How many electric cooperatives are in South Dakota?

30 electric cooperatives reported bundled retail electricity sales to customers in South Dakota in 2024, according to EIA. The largest is Sioux Valley SW Elec Coop, with 25,289 customers.

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

36 — 34 municipal utilities, 2 public utility districts — reported bundled retail sales in South Dakota in 2024. The largest is Watertown Municipal Utilities, with 14,308 customers.

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

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

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

Key takeaways

66 community-owned utilities: 34 municipal utilities, 2 public utility districts and 30 electric cooperatives reported bundled retail sales in South Dakota in 2024.
Together they served 244,787 of the state's 516,156 bundled retail customers (47%); 6 investor-owned utilities served most of the rest.
The largest public power utility is Watertown Municipal Utilities, with 14,308 customers.
The largest electric co-op is Sioux Valley SW Elec Coop, with 25,289 customers.

Every public power utility and co-op in South 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 66 utilities

#	Utility	Type	Customers	Sales, MWh	Avg. price
1	Sioux Valley SW Elec Coop	Cooperative	25,289	787,854	10.91¢
2	Southeastern Electric Coop Inc	Cooperative	23,436	811,697	10.09¢
3	West River Electric Assn Inc	Cooperative	20,674	337,321	13.46¢
4	Watertown Municipal Utilities	Municipal	14,308	389,998	8.31¢
5	City of Brookings	Municipal	12,309	320,992	9.52¢
6	Black Hills Electric Coop, Inc	Cooperative	11,278	160,983	14.72¢
7	Central Electric Coop, Inc	Cooperative	7,351	347,852	10.61¢
8	City of Pierre	Municipal	7,327	159,258	9.34¢
9	Butte Electric Coop, Inc	Cooperative	7,265	115,979	14.59¢
10	Moreau-Grand Electric Coop Inc	Cooperative	7,153	101,698	12.97¢
11	Northern Electric Coop, Inc	Cooperative	6,888	295,778	10.03¢
12	West Central Electric Coop Inc	Cooperative	6,801	128,640	13.12¢
13	LaCreek Electric Assn, Inc	Cooperative	6,665	123,111	11.76¢
14	Rosebud Electric Coop Inc	Cooperative	5,637	87,756	10.24¢
15	Grand Electric Coop, Inc	Cooperative	5,247	82,914	14.65¢
16	City of Vermillion	Municipal	5,034	71,854	11.60¢
17	Cherry-Todd Electric Coop, Inc	Cooperative	4,939	109,899	11.18¢
18	Bon Homme Yankton El Assn, Inc	Cooperative	4,133	96,785	11.94¢
19	Clay-Union Electric Corp	Cooperative	3,895	79,593	10.90¢
20	H-D Electric Coop Inc	Cooperative	3,829	127,013	10.83¢
21	Whetstone Valley Elec Coop Inc	Cooperative	3,658	95,782	11.87¢
22	Dakota Energy Coop Inc	Cooperative	3,638	263,561	9.92¢
23	Lake Region Electric Assn, Inc	Cooperative	3,468	210,782	9.37¢
24	Codington-Clark Elec Coop, Inc	Cooperative	3,457	162,390	9.84¢
25	Oahe Electric Coop Inc	Cooperative	3,385	372,327	7.66¢
26	City of Madison	Municipal	3,322	94,897	10.30¢
27	City of Sioux Falls	Municipal	2,936	94,743	11.66¢
28	Charles Mix Electric Assn, Inc	Cooperative	2,660	64,918	13.07¢
29	Cam Wal Electric Coop, Inc	Cooperative	2,586	60,906	13.34¢
30	FEM Electric Assn, Inc	Cooperative	2,152	172,036	9.88¢
31	Winner Municipal Utility	Municipal	1,885	38,246	11.74¢
32	Union County Electric Coop Inc	Cooperative	1,690	30,374	15.03¢
33	City of Flandreau	Municipal	1,415	32,146	11.65¢
34	City of Fort Pierre	Municipal	1,414	28,050	9.93¢
35	Nebraska Public Power District	Public utility district	1,280	36,400	8.34¢
36	City of Volga	Municipal	1,266	64,849	9.23¢
37	City of Beresford	Municipal	1,248	41,362	10.58¢
38	Traverse Electric Coop, Inc	Cooperative	1,073	42,498	10.03¢
39	City of Elk Point	Municipal	1,045	17,266	11.21¢
40	City of Miller	Municipal	950	19,428	10.93¢
41	Kingsbury Electric Coop, Inc	Cooperative	905	27,241	14.59¢
42	Douglas Electric Coop, Inc	Cooperative	820	23,798	13.21¢
43	City of Groton	Municipal	757	15,479	9.64¢
44	City of Parker	Municipal	674	11,151	12.11¢
45	City of Tyndall	Municipal	646	12,673	10.95¢
46	City of Howard	Municipal	621	17,026	9.96¢
47	City of Arlington	Municipal	616	9,812	12.84¢
48	City of Wessington Springs	Municipal	610	9,992	12.29¢
49	City of Aurora	Municipal	529	5,907	11.20¢
50	City of Onida	Municipal	483	7,526	11.09¢
51	City of Plankinton	Municipal	475	9,278	10.63¢
52	City of Burke	Municipal	459	6,334	10.61¢
53	City of Estelline	Municipal	420	6,767	9.31¢
54	City of Colman	Municipal	411	10,726	11.18¢
55	City of Big Stone City	Municipal	401	9,430	10.00¢
56	City of McLaughlin	Municipal	333	5,842	9.91¢
57	City of White	Municipal	308	3,898	12.93¢
58	City of Hecla	Municipal	285	2,767	13.99¢
59	City of Bryant	Municipal	276	3,821	14.41¢
60	City of Faith	Municipal	275	4,660	11.72¢
61	Town of Langford	Municipal	190	3,000	16.15¢
62	Town of Pickstown	Municipal	182	2,802	9.38¢
63	City of Badger	Municipal	83	1,386	11.59¢
64	Southeast Electric Coop, Inc	Cooperative	23	180	14.44¢
65	Niobrara Electric Assn, Inc	Cooperative	16	120	19.00¢
66	Heartland Consumers Power Dist	Public utility district	3	14,512	8.34¢

Public power vs. co-ops in South 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 South 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 South Dakota.