Wisconsin power outages by utility

23 Wisconsin utilities report outage minutes to EIA. The state median is 40 minutes a year; the range runs from 3 to 145.

Ranking by outage minutes

Wisconsin, SAIDI without major event days, 2024; lower is better; 23 utilities.

Rank	Wisconsin utility	Owner type	Wisconsin home accounts	SAIDI min	Interruptions (SAIFI)	SAIDI with storms	Wisconsin storm share	Price ¢/kWh
1	City of Sturgeon Bay	Municipal	7,786	3	0.08	28	90%	12.47
2	City of Kaukauna	Municipal	14,543	7	0.08	229	97%	12.53
3	Superior Water and Light Co	Investor Owned	13,072	7	0.09	22	68%	15.44
4	Manitowoc Public Utilities	Municipal	16,152	8	0.18	29	72%	11.15
5	Waupun Utilities	Municipal	3,950	13	0.13	13	0%	11.84
6	City of River Falls	Municipal	6,709	13	0.15	13	0%	13.28
7	City of Marshfield	Municipal	11,928	20	0.37	36	43%	10.07
8	City of Plymouth	Municipal	7,358	31	0.30	31	0%	11.80
9	City of New Richmond	Municipal	4,957	32	0.87	51	37%	11.60
10	Sun Prairie Utilities	Municipal	16,647	34	1.01	34	0%	12.13
11	City of Stoughton	Municipal	8,391	37	0.44	56	34%	12.60
12	Village of Waunakee	Municipal	6,677	40	0.28	40	0%	11.70
13	Madison Gas & Electric Co	Investor Owned	147,501	42	0.34	279	85%	20.34
14	Florence Utility Comm	Municipal	1,428	42	0.28	42	0%	15.54
15	Polk-Burnett Electric Coop	Cooperative	20,379	50	0.69	95	48%	15.90
16	Oakdale Electric Coop	Cooperative	17,027	67	0.69	148	55%	15.87
17	Dunn County Electric Coop	Cooperative	9,482	84	0.69	110	23%	15.45
18	Wisconsin Public Service Corp	Investor Owned	411,775	95	0.77	465	80%	16.23
19	Wisconsin Electric Power Co	Investor Owned	1,048,148	109	0.74	296	63%	19.23
20	Northern States Power Co	Investor Owned	220,574	122	0.89	209	41%	15.83
21	Adams-Columbia Electric Coop	Cooperative	35,910	140	1.15	140	0%	17.63
22	Riverland Energy Cooperative	Cooperative	18,970	144	1.38	262	45%	16.30
23	Barron Electric Coop	Cooperative	19,266	145	1.50	275	47%	15.72

Wisconsin outage minutes by owner type

In Wisconsin, 73% of 2,843,874 home accounts sit with the 23 qualifying utilities out of 64 in the file. Wisconsin customer-weighted SAIDI is 98 minutes against a median of 40, and 5 of 23 Wisconsin utilities exceed the U.S. median of 99. Counting major event days adds a median 43% to SAIDI.

Wisconsin owner type	Wisconsin utilities	Wisconsin home accounts	Wisconsin median SAIDI	Wisconsin weighted SAIDI	Wisconsin median SAIFI	Wisconsin storm share	Wisconsin median price ¢/kWh
Investor Owned	5	1,841,070	95	101	0.74	68%	16.23
Cooperative	6	121,034	112	112	0.92	46%	15.88
Municipal	12	106,526	26	21	0.28	17%	11.99

By owner type, Municipal utilities have the lowest median SAIDI in Wisconsin (26 minutes, 12 of 23) and Cooperative the highest (112 minutes, 6 of 23).

Wisconsin utilities that stand out

Why it stands out	Wisconsin utility	Wisconsin owner type	Wisconsin accounts	Wisconsin SAIDI min	Wisconsin SAIDI rank	Wisconsin SAIFI	Wisconsin SAIDI with storms	Wisconsin price ¢/kWh	Wisconsin price rank
the most reliable	City of Sturgeon Bay	Municipal	7,786	3	1 of 23	0.08	28	12.47	8 of 23
the least reliable	Barron Electric Coop	Cooperative	19,266	145	23 of 23	1.50	275	15.72	15 of 23
the largest	Wisconsin Electric Power Co	Investor Owned	1,048,148	109	19 of 23	0.74	296	19.23	22 of 23
the most storm-driven	City of Kaukauna	Municipal	14,543	7	2 of 23	0.08	229	12.53	9 of 23
the most improved	Dunn County Electric Coop	Cooperative	9,482	84	17 of 23	0.69	110	15.45	13 of 23
the one that slipped most	Village of Waunakee	Municipal	6,677	40	12 of 23	0.28	40	11.70	4 of 23
the cheapest	City of Marshfield	Municipal	11,928	20	7 of 23	0.37	36	10.07	1 of 23
the priciest	Madison Gas & Electric Co	Investor Owned	147,501	42	13 of 23	0.34	279	20.34	23 of 23

Does a higher price buy fewer outages?

