IOU · New Mexico · EIA 17718

Southwestern Public Service Co

IOU · New Mexico · 280K customers. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's EIA Form 861, reliability for 2023 shows SAIDI 256 minutes/customer.

Reliability detail ↓ New Mexico utilities

Reliability verdict

Southwestern Public Service Co shows near-benchmark chronic reliability in 2023: 116 minutes SAIDI excluding major events (256 minutes including them) across 280K customers.

256 min
SAIDI 2023
1.39
SAIFI 2023
116 min
SAIDI ex-MED
280K
Customers

Chronic reliability judged on SAIDI excluding major event days when reported (IEEE 1366). Source: EIA Form 861 · August 2026.

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Signature read: mid-cohort SAIDI between the 96 and 258 minute tercile cuts.

What mid-pack Southwestern Public Service Co filings show

Southwestern Public Service Co is an investor-owned utility operating in New Mexico under EIA identifier 17718. It reports service to approximately 279,501 customer accounts and generated about $1.18 billion in annual electric revenue, with a service footprint spanning 184 ZIP codes. Investor ownership puts this utility under the regulatory authority of the state public utility commission, which reviews its rate requests and reliability record.

In 2023, the average Southwestern Public Service Co customer experienced 256.1 minutes of power interruptions, the industry-standard SAIDI metric (System Average Interruption Duration Index). Excluding major weather events from that total, that lands within the usual 120–180 minute national benchmark band, roughly on par with typical U.S. distribution-utility performance. Over the same period, SAIFI (outage events per customer) was 1.39, putting the typical customer at roughly 1 distinct interruption that year. Strip out major event days (hurricanes, ice storms) and SAIDI falls to 116.4 minutes; the difference from the headline 256.1 shows how much of the outage total came from weather rather than everyday grid issues.

Southwestern Public Service Co has 4 years of continuous EIA reporting on file (2020–2023), enough to read a real trend rather than a single-year snapshot. SAIDI climbed from 111.7 to 256.1 minutes over that window, a shift that can point to worsening weather exposure or delayed grid modernization.

D
Reliability Score
43/100
Southwestern Public Service Co · 3 of 3 dimensions reported

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.

Baseline Reliability D 116.4 min/yr
SAIDI excluding major-event days — day-to-day grid performance
Total Outage Duration F 256.1 min/yr
SAIDI including storms and major events — the full-year experience
Outage Frequency D 1.39/yr
SAIFI — average number of interruptions per customer per year
SAIDI vs. national mean (341 min) 34.1%

256 min/year per customer

Southwestern Public Service Co SAIDI

Power-out minutes per year (2023)

256 SAIDI256 SAIDINat. avg 341341SAIDI256SAIDI

Good

SAIDI by year (2020-2023)

Minutes per customer-year · EIA Form 861

Year-by-year SAIDI for Southwestern Public Service Co from the same EIA filings as the table below. Lower is better; major-event years can spike the headline figure.

Source: U.S. EIA Form 861 As of August 2026

Southwestern Public Service Co SAIDI trend

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 2020 2021 2022 2023 111.7 195.9 117 256.1
Year-by-year SAIDI from the same EIA filings as the table below. Lower is better; major-event years can spike the headline figure.

Southwestern Public Service Co vs the nationwide SAIDI distribution

Where this utility's headline SAIDI sits among every EIA Form 861 utility with a reported figure

256 Around the middle fewer outage minutes than 34% 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 Public Service 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 Public Service Co charges more per customer than 94% of them, and is more reliable (lower SAIDI) than 37% 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.

