NorthWestern Energy: 12.56 ¢/kWh for homes, 64,971 accounts in South Dakota

NorthWestern Energy is an investor owned utility serving 64,971 customer accounts in South Dakota; 51,467 of them are residential. Its home price moved +39.9% from 2015 to 2024, 23.9 points faster than South Dakota.

At 903 kWh a month a NorthWestern Energy home pays about $113 in energy: 12.56 ¢/kWh, 2.3% below the South Dakota average of 12.86 ¢.

NorthWestern Energy: price path since 2015

Home price since 2015: +39.9%South Dakota +16.1%, a gap of +23.9 points

NorthWestern Energy went from 8.98 ¢ in 2015 to 12.56 ¢ in 2024, +39.9%, while the South Dakota average went +16.1%.

For NorthWestern Energy the 2024 file holds no net-metering row, so those rows read "No data" beside 51,467 home accounts; a missing filing says nothing about service quality.

How it compares

NorthWestern Energy
NorthWestern Energy, 2024	Home	Business	Bill	SAIDI
NorthWestern EnergyLowest in this table	12.56 ¢/kWh	12.01 ¢/kWh	$113at 903 kWh	66 minSAIDI
South Dakota average against this company	+0.30 ¢/kWhcompany 2.3% below	-1.46 ¢/kWhcompany 13.9% above	+$3a month at 903 kWh	-9 minstate median against company

Compare 15 South Dakota companies

NorthWestern Energy: 2025

NorthWestern Energy: +6.3% on 2024 for homes, South Dakota +4.0%.

NorthWestern Energy home price, 2025: 13.35 ¢/kWh+6.3% on 2024, early release
NorthWestern Energy against South Dakota, 2025: +2.3 pointsNorthWestern Energy +6.3%, South Dakota +4.0%

NorthWestern Energy reported 13.35 ¢/kWh for homes in 2025, +6.3% on its 2024 figure of 12.56, while the South Dakota average moved +4.0%.

NorthWestern Energy charts

Residential price since 2015: 12.56 ¢ in 2024

8.98 ¢ in 2015, 12.56 ¢ in 2024 (+39.9%).

NorthWestern Energy residential price 2015-2024, 2015 to 2024: 10 rows

Year	NorthWestern Energy	Gap to South Dakota residential	Gap to U.S. residential
2015	8.98	-2.10	-3.67
2016	10.46	-1.01	-2.09
2017	11.04	-0.73	-1.85
2018	10.73	-0.86	-2.14
2019	10.61	-0.94	-2.40
2020	11.40	-0.35	-1.75
2021	11.45	-0.77	-2.21
2022	11.71	-0.38	-3.33
2023	11.26	-1.06	-4.74
2024	12.56	-0.30	-3.92

10 rows from EIA retail sales.

CSV

Home accounts 2015-2024: 51,467

49,807 in 2015, 51,467 in 2024 (+3.3%).

NorthWestern Energy home accounts by year, 2015 to 2024: 10 rows

Year	NorthWestern Energy
2015	49807
2016	50016
2017	50248
2018	50547
2019	50615
2020	50646
2021	50805
2022	51069
2023	51261
2024	51467

10 rows from EIA retail sales.

CSV

Rates 2024: 12.56 and 12.01 ¢

12.56 and 12.01 ¢ for this company.

¢/kWh

NorthWestern Energ residential12.56
South Dakota residential12.86
U.S. residential16.48
NorthWestern Energ commercial12.01
South Dakota commercial10.55
U.S. commercial12.75

NorthWestern Energy, Rates 2024: EIA retail sales.

CSV

NorthWestern Energy SAIDI, 2015-2024

93 min in 2015, 66 in 2024.

NorthWestern Energy SAIDI by year, 2015 to 2024: 10 rows

Year	NorthWestern Energy, no major events	NorthWestern Energy, all events
2015	93	102
2016	85	126
2017	84	109
2018	97	111
2019	112	173
2020	113	159
2021	81	91
2022	80	128
2023	74	116
2024	66	76

10 rows from EIA-861 survey.

CSV

Reliability: SAIDI 66.5 min

66.5 min, 0.67x the median reporter.

min

Company, no major events66.5
Company, with major events76.0
U.S. median reporter99.5

NorthWestern Energy, Reliability: EIA-861 survey.

CSV

Analyst note

Energy sold in 2024 was 1,664,951 MWh over 64,971 accounts, homes 33.5%; the typical home used 10,831 kWh.

EIA-861 holds 10 years of home price for NorthWestern Energy, from 8.98 ¢ in 2015 to 12.56 ¢ in 2024 (+39.9%).

