East Central Energy

What This Utility Data Tells You

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.