How many electric cooperatives are in North Dakota?

21 electric cooperatives reported bundled retail electricity sales to customers in North Dakota in 2024, according to EIA. The largest is Cass County Elec Coop Inc, with 59,687 customers.

How many municipal and public power utilities are in North Dakota?

12 — 12 municipal utilities — reported bundled retail sales in North Dakota in 2024. The largest is City of Valley City, with 3,876 customers.

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

Municipal utilities and public utility districts are local government entities, so they generally follow North Dakota'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.

North Dakota Public Power & Electric Co-ops: Full List

Key takeaways

33 community-owned utilities: 12 municipal utilities and 21 electric cooperatives reported bundled retail sales in North Dakota in 2024.
Together they served 236,101 of the state's 485,894 bundled retail customers (49%); 3 investor-owned utilities served most of the rest.
The largest public power utility is City of Valley City, with 3,876 customers.
The largest electric co-op is Cass County Elec Coop Inc, with 59,687 customers.

Every public power utility and co-op in North Dakota

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 33 utilities

#	Utility	Type	Customers	Sales, MWh	Avg. price
1	Cass County Elec Coop Inc	Cooperative	59,687	1,358,185	11.48¢
2	Capital Electric Coop, Inc	Cooperative	22,526	386,075	11.60¢
3	Nodak Electric Coop Inc	Cooperative	21,340	2,028,815	6.76¢
4	Mountrail-Williams Elec Coop	Cooperative	19,043	6,298,269	7.09¢
5	Verendrye Electric Coop Inc	Cooperative	16,739	575,612	9.21¢
6	Roughrider Electric Cooperativ	Cooperative	15,187	762,901	10.18¢
7	McKenzie Electric Coop Inc	Cooperative	13,664	6,527,653	6.85¢
8	Northern Plains Electric Coop	Cooperative	12,039	441,729	10.01¢
9	Mor-Gran-Sou Electric Coop Inc	Cooperative	10,381	164,222	13.74¢
10	North Central Elec Coop, Inc	Cooperative	7,592	233,770	11.67¢
11	Dakota Valley Elec Coop Inc	Cooperative	6,932	677,574	8.61¢
12	McLean Electric Coop, Inc	Cooperative	4,278	188,995	10.62¢
13	Slope Electric Coop Inc	Cooperative	4,098	204,675	9.49¢
14	City of Valley City	Municipal	3,876	98,156	8.33¢
15	KEM Electric Coop Inc	Cooperative	3,753	118,989	12.34¢
16	Burke-Divide Electric Coop Inc	Cooperative	3,495	213,000	11.37¢
17	City of Grafton	Municipal	2,273	48,529	12.63¢
18	Cavalier Rural Elec Coop, Inc	Cooperative	1,611	32,925	16.60¢
19	Lower Yellowstone R E A, Inc	Cooperative	1,158	154,344	9.66¢
20	City of Hillsboro	Municipal	1,016	31,767	8.39¢
21	City of Cavalier	Municipal	874	14,334	8.34¢
22	City of Park River	Municipal	865	18,242	12.28¢
23	Goldenwest Electric Coop, Inc	Cooperative	802	31,616	9.07¢
24	City of Northwood	Municipal	673	54,540	2.91¢
25	City of Lakota	Municipal	539	13,358	9.27¢
26	Sheridan Electric Coop, Inc	Cooperative	422	25,592	14.02¢
27	City of Riverdale	Municipal	342	3,147	10.87¢
28	City of Maddock	Municipal	327	11,703	6.10¢
29	City of Stanton	Municipal	254	3,975	11.40¢
30	City of Hope	Municipal	205	4,412	8.40¢
31	City of Sharon	Municipal	83	1,282	7.69¢
32	Traverse Electric Coop, Inc	Cooperative	26	385	12.99¢
33	Basin Electric Power Coop	Cooperative	1	1,170,657	4.84¢

Public power vs. co-ops in North Dakota

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 North Dakota 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 North Dakota.