How many electric cooperatives are in Iowa?

42 electric cooperatives reported bundled retail electricity sales to customers in Iowa in 2024, according to EIA. The largest is Linn County REC, with 34,734 customers.

How many municipal and public power utilities are in Iowa?

135 — 135 municipal utilities — reported bundled retail sales in Iowa in 2024. The largest is City of Ames, with 28,108 customers.

How do public power utilities and co-ops in Iowa buy?

Municipal utilities and public utility districts are local government entities, so they generally follow Iowa's public procurement laws, with purchases approved by a city council or utility board. Electric co-ops are private, member-owned nonprofits that set their own purchasing policies, though projects financed through USDA's Rural Utilities Service follow its rules. See how utilities buy.

Where does this data come from?

From the U.S. Energy Information Administration's table "2024 Utility Bundled Retail Sales – Total" (Table 10), based on forms EIA-861 and EIA-861S. It counts customers who buy both electricity and delivery from the utility.

Iowa Public Power & Electric Co-ops: Full List

Key takeaways

177 community-owned utilities: 135 municipal utilities and 42 electric cooperatives reported bundled retail sales in Iowa in 2024.
Together they served 466,639 of the state's 1,710,009 bundled retail customers (27%); 3 investor-owned utilities served most of the rest.
The largest public power utility is City of Ames, with 28,108 customers.
The largest electric co-op is Linn County REC, with 34,734 customers.

Every public power utility and co-op in Iowa

Ranked by bundled retail customers in 2024, with retail sales in megawatt-hours and average price in cents per kilowatt-hour. Names are as EIA abbreviates them. Filter by type or search.

