Power outages in North Dakota
In 2025, the average North Dakota customer lost power for 3.4 hours (203.5 minutes) over the year. That is below the US median of 258.7 minutes (4.3 hours) across 50 states compared.
Trend
Outage time has swung a lot since 2020, from 1.7 hours in 2020 and 1.4 hours in 2021 to a peak of 9.3 hours in 2022. It then fell to 3.5 hours in 2023 and 1.7 hours in 2024 before rising to 3.4 hours in 2025.
Utilities in 2025
In 2025, Verendrye Electric Coop Inc had the lowest SAIDI at 41.67 minutes (0.7 hours). Otter Tail Power Co had the highest at 575.0 minutes (9.6 hours).
| Utility | Customers | Hours / yr | Interruptions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Otter Tail Power Co | 60,770 | 9.6 | 2.0 |
| Northern Plains Electric Coop | 12,276 | 6.2 | 1.4 |
| Nodak Electric Coop Inc | 21,486 | 5.4 | 5.4 |
| Cass County Elec Coop Inc | 60,022 | 5.0 | 0.8 |
| Mountrail-Williams Elec Coop | 19,270 | 1.9 | 1.2 |
| McKenzie Electric Coop Inc | 13,646 | 1.8 | 0.9 |
| Montana-Dakota Utilities Co | 100,446 | 1.6 | 0.8 |
| Northern States Power Co - Minnesota | 96,332 | 1.5 | 0.6 |
| Capital Electric Coop, Inc | 22,737 | 0.9 | 0.4 |
| Verendrye Electric Coop Inc | 20,746 | 0.7 | 0.7 |
What this means for backup power
For everyday outages, enter 3.0 hours in the calculator, which is the average length of one interruption. To ride out a year like 2022, size for 9.3 hours, the total of that year's outage hours.
FAQ
How long does a typical power outage last in North Dakota?
One interruption lasts about 3.0 hours on average. Customers had about 1.142 interruptions per year in 2025.
What does SAIDI mean?
SAIDI is the total time an average customer is without power in a year. It adds up all outages, so it is not the length of one outage. In 2025 it was 203.5 minutes (3.4 hours) for North Dakota.
How much backup power should I plan for?
For common outages, plan around 3.0 hours. If you want to cover a bad year like 2022, plan for 9.3 hours of total outage time. Enter either number in the calculator.
Utility pages
Source: U.S. EIA Form 861 Reliability file. Data snapshot 2026-11-05.