Outages and home price of NorthWestern Energy (EIA utility 13809), 2013 to 2024

Yearly SAIDI at NorthWestern Energy: 70 minutes in 2013, 66 in 2024, little changed (−4%). The low came in 2024 at 66, the high in 2020 at 113; 12 years were filed. The South Dakota median in 2024 was 64 minutes, so NorthWestern Energy ran above it.

Home rates at NorthWestern Energy climbed from 8.38 ¢ in 2013 to 12.56 ¢ in 2024 (+49.9%), or 11.58 ¢ to 12.89 ¢ in 2025 dollars (+11.3%). Over 12,000 kWh a year the real price meant $1,390 in 2013 and $1,547 in 2024. Of 21 South Dakota utilities with 1,000+ home accounts in 2024, NorthWestern Energy stood 12th cheapest (4th of 41 in 2013).

NorthWestern Energy outage minutes a customer, 2013 to 2024: 66 in 2024

NorthWestern Energy at 66 min in 2024 and the South Dakota median at 64.

NorthWestern Energy home price since 2013: +11.3% after inflation

NorthWestern Energy: 12.89 ¢ in 2025 dollars (solid) and 12.56 ¢ as billed (dashed) in 2024.

NorthWestern Energy, EIA utility 13809, year by year among South Dakota utilities

NorthWestern Energy 2013-2024: 12 rows

Year, NorthWestern Energ	¢ billed	¢ in 2025 $	Price place, NorthWestern E	SAIDI min	SAIFI	SAIDI place, NorthWestern E	South Dakota median SAIDI
2013	8.38	11.58	4 of 41	70	0.84	6 of 9	63
2014	8.71	11.84	5 of 43	82	1.00	4 of 11	84
2015	8.98	12.19	3 of 42	93	0.95	7 of 12	91
2016	10.46	14.04	12 of 42	85	1.14	8 of 12	84
2017	11.04	14.50	15 of 43	84	1.24	6 of 13	90
2018	10.73	13.75	11 of 43	97	1.13	10 of 13	68
2019	10.61	13.36	11 of 43	112	1.39	13 of 14	70
2020	11.40	14.18	11 of 20	113	1.28	9 of 10	64
2021	11.45	13.61	11 of 21	81	0.83	8 of 11	58
2022	11.71	12.88	12 of 21	80	1.01	6 of 11	80
2023	11.26	11.90	9 of 21	74	1.03	8 of 11	54
2024	12.56	12.89	12 of 21	66	0.65	8 of 13	64

NorthWestern Energy, EIA utility 13809: EIA-861, CPI-U.

CSV

SAIDI explained, South Dakota real prices.

Facts

Customer accounts: 64,97112.6% of South Dakota total
Residential accounts: 51,46711.9% of South Dakota homes
Commercial accounts: 13,44420.7% of the base
Industrial accounts: 600.09% of the base
Residential rate: 12.56 ¢/kWhplace 2 of 4, -2.3% against the state
Commercial rate: 12.01 ¢/kWh+13.9% against South Dakota
Average residential use: 10,831 kWh/yr903 a month
Implied monthly bill: $113903 kWh at 12.56 ¢, energy only
Energy sold or delivered: 1,664,951 MWhhomes 33%, business 67%
Residential rate since 2015: +39.9%8.98 to 12.56 ¢/kWh
SAIDI, no major events: 66.5 min0.67x the U.S. median
SAIFI, no major events: 0.650.64x the median
SAIDI with major events: 76 min12.6% from event days
Net-metered capacity: No datanone filed for 51,467 homes
Counties listed: 27South Dakota

Data tables

2024 by sector, NorthWestern Energy

NorthWestern Energy sector	Accounts	Rate ¢/kWh	Gap to South Dakota ¢/kWh
Residential	51,467	12.56	-0.30
Commercial	13,444	12.01	+1.46

What EIA-861 holds for NorthWestern Energy

Topic, NorthWestern Energy	Status	Detail
Home price and accounts, NorthWestern Energy	10 years	2015 to 2024, 51,467 homes in 2024
Business price, NorthWestern Energy	Filed 2024	12.01 ¢/kWh on 13,444 accounts
SAIDI and SAIFI, NorthWestern Energy	Filed 2024	66.5 min and 0.65 interruptions
Net metering, NorthWestern Energy	No data	none filed against 51,467 home accounts
Service-territory counties, NorthWestern Energy	27 counties	in South Dakota
Smart meters (AMI/AMR), NorthWestern Energy	Filed 2024	51,775 of 51,785 home meters AMI
2025 early release, NorthWestern Energy	Filed	13.35 ¢/kWh for homes

