature read: short interruption minutes vs the 911 utility cohort (≤96 min tercile cut).
What short-outage East Central Energy filings show
East Central Energy is a member-owned electric cooperative operating in Minnesota under EIA identifier 5574. It reports service to approximately 61,531 customer accounts and generated about $0.13 billion in annual electric revenue, with a service footprint spanning 57 ZIP codes. Cooperative ownership means the utility is run for the benefit of the ratepayer-members who elect its board, rather than for shareholder returns, which can shift how rate and investment decisions get made.
In 2023, the average East Central Energy customer experienced 82.1 minutes of power interruptions, the industry-standard SAIDI metric (System Average Interruption Duration Index). That places this utility well below the 120–180 minute national benchmark, signaling strong grid hardening and fast restoration practices. Over the same period, SAIFI (outage events per customer) was 0.79, putting the typical customer at roughly 1 distinct interruption that year. Strip out major event days (hurricanes, ice storms) and SAIDI falls to 63.0 minutes; the difference from the headline 82.1 shows how much of the outage total came from weather rather than everyday grid issues.
East Central Energy has 4 years of continuous EIA reporting on file (2020–2023), enough to read a real trend rather than a single-year snapshot. SAIDI has improved from 166.7 to 82.1 minutes over that window, a meaningful direction for prospective customers and regulators watching capital investment outcomes.
Based on this utility's own EIA Form 861 reliability record -- baseline (major-event- excluded) outage duration, total outage duration, and outage frequency -- each benchmarked against every reporting utility nationwide. Not a measure of electricity rates or customer service, which this portal does not track.
82 minutes per customer per year
Minutes without power per year (2023)
SAIDI by year (2020-2023)
Minutes per customer-year · EIA Form 861
Year-by-year SAIDI for East Central Energy from the same EIA filings as the table below. Lower is better; major-event years can spike the headline figure.
East Central Energy SAIDI trend
East Central Energy vs the nationwide SAIDI distribution
Where this utility's headline SAIDI sits among every EIA Form 861 utility with a reported figure
82 Lower than most fewer outage minutes than 71% of 911 utilities
Utilities nationwide, banded by latest reported SAIDI (minutes)
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more utilities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. EIA Form 861 reliability filings · August 2026
Price vs. reliability
Where East Central Energy sits on price vs. reliability
Among the 781 U.S. utilities large enough to report both revenue per customer and a recent outage record, East Central Energy charges more per customer than 22% of them, and is more reliable (lower SAIDI) than 74% of them, placing it in the quadrant where it pays less while still being more reliable, the best-value quadrant. Revenue per customer and outage minutes are independent figures: paying more does not guarantee fewer outages.
Revenue per customer: $2,098/year · Latest SAIDI: 82.1 minutes/year.
SAIDI 2023 breakdown: 82.1 minutes
Reliability Trend (2020–2023)
| Year | SAIDI (min) | SAIDI nMED | SAIFI | Customers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 166.7 | 53.7 | 1.160 | 62,263 |
| 2021 | 64.8 | 46.5 | 0.755 | 63,311 |
| 2022 | 406.6 | 62.4 | 1.450 | 64,234 |
| 2023 | 82.1 | 63.0 | 0.785 | 66,807 |
SAIDI nMED = SAIDI without major event days. Source: EIA Form 861.
Service Area
East Central Energy serves 57 ZIP codes in Minnesota.
Frequently Asked Questions
How reliable is East Central Energy?
East Central Energy had a SAIDI of 82.1 minutes in 2023. Excluding major storm impacts, this beats the national average, a sign of above-average reliability.
What type of utility is East Central Energy?
East Central Energy is classified as a Cooperative serving Minnesota.
How many customers does East Central Energy serve?
East Central Energy serves approximately 61,531 customers in Minnesota.
How has East Central Energy's reliability changed over time?
East Central Energy has 4 years of reliability data (2020-2023). SAIDI has remained relatively stable over this period. Review the trend table above for year-by-year detail.
Utility Profile
- Type
- Cooperative
- State
- Minnesota
- Customers
- 61,531
- Annual Revenue
- $0.13B
- EIA ID
- 5574
Explore
Utilities with similar EIA profiles
Two cross-state peer sets for East Central Energy. Same-state SAIDI neighbors stay in Read-with below; these neighborhoods are nearest other-state utilities with at least 10,000 reported customers.
Similar customer count
Nearest utilities by Form 861 customers (62K here), outside Minnesota.
Similar chronic SAIDI
Nearest utilities by latest SAIDI minutes (82.1 here), outside Minnesota, excluding the customer-peer set.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration Form 861 annual electric power industry survey · ZIP service territory: OpenEI. Disclaimer: informational only, not professional advice. See full disclaimer · methodology.