South Dakota electricity rates and bills

What a kilowatt-hour costs in South Dakota

Across September 2025 to August 2026, a South Dakota home's average price came to 14.28¢ per kWh, 3.76¢ per kWh less than the US average and 16th lowest¹ among the 50 states and DC. EIA calls this average revenue per kWh: residential revenue divided by residential kilowatt-hours. Because fixed monthly charges and fuel adjustments are folded in, it is not the price printed on any one tariff.

The 2026 readings run higher. The January to August 2026 average was 14.58¢ per kWh, and the single month of August 2026 was 15.15¢ per kWh, +9.0% against 13.90¢ per kWh¹ in August 2025. Both are preliminary. The full-year 2025 average, from EIA's final annual survey, was 13.32¢ per kWh³.

South Dakota sits in the low-priced band of the northern Plains rather than at its bottom. Of its 6 neighbors, 5 had a lower residential average over the last 12 months; North Dakota was the lowest at 12.35¢ per kWh and Minnesota the highest at 16.28¢ per kWh¹.

Five slow years, then a faster 2026

EIA's annual series puts South Dakota homes at 7.42¢ per kWh⁵ in 2001, 11.08¢ per kWh in 2015, 11.75¢ per kWh in 2020 and 13.32¢ per kWh in 2025. Over the long run the climb was gentler than the nation's: 79.5% since 2001 against 100.8% for the US average. The gap widened after 2020, when South Dakota's average rose 13.4% to 2025 and the US average 31.0%. The annual average rose in 20 of the years after 2002; the most recent annual decline came in 2022³.

Iowa+9.3%

Nebraska+11.6%

Kansas+12.4%

North Dakota+13.2%

South Dakota+13.4%

New Mexico+14.8%

Montana+15.6%

Alaska+15.7%

Vermont+16.6%

Nevada+16.9%

United States+31.0%

Source: EIA, Historical state data, annual sales, revenue and customers. Change in the annual residential average price from 2020 to 2025 (nominal dollars).

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State	Residential price change, 2020 to 2025
Iowa	+9.3%
Nebraska	+11.6%
Kansas	+12.4%
North Dakota	+13.2%
South Dakota	+13.4%
New Mexico	+14.8%
Montana	+15.6%
Alaska	+15.7%
Vermont	+16.6%
Nevada	+16.9%
United States	+31.0%

The latest data show a faster pace. The last 12 months (September 2025 to August 2026) ran 8.2% above the 12 before, against 6.5% nationally, and the January to August 2026 average was +10.5% on the same months of 2025, the 12th highest increase among the states, against +6.8% for the US. Businesses saw the same acceleration: the 2026 year-to-date change was +10.4% for commercial customers and +9.4%¹ for industrial ones. The monthly chart shows each month against the US average; 2026 months are preliminary and will be revised with EIA's final annual data.

South DakotaUnited States

Source: EIA, Electric Power Monthly / EIA-861M sales and revenue by state. Average revenue per kWh (all charges, nominal dollars), each month; summer and winter months differ by season. Monthly EIA data through August 2026 (released October 23, 2026); months since January 2026 are preliminary.

