Who runs the utilities in Wisconsin?
Wisconsin has 2,673,108 residential customers, EIA-861 2024 sales file (94% of EIA's count). Investor-owned 86.4%. Municipal 8.1%. Cooperative 5.5%. Wisconsin ranks 17th of 51 states, investor-owned.
Wisconsin homes by utility type
Wisconsin: customers by type, %
- 86.4Investor-owned
- 8.1Municipal
- 5.5Cooperative
| Wisconsin type | Utilities | Customers | Share | Price ¢/kWh | Gap ¢ (%) | kWh/mo | Nonmetro |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Investor-owned | 13 | 2,309,914 | 86.4% | 17.86 | not shown | 624 | 51% |
| Municipal | 81 | 216,071 | 8.1% | 12.37 | -5.49 (-31%) | 631 | 43% |
| Cooperative | 24 | 147,123 | 5.5% | 16.08 | -1.78 (-10%) | 812 | 76% |
Wisconsin: 51 short-form utilities with 187,352 customers (all sectors) have no residential split, so the sales file reaches 94% of homes.
Wisconsin prices by utility type
municipal utilities average 12.4 cents, 5.5 cents (31%) below investor-owned at 17.9; cooperatives average 16.1 cents, 1.8 cents (10%) below investor-owned at 17.9.
Wisconsin gaps mix cost and customer mix; method.
Wisconsin: which utilities set the averages
Investor-owned at 17.9 cents and municipal utilities at 12.4 are the widest pair in Wisconsin, 5.5 cents (44%).
Investor-owned: Wisconsin Electric Power Co holds 45% of priced customers at 19.2 cents, group average 17.9. Among 8 with 5,000+ customers, Dahlberg Light & Power Co charges 12.6 and Madison Gas & Electric Co 20.3, 7.7 cents apart.
Municipal: Sun Prairie Utilities holds 8% of priced customers at 12.1 cents, group average 12.4. Among 15 with 5,000+ customers, City of Marshfield charges 10.1 and Oconomowoc Utilities 13.7, 3.7 cents apart.
Cooperative: Adams-Columbia Electric Coop holds 24% of priced customers at 17.6 cents, group average 16.1. Among 9 with 5,000+ customers, Rock Energy Cooperative charges 14.5 and Adams-Columbia Electric Coop 17.6, 3.2 cents apart.
Wisconsin territory, rural or urban
Wisconsin has 72 counties, 62% of them nonmetro in USDA's 2023 codes. Customer-weighted: investor-owned territory is 51% nonmetro; municipal territory is 43% nonmetro; cooperative territory is 76% nonmetro.
Wisconsin: largest utilities
| Wisconsin Electric Power Co | Investor-owned | 1,048,148 | 19.23 | 625 | 43% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wisconsin Power & Light Co | Investor-owned | 437,211 | 16.89 | 673 | 63% |
| Wisconsin Public Service Corp | Investor-owned | 411,775 | 16.23 | 595 | 64% |
| Northern States Power Co | Investor-owned | 220,574 | 15.83 | 690 | 75% |
| Madison Gas & Electric Co | Investor-owned | 147,501 | 20.34 | 486 | 0% |
| Adams-Columbia Electric Coop | Cooperative | 35,910 | 17.63 | 615 | 83% |
| Polk-Burnett Electric Coop | Cooperative | 20,379 | 15.90 | 752 | 83% |
| Barron Electric Coop | Cooperative | 19,266 | 15.72 | 826 | 88% |
| Riverland Energy Cooperative | Cooperative | 18,970 | 16.30 | 1,005 | 67% |
| Oakdale Electric Coop | Cooperative | 17,027 | 15.87 | 711 | 100% |
| Sun Prairie Utilities | Municipal | 16,647 | 12.13 | 588 | 0% |
| Manitowoc Public Utilities | Municipal | 16,152 | 11.14 | 555 | 100% |
| City of Kaukauna | Municipal | 14,543 | 12.53 | 711 | 0% |
| Scenic Rivers Energy Coop | Cooperative | 13,597 | 15.23 | 1,118 | 57% |
| Superior Water and Light Co | Investor-owned | 13,072 | 15.44 | 546 | 0% |
| Northwestern Wisconsin Elec Co | Investor-owned | 12,990 | 13.84 | 543 | 100% |
| Wisconsin Rapids W W & L Comm | Municipal | 12,395 | 13.38 | 634 | 100% |
| City of Marshfield | Municipal | 11,928 | 10.07 | 674 | 67% |
| Dahlberg Light & Power Co | Investor-owned | 10,939 | 12.62 | 552 | 67% |
| Oconomowoc Utilities | Municipal | 9,972 | 13.75 | 669 | 0% |
| Dunn County Electric Coop | Cooperative | 9,482 | 15.45 | 940 | 50% |
| City of Menasha | Municipal | 8,607 | 12.42 | 592 | 0% |
| City of Stoughton | Municipal | 8,391 | 12.60 | 633 | 0% |
| City of Sturgeon Bay | Municipal | 7,786 | 12.46 | 573 | 100% |
| City of Plymouth | Municipal | 7,358 | 11.80 | 698 | 0% |
| Rock Energy Cooperative | Cooperative | 7,310 | 14.47 | 954 | 25% |
| Hartford Electric | Municipal | 6,998 | 11.71 | 618 | 50% |
| City of River Falls | Municipal | 6,709 | 13.28 | 636 | 0% |
| Village of Waunakee | Municipal | 6,677 | 11.70 | 712 | 0% |
| Cedarburg Light & Water Comm | Municipal | 6,063 | 12.70 | 628 | 0% |
Compare your Wisconsin utility
- Pick a utility.
Wisconsin next to its neighbors
Wisconsin: municipal -31%, cooperative -10% against investor-owned. Gaps are within each state.
More
Similar investor-owned share: New Hampshire 88%, Idaho 87%, New York 85%, Iowa 84%
Sources
Wisconsin: EIA-861 (2024), USDA RUCC (2023); retrieval dates, checksums.
Questions
Which utility type serves most Wisconsin homes?
Investor-owned utilities, 86.4% of 2,673,108 customers.
Do Wisconsin co-ops or municipal utilities charge less?
Municipal utilities averaged 12.4 cents per kWh against 17.9 for investor-owned (-31%). Cooperatives averaged 16.1 cents per kWh against 17.9 for investor-owned (-10%).
How many utilities does Wisconsin have?
EIA-861 (2024) lists 118; residential sales are reported by 66.
Can Wisconsin customers pick their utility?
No; Wisconsin shows almost no energy-only supply and the address sets the utility.