Cooperative · Tennessee · EIA 17694
Southwest Tennessee E M C
Cooperative · Tennessee · 52K customers. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's EIA Form 861, reliability for 2023 shows SAIDI 701 minutes/customer.
Reliability verdict
Southwest Tennessee E M C shows near-benchmark chronic reliability in 2023: 234 minutes SAIDI excluding major events (701 minutes including them) across 52K customers.
- 701 min
- SAIDI 2023
- 3.98
- SAIFI 2023
- 234 min
- SAIDI ex-MED
- 52K
- 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 Southwest Tennessee E M C filings show
Southwest Tennessee E M C is a member-owned electric cooperative operating in Tennessee under EIA identifier 17694. It reports service to approximately 51,911 customer accounts and generated about $0.12 billion in annual electric revenue, with a service footprint spanning 48 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 Southwest Tennessee E M C customer experienced 701.4 minutes of power interruptions, a metric called SAIDI (System Average Interruption Duration Index). Excluding major weather events from that total, that falls inside the typical 120–180 minute national benchmark, in line with what most U.S. distribution utilities report. The SAIFI figure, which tracks average outage events per customer, came in at 3.98 for the same period, meaning customers statistically saw about 4 distinct interruptions that year. Strip out major event days (hurricanes, ice storms) and SAIDI falls to 234.4 minutes; the difference from the headline 701.4 shows how much of the outage total came from weather rather than everyday grid issues.
The EIA dataset includes 4 years of continuous reporting (2020–2023) for Southwest Tennessee E M C, which lets you see whether reliability is trending up or down rather than judging from a single snapshot. Over that span, SAIDI rose from 220.9 to 701.4 minutes, possibly reflecting tougher weather years or grid upgrades that have not caught up yet.
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.
701 min/year per customer
Annual minutes without electric service (2023)
SAIDI by year (2020-2023)
Minutes per customer-year · EIA Form 861
Year-by-year SAIDI for Southwest Tennessee E M C from the same EIA filings as the table below. Lower is better; major-event years can spike the headline figure.
Southwest Tennessee E M C SAIDI trend
Southwest Tennessee E M C vs the nationwide SAIDI distribution
Where this utility's headline SAIDI sits among every EIA Form 861 utility with a reported figure
701 Higher than most fewer outage minutes than 12% 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 Southwest Tennessee E M C sits on price vs. reliability
Among the 781 U.S. utilities large enough to report both revenue per customer and a recent outage record, Southwest Tennessee E M C charges more per customer than 30% of them, and is more reliable (lower SAIDI) than 13% of them, placing it in the quadrant where it pays less and is less reliable. Revenue per customer and outage minutes are independent figures: paying more does not guarantee fewer outages.
Revenue per customer: $2,222/year · Latest SAIDI: 701.4 minutes/year.
SAIDI 2023 breakdown: 701.4 minutes
Reliability Trend (2020–2023)
| Year | SAIDI (min) | SAIDI nMED | SAIFI | Customers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 220.9 | 132.4 | 1.896 | - |
| 2021 | 287.4 | 215.2 | 2.652 | - |
| 2022 | 409.3 | 164.0 | 5.347 | 51,585 |
| 2023 | 701.4 | 234.4 | 3.984 | 51,909 |
SAIDI nMED = SAIDI without major event days. Source: EIA Form 861.
Service Area
Southwest Tennessee E M C serves 48 ZIP codes in Tennessee.
Frequently Asked Questions
How reliable is Southwest Tennessee E M C?
Southwest Tennessee E M C had a SAIDI of 701.4 minutes in 2023 including major weather events, but 234.4 minutes excluding them (the industry-standard measure of routine reliability, so the gap traces back to a major storm that year, not a chronic issue). Excluding major weather events, this is near the national average.
What type of utility is Southwest Tennessee E M C?
Southwest Tennessee E M C is classified as a Cooperative serving Tennessee.
How many customers does Southwest Tennessee E M C serve?
Southwest Tennessee E M C serves approximately 51,911 customers in Tennessee.
How has Southwest Tennessee E M C's reliability changed over time?
Southwest Tennessee E M C has 4 years of reliability data (2020-2023). This utility's SAIDI has stayed fairly flat over the period. Review the trend table above for year-by-year detail.
Utility Profile
- Type
- Cooperative
- State
- Tennessee
- Customers
- 51,911
- Annual Revenue
- $0.12B
- EIA ID
- 17694
Explore
Utilities with similar EIA profiles
Two cross-state peer sets for Southwest Tennessee E M C. 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 (52K here), outside Tennessee.
Similar chronic SAIDI
Nearest utilities by latest SAIDI minutes (701.4 here), outside Tennessee, 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.