Each dot is one of 23 Wisconsin utilities.

Wisconsin, 2024: first 8 of 23 rows

	Home price, cents per kWh	SAIDI, minutes a year
City of Sturgeon Bay	12.47	3
City of Kaukauna	12.53	7
Superior Water and Light Co	15.44	7
Manitowoc Public Utilities	11.15	8
Waupun Utilities	11.84	13
City of River Falls	13.28	13
City of Marshfield	10.07	20
City of Plymouth	11.80	31

23 rows from EIA-861 survey.

CSV

Wisconsin utilities, change in their own SAIDI

First to last year each utility reported, best change first.

Rank	Wisconsin utility	Wisconsin years	Wisconsin SAIDI first	Wisconsin SAIDI last	Wisconsin change
1	Dunn County Electric Coop	2015 to 2025	185	32	-83%
2	City of Kaukauna	2015 to 2025	46	21	-55%
3	Superior Water and Light Co	2015 to 2025	20	10	-50%
4	Oakdale Electric Coop	2015 to 2025	158	84	-47%
5	City of New Richmond	2019 to 2025	24	13	-47%
6	Sun Prairie Utilities	2021 to 2025	13	11	-17%
7	Polk-Burnett Electric Coop	2015 to 2024	59	50	-15%
8	Wisconsin Public Service Corp	2015 to 2025	120	107	-11%
9	City of Sturgeon Bay	2020 to 2025	5	5	-10%
10	Adams-Columbia Electric Coop	2015 to 2025	67	66	-2%
11	Waupun Utilities	2015 to 2025	4	4	+1%
12	Madison Gas & Electric Co	2015 to 2025	26	27	+6%
13	City of Stoughton	2016 to 2025	31	34	+9%
14	Barron Electric Coop	2015 to 2025	97	126	+29%
15	Florence Utility Comm	2018 to 2025	45	58	+30%
16	Riverland Energy Cooperative	2015 to 2025	101	134	+33%
17	Northern States Power Co	2015 to 2025	81	110	+36%
18	City of River Falls	2016 to 2025	25	38	+53%
19	Wisconsin Electric Power Co	2015 to 2025	51	93	+81%
20	City of Marshfield	2015 to 2025	5	10	+110%
21	Manitowoc Public Utilities	2015 to 2025	4	10	+138%
22	Village of Waunakee	2017 to 2024	3	40	+1328%

Analyst note

The Wisconsin median of 40 minutes ranks 39 of 40 states from the worst. Of 23 Wisconsin utilities with 1,000+ home accounts that report SAIDI, City of Sturgeon Bay is lowest at 3 minutes a year and Barron Electric Coop highest at 145, a 54.2 to 1 spread. The state median is 40 minutes, -59% against the U.S. median reporter. Over each utility's own record, Dunn County Electric Coop improved most (185 to 32 minutes, -83%, 2015 to 2025) and Village of Waunakee changed the other way (3 to 40, +1328%); 10 of 22 fell. Home price and outage minutes line up at r = +0.63 across 23 Wisconsin utilities: the pricier ones report more minutes. That is Wisconsin's pattern, not a cause.

Questions on Wisconsin outages

Is Wisconsin outage time high or low?

Median 40 minutes, rank 39 of 40 states from the worst; customer-weighted 98.

Which Wisconsin utility has the fewest outage minutes?

City of Sturgeon Bay: 3 minutes a year, SAIDI without major events, 2024.

Which Wisconsin utility has the most?

Barron Electric Coop: 145 minutes a year in 2024.

What is the typical SAIDI in Wisconsin?

The median of 23 reporting utilities is 40 minutes, -59% on the U.S. median reporter.

Do cheaper Wisconsin utilities have more outages?

Across 23 utilities r = +0.63, so the link is positive: higher price goes with more outage minutes.

How much of Wisconsin outage time comes from storms?

At City of Kaukauna 97% of all-event SAIDI is major event days.

How reliable is the largest Wisconsin utility?

Wisconsin Electric Power Co serves 1,048,148 home accounts and reports 109 minutes, rank 19 of 23; weighted by customers the state figure is 98.

Do Wisconsin co-ops and investor-owned utilities differ?

3 owner types report in Wisconsin: Municipal 12 utilities with 106,526 home accounts, Investor Owned 5 utilities with 1,841,070 home accounts, Cooperative 6 utilities with 121,034 home accounts.

What share of Wisconsin home accounts do these utilities serve?

73% of 2,843,874 accounts, 23 of 64 utilities; 5 are above the U.S. median of 99 minutes.