How reliable is the power in Iowa?
Iowa ranks 13th of 45 states without major events and 15th with them (1st = fewest minutes), 45 below the U.S. 129 and 461 below the U.S. 662. Major events added 116 minutes, 58% of the with-events total. The figure covers 904,873 customers, 62% of the 1,470,722 EIA lists for Iowa.
Iowa with and without major events
minutes without power per customer, 2024, Iowa and U.S.
- 84Iowa, no major events
- 129U.S., no major events
- 200Iowa, with major events
- 662U.S., with major events
| Measure | Iowa without | Iowa with | U.S. without | U.S. with |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SAIDI, minutes per customer | 84 | 200 | 129 | 662 |
| SAIFI, interruptions per customer | 0.81 | 1.21 | 1.06 | 1.53 |
| CAIDI, minutes per interruption | 104 | 165 | 122 | 433 |
| Median utility, SAIDI minutes | 66 | 78 | — | — |
Which Iowa utilities move the number
MidAmerican Energy Co serves 82% of the customers in the Iowa figure: 89% of lost customer-minutes with major events, 86% without. Without MidAmerican Energy Co, the weighted figure would be 116 minutes with major events and 66 without, against 200 and 84.
- MidAmerican Energy Co: 740,347 customers (82%), 88 min without and 219 with; 89% of lost minutes with major events, 86% without.
- Eastern Iowa Light & Power Coop: 24,124 customers (3%), 99 min without and 220 with; 3% of lost minutes with major events, 3% without.
- Linn County REC: 33,181 customers (4%), 116 min without and 116 with; 2% of lost minutes with major events, 5% without.
All Iowa utilities in the 2024 file
139 utilities in the 2024 EIA-861 files for Iowa: 13 follow IEEE 1366, 6 use another method, 120 filed no reliability figures. 19 are listed.
| Board of Water Electric & Communications | Municipal | IEEE 1366 | 11,665 | 9 | 41 | 0.21 | 0.53 | 79 | 1 of 7 | — |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City of Ames - (IA) | Municipal | IEEE 1366 | 27,592 | 19 | 39 | 0.26 | 0.47 | 52 | 2 of 7 | — |
| Iowa Lakes Electric Coop | Cooperative | IEEE 1366 | 13,237 | 45 | 45 | 0.48 | 0.48 | 0 | 3 of 7 | — |
| Maquoketa Valley Rrl Elec Coop | Cooperative | IEEE 1366 | 17,236 | 71 | 134 | 0.82 | 1.20 | 47 | 4 of 7 | — |
| MidAmerican Energy Co | Investor Owned | IEEE 1366 | 740,347 | 88 | 219 | 0.82 | 1.27 | 60 | 5 of 7 | — |
| Eastern Iowa Light & Power Coop | Cooperative | IEEE 1366 | 24,124 | 99 | 220 | 0.90 | 1.29 | 55 | 6 of 7 | — |
| Linn County REC | Cooperative | IEEE 1366 | 33,181 | 116 | 116 | 1.50 | 1.50 | 0 | 7 of 7 | — |
| Interstate Power and Light Co | Investor Owned | Other method | 499,530 | 99 | 116 | 1.01 | 1.08 | — | Not ranked | other method, not comparable |
| Cedar Falls Utilities | Municipal | Other method | 19,667 | — | 3 | — | 0.07 | — | Not ranked | other method, not comparable |
| Midland Power Coop | Cooperative | Other method | 12,573 | 105 | 123 | 1.33 | 1.44 | — | Not ranked | other method, not comparable |
| North West Rural Electric Coop | Cooperative | Other method | 10,385 | 45 | 45 | 0.50 | 0.50 | — | Not ranked | other method, not comparable |
| Access Energy Coop | Cooperative | Other method | 9,159 | 173 | 192 | 1.51 | 1.56 | — | Not ranked | other method, not comparable; under 10,000 customers |
| East-Central Iowa Rural Elec Coop | Cooperative | IEEE 1366 | 9,114 | 38 | 38 | 0.53 | 0.53 | 0 | Not ranked | under 10,000 customers |
| Consumers Energy Coop - (IA) | Cooperative | IEEE 1366 | 7,560 | 96 | 493 | 1.00 | 1.54 | 81 | Not ranked | under 10,000 customers |
| MiEnergy Cooperative | Cooperative | IEEE 1366 | 7,262 | 60 | 69 | 0.59 | 0.64 | 14 | Not ranked | under 10,000 customers |
| Heartland Power Coop | Cooperative | IEEE 1366 | 5,249 | 70 | 78 | 0.77 | 0.80 | 10 | Not ranked | under 10,000 customers |
| Butler County Rural Elec Coop - (IA) | Cooperative | IEEE 1366 | 5,110 | 66 | 86 | 0.64 | 0.75 | 23 | Not ranked | under 10,000 customers |
| Prairie Energy Coop | Cooperative | Other method | 4,318 | 75 | 91 | 0.74 | 0.89 | — | Not ranked | other method, not comparable; under 10,000 customers |
| City of Independence - (IA) | Municipal | IEEE 1366 | 3,196 | 11 | 11 | 0.41 | 0.41 | 0 | Not ranked | under 10,000 customers |
Iowa utilities with no reliability figures
120 in the sales file, no SAIDI or SAIFI row; the 25 largest are listed.
