IOU · Arkansas · EIA 17698
Southwestern Electric Power Co
IOU · Arkansas · 235K customers. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's EIA Form 861, reliability for 2023 shows SAIDI 584 minutes/customer.
Reliability verdict
Southwestern Electric Power Co shows near-benchmark chronic reliability in 2023: 195 minutes SAIDI excluding major events (584 minutes including them) across 235K customers.
- 584 min
- SAIDI 2023
- 2.09
- SAIFI 2023
- 195 min
- SAIDI ex-MED
- 235K
- 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 Southwestern Electric Power Co filings show
Southwestern Electric Power Co is an investor-owned utility operating in Arkansas under EIA identifier 17698. It reports service to approximately 234,806 customer accounts and generated about $0.71 billion in annual electric revenue, with a service footprint spanning 358 ZIP codes. Because it is investor-owned, the state public utility commission oversees its rate cases and reliability performance rather than a local board.
In 2023, the average Southwestern Electric Power Co customer experienced 584.2 minutes of power interruptions, a metric called SAIDI (System Average Interruption Duration Index). Excluding major weather events from that total, 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 2.09 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 195.1 minutes; the difference from the headline 584.2 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 Southwestern Electric Power Co, which lets you see whether reliability is trending up or down rather than judging from a single snapshot. Over that span, SAIDI rose from 354.2 to 584.2 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.
584 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 Southwestern Electric Power Co from the same EIA filings as the table below. Lower is better; major-event years can spike the headline figure.
Southwestern Electric Power Co SAIDI trend
Southwestern Electric Power Co vs the nationwide SAIDI distribution
Where this utility's headline SAIDI sits among every EIA Form 861 utility with a reported figure
584 Higher than most fewer outage minutes than 14% 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 Southwestern Electric Power Co sits on price vs. reliability
Among the 781 U.S. utilities large enough to report both revenue per customer and a recent outage record, Southwestern Electric Power Co charges more per customer than 76% of them, and is more reliable (lower SAIDI) than 16% 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: $3,036/year · Latest SAIDI: 584.2 minutes/year.
SAIDI 2023 breakdown: 584.2 minutes
Reliability Trend (2020–2023)
| Year | SAIDI (min) | SAIDI nMED | SAIFI | Customers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 354.2 | 185.2 | 1.683 | 123,180 |
| 2021 | 304.1 | 144.0 | 1.719 | 124,083 |
| 2022 | 304.0 | 232.5 | 1.773 | 125,434 |
| 2023 | 584.2 | 195.1 | 2.088 | 126,182 |
SAIDI nMED = SAIDI without major event days. Source: EIA Form 861.
Service Area
Southwestern Electric Power Co serves 358 ZIP codes in Arkansas.
Frequently Asked Questions
How reliable is Southwestern Electric Power Co?
Southwestern Electric Power Co had a SAIDI of 584.2 minutes in 2023 including major weather events, but 195.1 minutes excluding them (the IEEE-standard day-to-day reliability measure, the difference points to a major storm that year rather than an ongoing problem). Excluding major weather events, this is near the national average.
What type of utility is Southwestern Electric Power Co?
Southwestern Electric Power Co is classified as a IOU serving Arkansas.
How many customers does Southwestern Electric Power Co serve?
Southwestern Electric Power Co serves approximately 234,806 customers in Arkansas.
How has Southwestern Electric Power Co's reliability changed over time?
Southwestern Electric Power Co 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
- IOU
- State
- Arkansas
- Customers
- 234,806
- Annual Revenue
- $0.71B
- EIA ID
- 17698
Explore
Utilities with similar EIA profiles
Two cross-state peer sets for Southwestern Electric Power Co. 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 (235K here), outside Arkansas.
Similar chronic SAIDI
Nearest utilities by latest SAIDI minutes (584.2 here), outside Arkansas, 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.