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Period	South Dakota (¢/kWh)	United States (¢/kWh)
Jan 2021	10.96¢	12.62¢
Feb 2021	12.29¢	13.01¢
Mar 2021	11.27¢	13.24¢
Apr 2021	11.93¢	13.73¢
May 2021	13.09¢	13.86¢
Jun 2021	12.91¢	13.83¢
Jul 2021	12.83¢	13.83¢
Aug 2021	12.80¢	13.92¢
Sep 2021	13.14¢	14.14¢
Oct 2021	12.67¢	14.06¢
Nov 2021	11.94¢	14.07¢
Dec 2021	11.50¢	13.72¢
Jan 2022	10.96¢	13.64¢
Feb 2022	11.20¢	13.76¢
Mar 2022	11.25¢	14.41¢
Apr 2022	11.96¢	14.57¢
May 2022	12.56¢	14.89¢
Jun 2022	13.25¢	15.30¢
Jul 2022	13.00¢	15.31¢
Aug 2022	12.98¢	15.82¢
Sep 2022	12.97¢	16.19¢
Oct 2022	13.18¢	15.99¢
Nov 2022	11.98¢	15.55¢
Dec 2022	11.22¢	14.94¢
Jan 2023	11.19¢	15.47¢
Feb 2023	11.46¢	15.98¢
Mar 2023	11.41¢	16.04¢
Apr 2023	11.92¢	16.10¢
May 2023	13.18¢	16.14¢
Jun 2023	13.30¢	16.09¢
Jul 2023	13.30¢	15.86¢
Aug 2023	13.07¢	15.91¢
Sep 2023	13.24¢	16.27¢
Oct 2023	13.05¢	16.48¢
Nov 2023	12.21¢	16.19¢
Dec 2023	11.80¢	15.69¢
Jan 2024	11.33¢	15.41¢
Feb 2024	11.90¢	16.10¢
Mar 2024	12.13¢	16.67¢
Apr 2024	12.67¢	16.86¢
May 2024	13.43¢	16.40¢
Jun 2024	13.96¢	16.38¢
Jul 2024	13.53¢	16.62¢
Aug 2024	13.64¢	16.60¢
Sep 2024	13.84¢	16.82¢
Oct 2024	13.66¢	17.09¢
Nov 2024	13.27¢	16.85¢
Dec 2024	12.27¢	16.27¢
Jan 2025	12.03¢	15.92¢
Feb 2025	11.78¢	16.40¢
Mar 2025	12.69¢	17.03¢
Apr 2025	13.31¢	17.20¢
May 2025	14.26¢	17.33¢
Jun 2025	14.29¢	17.44¢
Jul 2025	14.45¢	17.39¢
Aug 2025	13.90¢	17.57¢
Sep 2025	14.68¢	18.05¢
Oct 2025	14.01¢	17.95¢
Nov 2025	13.74¢	17.77¢
Dec 2025	12.43¢	17.11¢
Jan 2026	13.58¢	17.45¢
Feb 2026	13.22¢	17.65¢
Mar 2026	14.28¢	18.60¢
Apr 2026	14.52¢	18.86¢
May 2026	15.73¢	18.44¢
Jun 2026	15.36¢	18.34¢
Jul 2026	15.37¢	18.31¢
Aug 2026	15.15¢	18.16¢

The bill follows winter

EIA's 2025 figure for a South Dakota home is $131.10 a month (17th lowest; $19.58 less a month than the US average), up 2.6% from $127.81⁶ in 2024; nationally, bills grew 5.9%. Each home consumed 984 kWh monthly on average, while a typical US home took 874 kWh², which is why the bill's advantage over the national figure is narrower than the price's. Computed for the 12 months to August 2026, it was $140.28¹.

Long, cold winters fit that pattern. South Dakota averaged 7,331 heating degree days a year over 2016 to 2025, 7th highest among the 48 states and DC with data, against 691⁷ cooling degree days. Electricity is the main heating fuel in 33.0% of occupied homes (US: 41.8%⁸), according to the 2025 American Community Survey.

836Sep

798Oct

860Nov

1,150Dec

1,269Jan

1,113Feb

1,006Mar

885Apr

805May

868Jun

1,146Jul

1,057Aug

Source: EIA, Electric Power Monthly / EIA-861M sales and revenue by state. Residential kWh sold per customer in each month. The table adds that month's average residential price. Monthly EIA data through August 2026 (released October 23, 2026); months since January 2026 are preliminary.