| Utility | Type | Customers |
|---|---|---|
| City of Maquoketa - (IA) | Municipal | 3,416 |
| Amana Society Service Co | Investor Owned | 889 |
| City of Preston | Municipal | 622 |
| Federated Rural Electric Assn | Cooperative | 57 |
| Freeborn Mower Electric Cooperative | Cooperative | 6 |
| City of Lenox - (IA) | Municipal | — |
| Grundy County Rural Elec Coop | Cooperative | — |
| City of Fairbank - (IA) | Municipal | — |
| Town of Manilla - (IA) | Municipal | — |
| City of Mt Pleasant - (IA) | Municipal | — |
| City of Pella - (IA) | Municipal | — |
| City of Lake Mills | Municipal | — |
| Franklin Rural Electric Coop - (IA) | Cooperative | — |
| City of Sibley - (IA) | Municipal | — |
| Raccoon Valley Electric Cooperative | Cooperative | — |
| City of State Center - (IA) | Municipal | — |
| Atlantic Municipal Utilities | Municipal | — |
| City of Corwith - (IA) | Municipal | — |
| Farmers Electric Coop, Inc - (IA) | Cooperative | — |
| City of Anita - (IA) | Municipal | — |
| Keosauqua Municipal Light & Pwr | Municipal | — |
| New London Municipal Utilities | Municipal | — |
| City of Readlyn - (IA) | Municipal | — |
| Chariton Valley Elec Coop, Inc | Cooperative | — |
| Nobles Cooperative Electric | Cooperative | — |
The biggest Iowa utilities against the U.S.
- MidAmerican Energy Co (investor owned, 50% of Iowa customers in the file): SAIDI without major events 88 min, 41 below the U.S. 129; with major events 219 min against 662.
- Interstate Power and Light Co (investor owned, 34% of Iowa customers in the file): reports on another method, SAIFI 1.08, not compared with the U.S. figure.
- Linn County REC (cooperative, 2% of Iowa customers in the file): SAIDI without major events 116 min, 13 below the U.S. 129; with major events 116 min against 662.
- City of Ames - (IA) (municipal, 2% of Iowa customers in the file): SAIDI without major events 19 min, 111 below the U.S. 129; with major events 39 min against 662.
- Eastern Iowa Light & Power Coop (cooperative, 2% of Iowa customers in the file): SAIDI without major events 99 min, 30 below the U.S. 129; with major events 220 min against 662.
Iowa by type of utility
Among Iowa utilities that report under IEEE 1366, municipal utilities average 15 minutes without major events and investor owned utilities 88.
| Type | Utilities | Customers | SAIDI without | Median utility | SAIDI with |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Investor Owned | 1 | 740,347 | 88 | 88 | 219 |
| Cooperative | 9 | 122,073 | 84 | 70 | 143 |
| Municipal | 3 | 42,453 | 15 | 11 | 37 |
Next to Iowa in the ranking
Iowa report card
Smart meters: 96% of residential meters, 7 utilities (U.S. 92%). Iowa time-based rates: 5 of 9 utilities, 6.8% of residential customers enrolled (U.S. 10.6%). Iowa efficiency spend: $43.7 per customer (U.S. $124.2). Demand response: 297 W per customer (U.S. 77). Iowa net-metered systems: 15.5 per 1,000 customers. Rankings.
Is your Iowa utility better or worse than the Iowa median?
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More
- Iowa against all states
- Iowa utilities among the best and worst
- Iowa utility reliability and price by company
- Iowa major outage reports from the Department of Energy
- Iowa electricity prices
- Iowa help with your bill
19 Iowa filings in EIA-861 2024 (retrieved 2026-10-01), 7 ranked utilities. Method and sources.
Questions
How many minutes without power did the average Iowa customer have in 2024?
84 minutes without major events and 200 with them (13 IEEE 1366 utilities, customer-weighted).
Why do the two Iowa numbers differ so much?
Major events add 116 of the 200 minutes (58%); MidAmerican Energy Co supplies 89% of the with-events total.
Which Iowa utility reported the fewest and the most minutes?
Among 7 utilities with 10,000+ customers: Board of Water Electric & Communications 9 minutes without major events, and Linn County REC 116.
Which Iowa utilities use which method?
13 follow IEEE 1366, 6 use another method, 120 filed no reliability figures.