Showing all 177 utilities

#	Utility	Type	Customers	Sales, MWh	Avg. price
1	Linn County REC	Cooperative	34,734	526,804	12.65¢
2	City of Ames	Municipal	28,108	650,763	9.38¢
3	Eastern Iowa Light & Power Coop	Cooperative	24,070	564,632	11.11¢
4	Cedar Falls Utilities	Municipal	20,246	725,839	6.93¢
5	Maquoketa Valley Rrl Elec Coop	Cooperative	17,170	293,251	12.50¢
6	Iowa Lakes Electric Coop	Cooperative	13,206	601,711	10.24¢
7	Midland Power Coop	Cooperative	12,562	500,567	10.20¢
8	Board of Water Electric & Communications	Municipal	11,724	874,644	7.60¢
9	North West Rural Electric Coop	Cooperative	10,388	757,885	7.62¢
10	Allamakee-Clayton El Coop, Inc	Cooperative	9,962	131,829	16.51¢
11	East-Central Iowa Rural Elec Coop	Cooperative	9,224	214,470	11.97¢
12	Access Energy Coop	Cooperative	9,067	422,272	9.38¢
13	Consumers Energy Coop	Cooperative	7,560	214,724	10.55¢
14	MiEnergy Cooperative	Cooperative	7,261	248,506	11.74¢
15	Indianola Municipal Utilities	Municipal	6,621	120,096	11.76¢
16	T I P Rural Electric Coop	Cooperative	6,593	141,613	12.00¢
17	City of Spencer	Municipal	6,302	151,280	9.01¢
18	Chariton Valley Elec Coop, Inc	Cooperative	6,292	95,280	14.26¢
19	Southwest Iowa Rural Elec Coop	Cooperative	6,062	96,055	13.57¢
20	Clarke Electric Coop Inc	Cooperative	5,755	110,734	13.37¢
21	Western Iowa Power Coop	Cooperative	5,600	92,075	15.28¢
22	City of Pella	Municipal	5,332	190,508	9.16¢
23	Heartland Power Coop	Cooperative	5,311	364,190	8.48¢
24	Waverly Municipal Elec Utility	Municipal	5,151	127,502	12.04¢
25	Butler County Rural Elec Coop	Cooperative	5,110	277,066	10.24¢
26	Farmers Electric Coop, Inc	Cooperative	5,108	123,883	11.77¢
27	Guthrie County Rural E C A	Cooperative	4,960	165,106	9.05¢
28	Southern Iowa Elec Coop, Inc	Cooperative	4,807	72,428	16.35¢
29	Atlantic Municipal Utilities	Municipal	4,687	182,270	7.09¢
30	City of Webster City	Municipal	4,461	92,433	12.03¢
31	Prairie Energy Coop	Cooperative	4,317	328,898	9.55¢
32	City of Mt Pleasant	Municipal	3,947	63,172	15.27¢
33	Harrison County Rrl Elec Coop	Cooperative	3,929	135,940	10.41¢
34	City of Algona	Municipal	3,831	123,514	10.14¢
35	Nishnabotna Valley R E C	Cooperative	3,727	214,742	9.47¢
36	Woodbury County Rural E C A	Cooperative	3,449	115,184	10.49¢
37	City of Maquoketa	Municipal	3,416	67,382	11.85¢
38	City of Onawa	Municipal	3,353	28,257	10.17¢
39	City of Denison	Municipal	3,314	144,224	6.86¢
40	Pella Cooperative Elec Assn	Cooperative	3,215	61,612	13.65¢
41	City of Estherville	Municipal	3,212	51,867	11.99¢
42	City of Independence	Municipal	3,193	72,990	10.55¢
43	Eldridge City Utilities	Municipal	2,950	38,902	11.16¢
44	City of Sioux Center	Municipal	2,936	125,746	8.38¢
45	Harlan Municipal Utilities	Municipal	2,866	56,442	11.03¢
46	City of Winterset	Municipal	2,846	48,534	11.26¢
47	Raccoon Valley Electric Cooperative	Cooperative	2,783	128,318	11.86¢
48	City of Vinton	Municipal	2,578	38,588	14.46¢
49	City of New Hampton	Municipal	2,519	62,128	9.47¢
50	City of Osage	Municipal	2,440	51,314	10.77¢
51	Lyon Rural Electric Coop	Cooperative	2,317	122,189	10.31¢
52	City of Orange City	Municipal	2,313	85,092	9.03¢
53	Grundy County Rural Elec Coop	Cooperative	2,267	96,857	9.23¢
54	City of Forest City	Municipal	2,156	52,887	10.58¢
55	City of Sergeant Bluff	Municipal	2,151	31,522	10.92¢
56	City of Story City	Municipal	2,039	62,096	10.85¢
57	Franklin Rural Electric Coop	Cooperative	1,956	75,064	11.30¢
58	City of Tipton	Municipal	1,817	33,761	9.14¢
59	City of West Liberty	Municipal	1,804	48,440	12.68¢
60	City of Bellevue	Municipal	1,761	22,873	10.22¢
61	Calhoun County Elec Coop Assn	Cooperative	1,664	35,841	14.81¢
62	City of Milford	Municipal	1,604	30,114	11.02¢
63	Grundy Center Mun Light & Power	Municipal	1,580	24,667	11.74¢
64	City of Carlisle	Municipal	1,578	19,447	14.38¢
65	City of Wilton	Municipal	1,564	22,599	11.34¢
66	City of Sibley	Municipal	1,523	31,106	10.05¢
67	Rock Rapids Municipal Utility	Municipal	1,445	27,623	9.21¢
68	City of Bloomfield	Municipal	1,407	20,445	13.40¢
69	City of Guttenberg	Municipal	1,397	17,458	15.09¢
70	City of Lake View	Municipal	1,377	21,298	9.33¢
71	City of Pocahontas	Municipal	1,349	19,335	10.10¢
72	City of Hawarden	Municipal	1,335	25,281	9.27¢
73	Osceola Electric Coop, Inc	Cooperative	1,277	106,830	8.87¢
74	New London Municipal Utilities	Municipal	1,251	13,788	14.78¢
75	City of Lake Mills	Municipal	1,236	18,848	11.16¢
76	La Porte City Utilities	Municipal	1,208	14,409	12.24¢
77	Cascade Municipal Utilities	Municipal	1,201	18,064	10.08¢
78	Atchison-Holt Electric Coop	Cooperative	1,200	16,244	14.05¢
79	City of Greenfield	Municipal	1,173	46,406	11.50¢
80	City of Ogden	Municipal	1,146	12,746	17.83¢
81	City of Corning	Municipal	1,143	18,303	10.60¢
