Flathead Electric Coop Inc

What This Utility Data Tells You

Flathead Electric Coop Inc is a member-owned electric cooperative operating in Montana under EIA identifier 6395. It reports service to approximately 74,239 customer accounts and generated about $0.13 billion in annual electric revenue, with a service footprint spanning 21 ZIP codes. Being member-owned, this cooperative answers to its ratepayers rather than outside shareholders, a structure that tends to influence how rate cases and capital spending get decided.

In 2023, the average Flathead Electric Coop Inc customer experienced 160.5 minutes of power interruptions, a measure known as SAIDI, or System Average Interruption Duration Index. That sits within the 120–180 minute national benchmark range, indicating performance typical of U.S. distribution utilities. SAIFI, the average number of outage events per customer, was 1.62 for the same period, so customers statistically faced roughly 2 distinct interruptions that year. Strip out major event days (hurricanes, ice storms) and SAIDI falls to 160.5 minutes; the difference from the headline 160.5 shows how much of the outage total came from weather rather than everyday grid issues.

With 4 consecutive years of EIA data (2020–2023), Flathead Electric Coop Inc's reliability record can be judged on trend rather than one isolated year. Over that window, SAIDI moved from 870.2 down to 160.5 minutes, a trend worth noting for anyone weighing capital investment outcomes. Note: this figure is unusually low compared to typical U.S. utility performance and may reflect an incomplete EIA filing for this year rather than a genuine reliability improvement -- treat with caution and cross-check against Flathead Electric Coop Inc's other reported years.