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Month	kWh per customer	Residential ¢/kWh
September 2025	836	14.68¢
October 2025	798	14.01¢
November 2025	860	13.74¢
December 2025	1,150	12.43¢
January 2026	1,269	13.58¢
February 2026	1,113	13.22¢
March 2026	1,006	14.28¢
April 2026	885	14.52¢
May 2026	805	15.73¢
June 2026	868	15.36¢
July 2026	1,146	15.37¢
August 2026	1,057	15.15¢

Across September 2025 to August 2026, the heaviest month was January 2026, at 1,269 kWh per home, and the lightest October 2025, at 798 kWh: the winter peak was 1.6 times the autumn low. The average price per kWh moved the other way: lowest in December 2025 at 12.43¢ per kWh and highest in May 2026 at 15.73¢ per kWh. One reason is arithmetic: fixed monthly charges are spread over more kilowatt-hours in a heating month, which lowers the average, so winter bills rise more slowly than winter use. In August 2026, the average bill was $160.09 for 1,057 kWh¹ (preliminary).

The same Census survey asks households what their last bill was. Our estimate of the South Dakota median from its bins is about $149 (US: $169). Under $100 was the answer for 28.0% of households that pay for electricity; 18.7% named $250 or more, a share with a ±1.0 percentage points⁹ margin of error. Survey bills are remembered amounts with taxes included, so they do not match EIA's average exactly.

Eight larger utilities, a wide spread

EIA counted 72 utilities with customers in South Dakota in 2025, but only 8 had 10,000 or more residential customers. Three investor-owned utilities lead: Northern States Power Co - Minnesota, the Xcel Energy operating company that also serves Minnesota, has 26.0% of the state's residential customers on its wires; Black Hills Power has 18.7% and NorthWestern Energy 14.3%. The two largest cooperatives, Sioux Valley SW Electric Cooperative and Southeastern Electric Cooperative, follow with 6.3% and 5.8%⁴.

Among those 8, the 2025 residential averages ran from 9.29¢ per kWh at Watertown Municipal Utilities to 15.16¢ per kWh at West River Electric Association, a spread of 5.87¢ per kWh⁴. The two city utilities in the group, Watertown and Brookings, had the two lowest averages. The two highest belonged to utilities in the Black Hills and Rapid City area: West River Electric Association and Black Hills Power.

Watertown Municipal Utilities (SD)9.29¢

City of Brookings (SD)10.69¢

Southeastern Electric Cooperative (SD)12.98¢

Northern States Power Co - Minnesota (SD)13.13¢

NorthWestern Energy (SD)13.35¢

Sioux Valley SW Electric Cooperative (SD)13.94¢

Black Hills Power (SD)15.12¢

West River Electric Association (SD)15.16¢

Source: EIA-861 annual electric power industry report, 2025 final. EIA-861 2025 final. Average revenue per kWh is all charges divided by kWh; it is not a tariff rate.

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Utility	average residential price (bundled customers)
Watertown Municipal Utilities (SD)	9.29¢
City of Brookings (SD)	10.69¢
Southeastern Electric Cooperative (SD)	12.98¢
Northern States Power Co - Minnesota (SD)	13.13¢
NorthWestern Energy (SD)	13.35¢
Sioux Valley SW Electric Cooperative (SD)	13.94¢
Black Hills Power (SD)	15.12¢
West River Electric Association (SD)	15.16¢

Grouped by ownership, the picture is the same. Customers of municipal utilities and other public power paid 10.47¢ per kWh in 2025, investor-owned utility customers 13.49¢ per kWh and cooperative members 13.70¢ per kWh. Nationally, investor-owned utilities averaged 17.78¢ per kWh, so South Dakota's investor-owned utilities were well below their national peers, while its cooperatives were slightly below the US cooperative average of 14.10¢ per kWh⁴.

Investor-owned utilities13.49¢

Electric cooperatives13.70¢

Public power (municipal, districts, state)10.47¢

Source: EIA-861 annual electric power industry report, 2025 final. Bundled (full-service) residential revenue divided by kWh, summed over every utility of each type (EIA-861 2025). Small utilities filing the short form report no residential split and are not included.