Year by year, NorthWestern Energy

Year	Home accounts, NorthWestern Energy	Home ¢	Business ¢	SAIDI min	SAIFI
2015	49,807	8.98	8.38	93	0.95
2016	50,016	10.46	9.93	85	1.14
2017	50,248	11.04	10.41	84	1.24
2018	50,547	10.73	9.78	97	1.13
2019	50,615	10.61	9.83	112	1.39
2020	50,646	11.40	10.84	113	1.28
2021	50,805	11.45	10.92	81	0.83
2022	51,069	11.71	11.24	80	1.01
2023	51,261	11.26	10.79	74	1.03
2024	51,467	12.56	12.01	66	0.65

Peers of NorthWestern Energy in South Dakota, place 2 of 4 on home price

Company near NorthWestern Energy on price	Home ¢	Gap % to NorthWestern Energy	Accounts, NorthWestern Energy = 1
1. Southeastern Electric Coop Inc	12.41	-1.2%	0.36
2. NorthWestern Energy (this company)	12.56	-	1.00
3. Sioux Valley SW Elec Coop	12.94	+3.0%	0.39
4. Black Hills Power, Inc.	14.37	+14.5%	1.15

Who buys NorthWestern Energy's electricity

Class, NorthWestern Energy	Accounts	Of NorthWestern Energy accounts	Of MWh	kWh a year per account
Residential	51,467	79.2%	33.5%	10,831
Commercial	13,444	20.7%	40.2%	49,750
Industrial and other	60	0.09%	26.3%	7,311,000

Monthly energy cost by use, NorthWestern Energy

kWh	Share of a 903 kWh month	Cost a month at 12.56 ¢	Cost a year
250	28%	$31.40	$377
500	55%	$62.80	$754
750	83%	$94.19	$1,130
1,000	111%	$125.59	$1,507
1,500	166%	$188.39	$2,261
2,000	222%	$251.18	$3,014

Territory of NorthWestern Energy

27 South Dakota counties, region MRO:

South Dakota other states: 27 of 27 counties of NorthWestern Energy drawn

NorthWestern Energy: 27 counties listed by EIA-861, Census 2023 outlines.

CSV

County list

Aurora
Beadle
Bon Homme
Brown
Brule
Charles Mix
Clark
Codington
Davison
Day
Deuel
Douglas
Edmunds
Faulk
Hamlin
Hand
Hanson
Hughes
Hutchinson
Hyde
Jerauld
Kingsbury
Marshall
Sanborn
Spink
Turner
Yankton

Questions on NorthWestern Energy

How many customers does NorthWestern Energy serve in South Dakota?

64,971 accounts in 2024: residential 51,467, commercial 13,444, industrial 60.

What is the average residential rate of NorthWestern Energy?

In 2024 homes paid 12.56 cents; against the South Dakota average that is -2.3%.

How reliable is NorthWestern Energy by SAIDI and SAIFI?

SAIDI 66.5 min and SAIFI 0.65, major events excluded; ratio to the national median 0.67.

How much solar net metering is on the NorthWestern Energy grid?

NorthWestern Energy files no net-metering row for its 51,467 homes, while South Dakota utilities together report 529 installations.

What is the monthly bill at NorthWestern Energy for average use?

903 kWh at 12.56 cents comes to about $113, energy only.

How does NorthWestern Energy rank on price within South Dakota?

Rank 2 of 4 in South Dakota on price, -2.3% against the state average; 1 charge less than 12.56 ¢.

What data is missing for NorthWestern Energy?

64,971 accounts sit behind NorthWestern Energy, whose 2024 filing lacks no net-metering row; the other 6 rows of the coverage table are on file.

Who buys power from NorthWestern Energy?

Homes take 33.5% of 1,664,951 MWh, commercial accounts 40.2%, industrial and other 26.3%.

What did NorthWestern Energy charge homes in 2025?

13.35 cents per kWh, +6.3% on the 12.56 of 2024 (EIA early release for 2025).

Utilities with a similar home price

Home prices nearest to NorthWestern Energy at 12.56 ¢/kWh in 2024, among companies with a page here, any state.

Union Electric CoMissouri, 12.56 ¢/kWh, 0.00 ¢ below
City of Rock HillSouth Carolina, 12.55 ¢/kWh, 0.01 ¢ below
Evergy Missouri WestMissouri, 12.55 ¢/kWh, 0.01 ¢ below
Owen Electric Coop IncKentucky, 12.55 ¢/kWh, 0.01 ¢ below

Primary sources for NorthWestern Energy: 12.56 ¢/kWh for homes, 64,971 accounts in South Dakota

EIA-861 annual report entry for NorthWestern Energy: 12.56 ¢/kWh for homes, 64,971 accounts in South Dakota, customers and sales
EIA-861 form instructions for NorthWestern Energy: 12.56 ¢/kWh for homes, 64,971 accounts in South Dakota, how a customer is counted
EIA state profiles for NorthWestern Energy: 12.56 ¢/kWh for homes, 64,971 accounts in South Dakota, the state price average