Cooperative · Alabama · EIA 17534
South Alabama Elec Coop, Inc
Cooperative · Alabama · 17K customers. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's EIA Form 861, reliability for 2023 shows SAIDI 1068 minutes/customer.
Reliability verdict
South Alabama Elec Coop, Inc shows below-average chronic reliability in 2023: 323 minutes SAIDI excluding major events (1068 minutes including them) across 17K customers.
- 1068 min
- SAIDI 2023
- 4.16
- SAIFI 2023
- 323 min
- SAIDI ex-MED
- 17K
- Customers
Chronic reliability judged on SAIDI excluding major event days when reported (IEEE 1366). Source: EIA Form 861 · August 2026.
Signature read: long interruption minutes vs the 911 utility cohort (>258 min tercile cut).
What long-outage South Alabama Elec Coop, Inc filings show
South Alabama Elec Coop, Inc is a member-owned electric cooperative operating in Alabama under EIA identifier 17534. It reports service to approximately 17,456 customer accounts and generated about $0.05 billion in annual electric revenue, with a service footprint spanning 27 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 South Alabama Elec Coop, Inc customer experienced 1067.5 minutes of power interruptions, a measure known as SAIDI, or System Average Interruption Duration Index. Excluding major weather events from that total, that runs well past the 120–180 minute national benchmark, which can reflect storm-exposed terrain, an aging grid, or slower restoration times. Over the same period, SAIFI (outage events per customer) was 4.16, putting the typical customer at roughly 4 distinct interruptions that year. Excluding major event days (hurricanes, ice storms), SAIDI drops to 322.5 minutes, the gap between that figure and the headline 1067.5 reveals how much weather, not day-to-day infrastructure, drove outages.
With 4 consecutive years of EIA data (2020–2023), South Alabama Elec Coop, Inc's reliability record can be judged on trend rather than one isolated year. Over that window, SAIDI moved from 1682.7 down to 1067.5 minutes, a trend worth noting for anyone weighing 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.
1068 outage minutes per customer annually
Minutes without power per year (2023)
SAIDI by year (2020-2023)
Minutes per customer-year · EIA Form 861
Year-by-year SAIDI for South Alabama Elec Coop, Inc from the same EIA filings as the table below. Lower is better; major-event years can spike the headline figure.
South Alabama Elec Coop, Inc SAIDI trend
South Alabama Elec Coop, Inc vs the nationwide SAIDI distribution
Where this utility's headline SAIDI sits among every EIA Form 861 utility with a reported figure
1,068 Higher than most fewer outage minutes than 6% 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 South Alabama Elec Coop, Inc sits on price vs. reliability
Among the 781 U.S. utilities large enough to report both revenue per customer and a recent outage record, South Alabama Elec Coop, Inc charges more per customer than 72% of them, and is more reliable (lower SAIDI) than 7% of them, placing it in the quadrant where it pays more but is LESS reliable, a premium price without a reliability payoff. Revenue per customer and outage minutes are independent figures: paying more does not guarantee fewer outages.
Revenue per customer: $2,948/year · Latest SAIDI: 1067.5 minutes/year.
SAIDI 2023 breakdown: 1067.5 minutes
Reliability Trend (2020–2023)
| Year | SAIDI (min) | SAIDI nMED | SAIFI | Customers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 1682.7 | 184.1 | 3.719 | 16,962 |
| 2021 | 168.8 | 135.8 | 1.282 | 17,098 |
| 2022 | 231.6 | 184.4 | 2.072 | 17,324 |
| 2023 | 1067.5 | 322.5 | 4.164 | 17,490 |
SAIDI nMED = SAIDI without major event days. Source: EIA Form 861.
Service Area
South Alabama Elec Coop, Inc serves 27 ZIP codes in Alabama.
Frequently Asked Questions
How reliable is South Alabama Elec Coop, Inc?
South Alabama Elec Coop, Inc had a SAIDI of 1067.5 minutes in 2023 including major weather events, but 322.5 minutes excluding them (the IEEE-standard measure of day-to-day reliability, the gap reflects a major storm that year, not chronic performance). Leaving aside major weather events, that figure runs above the national average, pointing to below-average reliability.
What type of utility is South Alabama Elec Coop, Inc?
South Alabama Elec Coop, Inc is classified as a Cooperative serving Alabama.
How many customers does South Alabama Elec Coop, Inc serve?
South Alabama Elec Coop, Inc serves approximately 17,456 customers in Alabama.
How has South Alabama Elec Coop, Inc's reliability changed over time?
South Alabama Elec Coop, Inc has 4 years of reliability data (2020-2023). SAIDI has held roughly steady across these years. Review the trend table above for year-by-year detail.
Utility Profile
- Type
- Cooperative
- State
- Alabama
- Customers
- 17,456
- Annual Revenue
- $0.05B
- EIA ID
- 17534
Explore
Utilities with similar EIA profiles
Two cross-state peer sets for South Alabama Elec Coop, Inc. 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 (17K here), outside Alabama.
Similar chronic SAIDI
Nearest utilities by latest SAIDI minutes (1067.5 here), outside Alabama, 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.