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Type	¢/kWh	Residential customers
Investor-owned utilities	13.49¢	233,210
Electric cooperatives	13.70¢	95,153
Public power (municipal, districts, state)	10.47¢	33,686

The bill ranking among the same eight utilities in 2025 looks different from the price ranking, because use per home differs more than price. Black Hills Power had one of the highest averages per kWh, but its residential customers used the least electricity of the eight, so their average bill was below the statewide figure of $131.10². The two eastern cooperatives, Sioux Valley SW and Southeastern, had mid-range prices and the largest bills, because their members used the most.

Watertown Municipal Utilities (SD)$82.26

City of Brookings (SD)$94.09

Northern States Power Co - Minnesota (SD)$101.24

Black Hills Power (SD)$105.88

NorthWestern Energy (SD)$125.34

West River Electric Association (SD)$135.78

Southeastern Electric Cooperative (SD)$151.37

Sioux Valley SW Electric Cooperative (SD)$176.42

Source: EIA-861 annual electric power industry report, 2025 final. EIA-861 2025 final. Average revenue per kWh is all charges divided by kWh; it is not a tariff rate.

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Utility	average monthly residential bill
Watertown Municipal Utilities (SD)	$82.26
City of Brookings (SD)	$94.09
Northern States Power Co - Minnesota (SD)	$101.24
Black Hills Power (SD)	$105.88
NorthWestern Energy (SD)	$125.34
West River Electric Association (SD)	$135.78
Southeastern Electric Cooperative (SD)	$151.37
Sioux Valley SW Electric Cooperative (SD)	$176.42

Sioux Falls, Rapid City and the rest: the address decides

Customers cannot switch utilities. In 2025, 0.0% of South Dakota's residential customers bought from a competitive supplier, and EIA lists 0⁴ suppliers with residential customers in the state. Which utility serves a home depends on its exact location: in EIA's service-territory records, 66 of the state's 66 counties have two or more distribution utilities, and Brookings County has 10¹⁰.

The two largest cities show why a city name is not enough. In Minnehaha County (Sioux Falls), Northern States Power Co - Minnesota⁴, the City of Sioux Falls, Sioux Valley SW Electric Cooperative and Southeastern Electric Cooperative all report service. In Pennington County (Rapid City), Black Hills Power, West River Electric Association and Black Hills Electric Cooperative do. EIA does not publish prices by city; each utility's own service map decides by address.

Northern States Power Co - Minnesota only (of these)Black Hills Power only (of these)NorthWestern Energy only (of these)Sioux Valley SW Electric Cooperative only (of these)Southeastern Electric Cooperative only (of these)West River Electric Association only (of these)Two or more of themOther utilities only

Source: EIA-861 2025, service territory; Census Bureau, Cartographic boundary file, counties. Counties where each utility reports serving customers (EIA-861 service territory, 2025). A utility often serves only part of a county, and several can share one: the map shows where each one is present, not street-level boundaries. Point at a county for every utility listed there.

Wind, then hydropower

Wind turbines produced 58.2% of the state's generation in 2025 (2nd highest), against 25.9% a decade earlier. Hydropower, which supplied 50.4% in 2015, was second at 19.2%, and natural gas third at 11.2%. Coal produced 9.3%, solar 2.1%, and there is no nuclear plant in the state. Renewables as a group reached 79.6%, 2nd highest of any state (US: 24.1%¹²).

Natural gasCoalNuclearHydroWindSolarPetroleumOther

South Dakota, 2025

South Dakota, 2015

United States, 2025

Source: EIA, Net generation by state by type of producer by energy source. Share of net generation by all power plants located in the state (utilities and independent producers), by energy source. Electricity crosses state lines, so this is what the state produces, not exactly what its customers consume. Pumped storage is a net user of power and is left out.

