IOU · Connecticut · EIA 19497
United Illuminating Co
IOU · Connecticut · 282K customers. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's EIA Form 861, reliability for 2023 shows SAIDI 56 minutes/customer.
Reliability verdict
United Illuminating Co shows above-average chronic reliability in 2023: 43 minutes SAIDI excluding major events across 282K customers.
- 56 min
- SAIDI 2023
- 0.75
- SAIFI 2023
- 43 min
- SAIDI ex-MED
- 282K
- Customers
Chronic reliability judged on SAIDI excluding major event days when reported (IEEE 1366). Source: EIA Form 861 · August 2026.
Signature read: short interruption minutes vs the 911 utility cohort (≤96 min tercile cut).
What short-outage United Illuminating Co filings show
United Illuminating Co is an investor-owned utility operating in Connecticut under EIA identifier 19497. It reports service to approximately 281,971 customer accounts and generated about $0.67 billion in annual electric revenue, with a service footprint spanning 78 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 United Illuminating Co customer experienced 56.0 minutes of power interruptions, the industry-standard SAIDI metric (System Average Interruption Duration Index). That keeps this utility below the typical 120–180 minute national benchmark, consistent with a well-hardened distribution system and fast restoration crews. SAIFI, the average number of outage events per customer, was 0.75 for the same period, so customers statistically faced roughly 1 distinct interruption that year. Strip out major event days (hurricanes, ice storms) and SAIDI falls to 43.0 minutes; the difference from the headline 56.0 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 United Illuminating Co, which lets you see whether reliability is trending up or down rather than judging from a single snapshot. SAIDI dropped from 1293.0 to 56.0 minutes across that span, a direction regulators and prospective customers tend to watch closely. Note: this figure is unusually low compared to typical U.S. utility performance and may reflect an incomplete EIA filing for this year rather than a genuine reliability improvement -- treat with caution and cross-check against United Illuminating Co's other reported years.
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.
56 minutes per customer per year
Power-out minutes per year (2023)
SAIDI by year (2020-2023)
Minutes per customer-year · EIA Form 861
Year-by-year SAIDI for United Illuminating Co from the same EIA filings as the table below. Lower is better; major-event years can spike the headline figure.
United Illuminating Co SAIDI trend
United Illuminating Co vs the nationwide SAIDI distribution
Where this utility's headline SAIDI sits among every EIA Form 861 utility with a reported figure
56 Among the lowest fewer outage minutes than 81% 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 United Illuminating 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, United Illuminating Co charges more per customer than 41% of them, and is more reliable (lower SAIDI) than 84% of them, placing it in the quadrant where it pays less while still being more reliable, the best-value quadrant. Revenue per customer and outage minutes are independent figures: paying more does not guarantee fewer outages.
Revenue per customer: $2,372/year · Latest SAIDI: 56.0 minutes/year.
SAIDI 2023 breakdown: 56.0 minutes
Reliability Trend (2020–2023)
| Year | SAIDI (min) | SAIDI nMED | SAIFI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 1293.0 | 46.0 | 1.320 |
| 2021 | 54.0 | 40.0 | 0.570 |
| 2022 | 50.0 | 39.0 | 0.530 |
| 2023 | 56.0 | 43.0 | 0.750 |
SAIDI nMED = SAIDI without major event days. Source: EIA Form 861.
Service Area
United Illuminating Co serves 78 ZIP codes in Connecticut.
Frequently Asked Questions
How reliable is United Illuminating Co?
United Illuminating Co had a SAIDI of 56.0 minutes in 2023. Excluding major storm impacts, this beats the national average, a sign of above-average reliability.
What type of utility is United Illuminating Co?
United Illuminating Co is classified as a IOU serving Connecticut.
How many customers does United Illuminating Co serve?
United Illuminating Co serves approximately 281,971 customers in Connecticut.
How has United Illuminating Co's reliability changed over time?
United Illuminating Co 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.
Utility Profile
- Type
- IOU
- State
- Connecticut
- Customers
- 281,971
- Annual Revenue
- $0.67B
- EIA ID
- 19497
Explore
Utilities with similar EIA profiles
Two cross-state peer sets for United Illuminating 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 (282K here), outside Connecticut.
Similar chronic SAIDI
Nearest utilities by latest SAIDI minutes (56.0 here), outside Connecticut, 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.