Southwestern Public Service Co vs. a 40-utility national peer sample, price percentile vs. reliability percentile. Scatter plot of 41 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 050100150 050100150 Best valuePays for itCheap + riskyWorst deal Price percentile Reliability percentile Point, Price percentile: 0 · Reliability percentile: 45Point, Price percentile: 3 · Reliability percentile: 52Point, Price percentile: 5 · Reliability percentile: 47Point, Price percentile: 8 · Reliability percentile: 90Point, Price percentile: 10 · Reliability percentile: 60Point, Price percentile: 13 · Reliability percentile: 95Point, Price percentile: 15 · Reliability percentile: 22Point, Price percentile: 18 · Reliability percentile: 35Point, Price percentile: 20 · Reliability percentile: 30Point, Price percentile: 23 · Reliability percentile: 85Point, Price percentile: 25 · Reliability percentile: 12Point, Price percentile: 28 · Reliability percentile: 62Point, Price percentile: 30 · Reliability percentile: 75Point, Price percentile: 33 · Reliability percentile: 72Point, Price percentile: 35 · Reliability percentile: 7Point, Price percentile: 38 · Reliability percentile: 0Point, Price percentile: 40 · Reliability percentile: 82Point, Price percentile: 43 · Reliability percentile: 2Point, Price percentile: 45 · Reliability percentile: 32Point, Price percentile: 48 · Reliability percentile: 25Point, Price percentile: 50 · Reliability percentile: 55Point, Price percentile: 53 · Reliability percentile: 50Point, Price percentile: 55 · Reliability percentile: 97Point, Price percentile: 57 · Reliability percentile: 100Point, Price percentile: 60 · Reliability percentile: 5Point, Price percentile: 63 · Reliability percentile: 70Point, Price percentile: 65 · Reliability percentile: 57Point, Price percentile: 68 · Reliability percentile: 10Point, Price percentile: 70 · Reliability percentile: 17Point, Price percentile: 73 · Reliability percentile: 37Point, Price percentile: 75 · Reliability percentile: 87Point, Price percentile: 78 · Reliability percentile: 20Point, Price percentile: 80 · Reliability percentile: 77Point, Price percentile: 83 · Reliability percentile: 80Point, Price percentile: 85 · Reliability percentile: 15Point, Price percentile: 88 · Reliability percentile: 65Point, Price percentile: 90 · Reliability percentile: 92Point, Price percentile: 93 · Reliability percentile: 27Point, Price percentile: 95 · Reliability percentile: 43Point, Price percentile: 100 · Reliability percentile: 67Southwestern Public Service Co, Price percentile: 94 · Reliability percentile: 37
Southwestern Public Service Co vs. a 40-utility national peer sample, price percentile vs. reliability percentile.

Revenue per customer: $4,226/year · Latest SAIDI: 256.1 minutes/year.

SAIDI 2023 breakdown: 256.1 minutes

Reliability Trend (2020–2023)

Year SAIDI (min) SAIDI nMED SAIFI Customers
2020 111.7 103.7 0.972 113,946
2021 195.9 128.5 1.823 115,389
2022 117.0 106.4 0.931 117,168
2023 256.1 116.4 1.390 118,022

SAIDI nMED = SAIDI without major event days. Source: EIA Form 861.

Service Area

Southwestern Public Service Co serves 184 ZIP codes in New Mexico.

79001790027900379005790077900879009790107901179012790137901479015790167901879019790227902479025790277902979031790337903479035790367903979040790417904279043790447904579046790517905279054790567905779058790597906179062790637906479065790667906879070790727907379078790797908079081790827908379084790857908679088790917909279093790967909779098791017910279103791047910579106791077910879109791107911179114791167911779118791197912079121791247915979166791687917279174791787918579189792217922679235792377924179250792577925879311793127931379314793167932279323793257932679329793317933679338793397934279343793457934679347793507935579356793577935879359793607936379364793667937179373793767937779379793807938179382794017940379404794077941179412794137941479415794167942379424794537949079499797147974579754797707984788101881028810388130881358820188203882108821188220882308823188232882408824288252882538825488256882608826388267884018841688426

Frequently Asked Questions

How reliable is Southwestern Public Service Co?

Southwestern Public Service Co had a SAIDI of 256.1 minutes in 2023 including major weather events, but 116.4 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). Leaving aside major weather events, that figure sits close to the national average.

What type of utility is Southwestern Public Service Co?

Southwestern Public Service Co is classified as a IOU serving New Mexico.

How many customers does Southwestern Public Service Co serve?

Southwestern Public Service Co serves approximately 279,501 customers in New Mexico.

How has Southwestern Public Service Co's reliability changed over time?

Southwestern Public Service Co 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
IOU
State
New Mexico
Customers
279,501
Annual Revenue
$1.18B
EIA ID
17718

Explore

Utilities with similar EIA profiles

Two cross-state peer sets for Southwestern Public Service 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 (280K here), outside New Mexico.

United Illuminating Co 282K · CT Central Hudson Gas & Elec Corp 282K · NY Orlando Utilities Comm 275K · FL Green Mountain Power Corp 273K · VT

Similar chronic SAIDI

Nearest utilities by latest SAIDI minutes (256.1 here), outside New Mexico, excluding the customer-peer set.

PUD No 1 of Grays Harbor County 256.0 min · WA Covington Electric Coop, Inc 255.6 min · AL Unitil Energy Systems 256.6 min · NH Lyntegar Electric Coop, Inc 257.3 min · TX

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.