SAIDI
103 min per year
Average outage minutes (2023)
NorthWestern Energy LLC - (MT) is a investor-owned utility operating in Montana under EIA identifier 12825. It reports service to approximately 401,963 customer accounts and generated about $0.89 billion in annual electric revenue, with a service footprint spanning 242 ZIP codes. As an investor-owned utility, it operates under state public utility commission oversight that reviews rate cases and reliability performance.
In 2023, the average NorthWestern Energy LLC - (MT) customer experienced 102.5 minutes of power interruptions — a metric called SAIDI (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 0.93 for the same period, so customers statistically faced roughly 1 distinct interruption that year. Excluding major event days (hurricanes, ice storms), SAIDI drops to 102.5 minutes — the gap between that figure and the headline 102.5 reveals how much weather, not day-to-day infrastructure, drove outages.
The EIA dataset includes 4 years of continuous reporting (2020–2023) for NorthWestern Energy LLC - (MT), which lets you see whether reliability is trending up or down rather than judging from a single snapshot. SAIDI has improved from 165.5 to 102.5 minutes over that window — a meaningful direction for prospective customers and regulators watching capital investment outcomes. All figures on this page come directly from EIA Form 861, the federal annual electric power industry survey, with service territory ZIPs sourced from OpenEI — you can cross-reference them with your own utility bill or use them when comparing providers before relocating.
SAIDI
103 min per year
Average outage minutes (2023)
SAIFI
0.93 interruptions/yr
Outage frequency (2023)
Customers
401,963
Served in Montana
103 minutes per customer per year
Minutes without power per year (2023)
| Year | SAIDI (min) | SAIDI nMED | SAIFI | Customers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 165.5 | 120.2 | 1.134 | 374,593 |
| 2021 | 151.4 | 128.4 | 1.371 | 367,486 |
| 2022 | 132.1 | 118.6 | 1.142 | 362,953 |
| 2023 | 102.5 | 102.5 | 0.934 | 368,707 |
SAIDI nMED = SAIDI without major event days. Source: EIA Form 861.
NorthWestern Energy LLC - (MT) serves 242 ZIP codes in Montana.
NorthWestern Energy LLC - (MT) had a SAIDI of 102.5 minutes in 2023, meaning the average customer experienced about 103 minutes of outages that year. This is near the national average.
NorthWestern Energy LLC - (MT) is classified as a IOU serving Montana. Investor-owned utilities (IOUs) are for-profit companies regulated by state public utility commissions.
SAIDI (System Average Interruption Duration Index) measures the average total minutes per year that a customer of NorthWestern Energy LLC - (MT) experiences power outages. A lower SAIDI indicates better reliability. The national average is roughly 120-180 minutes per year, so comparing NorthWestern Energy LLC - (MT)'s SAIDI to that benchmark shows whether this utility is above or below average.
NorthWestern Energy LLC - (MT) serves approximately 401,963 customers in Montana. Customer count can affect reliability metrics because larger utilities may face different infrastructure challenges compared to smaller ones.
NorthWestern Energy LLC - (MT) 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.
SAIDI "without major event days" (SAIDI nMED) excludes outages caused by hurricanes, ice storms, and other catastrophic weather events. It better reflects day-to-day infrastructure reliability rather than vulnerability to extreme weather. Both standard SAIDI and SAIDI nMED are shown in the reliability trend table above.
Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) Form 861. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.