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	Natural gas	Coal	Nuclear	Hydro	Wind	Solar	Petroleum	Other
South Dakota, 2025	11.2%	9.3%	0.0%	19.2%	58.2%	2.1%	0.0%	0.1%
South Dakota, 2015	8.0%	15.5%	0.0%	50.4%	25.9%	0.0%	0.2%	0.0%
United States, 2025	40.9%	16.6%	17.7%	5.5%	10.4%	6.8%	0.4%	1.7%

Output in 2025 totaled 21.9 terawatt-hours, or 158% of what South Dakota's utilities sold to retail customers that year (US ratio: 109%¹²). Where a kilowatt-hour is generated and what a home pays for it are only loosely linked: utilities buy and sell power across state lines, and the averages above reflect each utility's own costs and rates.

Businesses and industry

For the 12 months to August 2026, shops and offices averaged 11.34¢ per kWh (18.2% below the US average; tied for 15th lowest), and industrial accounts 9.20¢ per kWh (3.3% above the US average): South Dakota's industrial price is close to the national middle while its residential and commercial prices are well below it. Compared with August 2025, the preliminary August 2026 readings were +10.1% for commercial and +8.8%¹ for industrial customers.

South DakotaUnited States

Residential14.28¢ 18.04¢

Commercial11.34¢ 13.87¢

Industrial9.20¢ 8.91¢

All sectors11.95¢ 14.15¢

Source: EIA, Electric Power Monthly / EIA-861M sales and revenue by state. Average revenue per kWh: what each customer class paid in total divided by what it used. Industrial customers take power at higher voltage and in large, steady volumes, so their average is lower. Monthly EIA data through August 2026 (released October 23, 2026); months since January 2026 are preliminary.

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Sector	South Dakota (¢/kWh)	United States (¢/kWh)
Residential	14.28¢	18.04¢
Commercial	11.34¢	13.87¢
Industrial	9.20¢	8.91¢
All sectors	11.95¢	14.15¢

The average commercial bill was $601.69 a month in 2025, against $856.32 nationally, for 5,672 kWh² of use.

Storm years and ordinary days

On ordinary days in 2025, the average South Dakota customer lost power for 61 minutes in total, 3rd lowest among the states. Counting major events such as large storms, the average rose to 269 minutes, 22nd highest, with 1.33¹³ interruptions per customer. The difference came from a small number of severe days, and it fell unevenly: the chart shows Black Hills Power with far more outage minutes than the eastern utilities in 2025. The power outages ranking puts these minutes beside the other states'.

Watertown Municipal Utilities (SD)4

City of Brookings (SD)13

West River Electric Association (SD)24

Sioux Valley SW Electric Cooperative (SD)59

NorthWestern Energy (SD)120

Northern States Power Co - Minnesota (SD)160

Black Hills Power (SD)541

Source: EIA-861 2025, reliability. EIA-861 2025 final. Average revenue per kWh is all charges divided by kWh; it is not a tariff rate.

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Utility	outage minutes per customer (all events)
Watertown Municipal Utilities (SD)	4
City of Brookings (SD)	13
West River Electric Association (SD)	24
Sioux Valley SW Electric Cooperative (SD)	59
NorthWestern Energy (SD)	120
Northern States Power Co - Minnesota (SD)	160
Black Hills Power (SD)	541

Smart meters, time-of-use and rooftop solar

Advanced (AMI) smart meters made up 87.2% of residential meters in 2025, 20th lowest among the states. Only 3.1% of homes were on a time-of-use rate (US: 11.3%). Utilities reported 570 net-metered residential installations in 2025: 1.3 per 1,000 residential customers, 4th lowest among the states, where the US figure was 38.1¹⁴.

Help paying a South Dakota electric bill

The federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) allotted $21.3 million to South Dakota for fiscal 2026. Per occupied home that is $54.90, 8th highest in the country. The opening fiscal 2027 allocation was $18.7 million¹⁵. Eligibility, heating and crisis aid and utility programs are covered in our guide to help with electric bills.