82	City of Sumner	Municipal	1,126	15,455	15.11¢
83	City of Lamoni	Municipal	1,125	22,649	10.46¢
84	City of Traer	Municipal	1,099	13,733	14.32¢
85	City of State Center	Municipal	1,023	15,617	12.28¢
86	City of Alta	Municipal	1,003	17,141	10.43¢
87	City of Stuart	Municipal	982	14,546	13.57¢
88	City of Hartley	Municipal	971	18,960	8.62¢
89	City of Durant	Municipal	961	13,811	11.43¢
90	City of Denver	Municipal	934	13,659	14.61¢
91	City of Montezuma	Municipal	912	20,362	9.55¢
92	City of Woodbine	Municipal	876	14,190	9.86¢
93	City of Remsen	Municipal	875	14,471	10.95¢
94	City of Akron	Municipal	856	16,849	11.10¢
95	West Point Utility System	Municipal	855	10,042	14.37¢
96	City of Manning	Municipal	836	35,084	9.62¢
97	City of Laurens	Municipal	820	24,476	8.13¢
98	City of Brooklyn	Municipal	816	12,084	10.72¢
99	City of Coon Rapids	Municipal	815	220,936	4.51¢
100	City of Sanborn	Municipal	799	28,889	9.40¢
101	City of Mapleton	Municipal	773	13,251	11.45¢
102	City of Lenox	Municipal	747	16,200	12.51¢
103	City of Panora	Municipal	740	13,448	11.89¢
104	City of Dysart	Municipal	725	7,919	16.47¢
105	City of Villisca	Municipal	719	10,560	11.33¢
106	City of Strawberry Point	Municipal	715	7,566	13.36¢
107	City of Glidden	Municipal	712	8,211	10.85¢
108	City of Paullina	Municipal	655	9,152	9.78¢
109	City of Lake Park	Municipal	652	11,327	11.61¢
110	Farmers Electric Coop	Cooperative	638	18,563	14.93¢
111	Keosauqua Municipal Light & Pwr	Municipal	635	11,999	13.97¢
112	City of McGregor	Municipal	632	5,667	15.17¢
113	City of Primghar	Municipal	626	8,477	10.79¢
114	City of Preston	Municipal	622	7,139	13.59¢
115	Bancroft Municipal Utilities	Municipal	621	11,156	12.13¢
116	City of Anita	Municipal	615	8,680	9.62¢
117	City of West Bend	Municipal	615	20,249	11.24¢
118	Gowrie Municipal Utilities	Municipal	608	7,091	13.69¢
119	City of Alton	Municipal	597	11,068	8.98¢
120	City of Fairbank	Municipal	587	7,315	11.59¢
121	City of Fredericksburg	Municipal	564	12,548	11.71¢
122	City of Aplington	Municipal	556	6,725	12.82¢
123	City of Larchwood	Municipal	534	8,253	9.46¢
124	City of Wall Lake	Municipal	533	7,105	10.10¢
125	City of Dayton	Municipal	528	5,518	11.11¢
126	United Electric Coop, Inc	Cooperative	528	7,379	17.08¢
127	City of Aurelia	Municipal	521	6,753	9.68¢
128	City of Graettinger	Municipal	512	8,762	7.42¢
129	City of Afton	Municipal	508	6,161	12.89¢
130	City of Dike	Municipal	493	5,393	16.16¢
131	Town of Manilla	Municipal	485	6,082	8.40¢
132	City of Rockford	Municipal	473	5,693	17.62¢
133	City of Neola	Municipal	470	5,088	21.31¢
134	City of Buffalo	Municipal	468	6,025	9.38¢
135	City of Fontanelle	Municipal	457	6,282	10.90¢
136	City of Grand Junction	Municipal	449	4,598	17.75¢
137	City of Danville	Municipal	430	4,993	11.38¢
138	City of Earlville	Municipal	428	4,393	13.11¢
139	City of Hinton	Municipal	408	10,132	11.26¢
140	City of Stratford	Municipal	407	5,158	14.17¢
141	City of Hopkinton	Municipal	387	5,788	13.87¢
142	City of Sabula	Municipal	382	3,195	17.03¢
143	City of Readlyn	Municipal	373	4,659	13.76¢
144	City of Anthon	Municipal	372	5,977	10.09¢
145	City of Stanton	Municipal	368	7,287	8.87¢
146	City of Shelby	Municipal	359	5,735	10.11¢
147	City of Fonda	Municipal	356	3,982	12.26¢
148	City of Coggon	Municipal	349	3,930	14.62¢
149	City of Whittemore	Municipal	323	4,598	13.50¢
150	City of Lawler	Municipal	317	2,735	12.58¢
151	City of Burt	Municipal	307	2,342	18.69¢
152	City of Breda	Municipal	304	4,561	12.44¢
153	City of Farnhamville	Municipal	297	3,512	13.13¢
154	City of Ellsworth	Municipal	291	6,326	13.00¢
155	City of Renwick	Municipal	264	4,979	9.20¢
156	City of Stanhope	Municipal	257	4,458	12.66¢
157	City of Lehigh	Municipal	240	1,938	10.47¢
158	City of Orient	Municipal	240	2,245	13.26¢
159	City of Long Grove	Municipal	231	2,716	11.68¢
160	Grundy Electric Coop, Inc	Cooperative	227	3,031	14.33¢
161	City of Livermore	Municipal	215	2,453	14.25¢
162	City of Kimballton	Municipal	205	2,358	9.79¢
163	City of Callender	Municipal	200	1,999	13.51¢
164	City of Corwith	Municipal	194	2,106	17.85¢
165	City of Marathon	Municipal	189	1,578	16.45¢
166	City of Auburn	Municipal	177	1,514	16.87¢
167	City of Alta Vista	Municipal	172	1,380	13.96¢
168	Grafton Electric	Municipal	161	1,349	13.02¢
169	Pleasant Hill Community Line	Cooperative	140	4,621	11.76¢
170	City of Woolstock	Municipal	124	1,272	16.51¢
171	City of Paton	Municipal	119	1,804	5.95¢
172	Boone Valley Electric Coop	Cooperative	95	9,042	9.18¢
173	Cass Electric Coop	Cooperative	88	1,048	26.05¢
174	Town of Westfield	Municipal	79	781	11.54¢
175	Federated Rural Electric Assn	Cooperative	57	927	12.19¢
176	Nobles Cooperative Electric	Cooperative	10	232	14.22¢
177	Freeborn Mower Electric Cooperative	Cooperative	6	100	17.00¢

Public power vs. co-ops in Iowa

Public power utilities — municipal utilities, public utility districts and state-owned utilities — are owned by the communities they serve and governed by a city council or elected board. They buy much like local governments: through public bids, board approvals and published budgets.
Electric cooperatives are private, not-for-profit utilities owned by their members, who elect the board. Most buy power from a generation and transmission (G&T) co-op and make purchasing decisions through their own policies, often faster than public agencies.

Both publish their plans: watch board and council agendas, budgets, capital improvement plans and rate filings. Our utility funding tracker and rate case & IRP tracker show where the money is coming from.

Selling to Iowa utilities

Start with the right person. Line, engineering, metering, IT and member-services managers usually define the need; the general manager or CEO and the board approve large purchases.
Use the networks. State public power and cooperative associations, joint action agencies and G&T co-ops shape purchasing and share vendor experiences.
Expect small teams. Many of the utilities on this list have only a handful of staff, so phone outreach and a clear reason to talk matter.

Read our guide to how public power, co-ops and water utilities buy, or see the largest public power utilities and largest electric co-ops nationally.

About this data

Source. EIA's "2024 Utility Bundled Retail Sales – Total" (Table 10), from forms EIA-861 and EIA-861S. Average price is EIA's revenue divided by sales.
Bundled customers only. The table counts customers who buy both energy and delivery from the utility, so it excludes distribution-only utilities and customers who buy energy from another supplier in retail-choice areas.
Community-owned utilities only. This page lists municipal, public utility district, state-owned and cooperative utilities. Investor-owned and federal utilities are left out.

Sources

U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2024 Utility Bundled Retail Sales – Total (Table 10): eia.gov

Public power utilities and electric co-ops in Iowa.