States › South Dakota › Watertown Municipal Utilities
municipal utility · EIA utility 20187
Watertown Municipal Utilities
Average price is revenue divided by sales for the sector and year; it is not a tariff rate. Reliability figures are as reported by utilities to EIA on Form 861 and may use different calculation methods. Annual figures: Form EIA-861 for 2024, final release. Monthly state figures run to July 2026.
In its Form EIA-861 filing for 2024, Watertown Municipal Utilities, a municipal utility, reported 11,633 residential customers in South Dakota, with a service territory that touches 1 county.
Its average residential price that year was 9.30¢ per kilowatthour, 28% below the South Dakota average of 12.86¢ and 44% below the US average of 16.48¢. The figure is residential revenue divided by residential sales, so it folds in fixed charges, riders and every rate schedule the utility bills under.
That works out to an average residential bill of $79.62 a month on average use of 856 kWh a month. Across South Dakota the average bill was $127.81 on 994 kWh, so a bill gap reflects how much power households use as well as what each kilowatthour costs.
For reliability it reported a SAIDI of 3.3 minutes per customer with major event days included and 3.3 minutes with them excluded, calculated under IEEE 1366 standard. The median among South Dakota utilities reporting was 73.7 minutes with major event days; this utility's figure is 96% below that median.
The average price is up 3.7% on 2019, against up 11.3% for South Dakota as a whole, and up 3.4% on 2023. EIA's early release for 2025, which has not been fully edited, shows 9.29¢.
Compared with South Dakota, the US and other municipal utilities
| Measure, 2024 | This utility | Municipal utilities, US median | South Dakota | United States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average residential price per kWh | 9.30¢ | 12.45¢ | 12.86¢ | 16.48¢ |
| Average monthly residential bill | $79.62 | $113.02 | $127.81 | $142.26 |
| Average monthly use, kWh | 856 | 905 | 994 | 863 |
| Residential price change, 1 year | +3.4% | — | +4.4% | +3.0% |
| Residential price change, 5 years | +3.7% | — | +11.3% | +26.7% |
| SAIDI, all events (minutes) | 3.3 | 64.4 | 73.7 median | 184.5 median |
| SAIDI, without major event days | 3.3 | 40.3 | 65.1 median | 99.8 median |
State and US prices, bills and use are EIA's own averages over every customer. The ownership column and the reliability columns are medians across utilities with at least 1,000 residential customers, computed on this site from the final 2024 file. Among the 5 filings by municipal utilities in South Dakota, the median price was 11.12¢. In South Dakota this utility's price ranks 19 of 20, counting from the highest.
Average price by year
Watertown Municipal UtilitiesSouth Dakota averageUS average
Year by year
| Year | ¢ per kWh | South Dakota ¢ | Monthly bill | kWh a month | Residential customers | All sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 early release | 9.29¢ | 13.38¢ | $82.26 | 886 | 11,775 | 394.8 GWh |
| 2024 | 9.30¢ | 12.86¢ | $79.62 | 856 | 11,633 | 390 GWh |
| 2023 | 8.99¢ | 12.32¢ | $83.34 | 927 | 11,339 | 394.1 GWh |
| 2022 | 9.02¢ | 12.09¢ | $85.83 | 951 | 11,075 | 392.7 GWh |
| 2021 | 9.10¢ | 12.22¢ | $83.56 | 918 | 10,828 | 381 GWh |
| 2020 | 8.96¢ | 11.75¢ | $84.52 | 943 | 10,718 | 373.3 GWh |
| 2019 | 8.97¢ | 11.55¢ | $84.75 | 945 | 10,662 | 378.1 GWh |
| 2018 | 8.89¢ | 11.59¢ | $86.09 | 969 | 10,525 | 386.1 GWh |
| 2017 | 8.94¢ | 11.77¢ | $79.70 | 892 | 10,470 | 365.7 GWh |
| 2016 | 8.64¢ | 11.47¢ | $79.48 | 919 | 10,390 | 371.5 GWh |
| 2015 | 8.27¢ | 11.08¢ | $69.37 | 839 | 11,297 | 373 GWh |
| 2014 | 7.94¢ | 10.47¢ | $70.33 | 886 | 11,219 | 383.9 GWh |
| 2013 | 7.78¢ | 10.26¢ | $70.35 | 904 | 11,170 | 383.6 GWh |
Bundled residential service only in the price, bill and use columns. Bill = residential revenue ÷ customers ÷ 12; use = residential sales ÷ customers ÷ 12. EIA describes its early release as not fully edited; it is shown for this utility alone and enters no average, median or rank on this site.
Month by month
Watertown Municipal UtilitiesSouth Dakota average
Sales by sector, 2024
| Sector | Customers | Sales | Share of sales | Revenue | ¢ per kWh, bundled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residential | 11,633 | 119.5 GWh | 31% | $11,115,000 | 9.30¢ |
| Commercial | 2,579 | 128.9 GWh | 33% | $11,065,000 | 8.58¢ |
| Industrial | 96 | 141.6 GWh | 36% | $10,216,000 | 7.22¢ |
Customers, sales and revenue count every service type the utility reported (bundled, energy-only and delivery-only). The price column uses bundled service alone, because part-bill revenue would understate it. Sources of energy: 402 GWh in total, of which 0% was its own net generation and 402 GWh was bought wholesale; summer peak demand 75 MW.
Reliability
Minutes of sustained interruption per customer in 2024, as the utility reported them under IEEE 1366 standard. SAIFI: 0.06 interruptions per customer with major event days, 0.06 without; CAIDI 58.2 minutes per interruption. EIA's South Dakota total across all reporting utilities was 84.7 minutes with major event days and 62.1 without. Major event days are storms and similar events that a utility's chosen method sets apart; methods differ, so treat comparisons as approximate. What SAIDI and SAIFI mean.
| Year | SAIDI, all events | SAIDI, no major events | SAIFI, all events | SAIFI, no major events | Method |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 early release | 4.3 | 4.2 | 0.12 | 0.08 | IEEE 1366 |
| 2024 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 0.06 | 0.06 | IEEE 1366 |
| 2023 | 7.4 | 7.4 | 0.10 | 0.10 | IEEE 1366 |
| 2022 | 12.2 | 0.0 | 0.16 | 0.00 | IEEE 1366 |
| 2021 | 9.8 | 0.0 | 0.11 | 0.00 | IEEE 1366 |
| 2020 | 14.9 | 14.9 | 0.17 | 0.17 | IEEE 1366 |
| 2019 | 48.4 | 16.3 | 0.48 | 0.17 | IEEE 1366 |
| 2018 | 22.3 | — | 0.43 | — | IEEE 1366 |
| 2017 | 79.3 | 79.3 | 0.67 | 0.67 | IEEE 1366 |
| 2016 | 198.7 | — | 3.18 | — | IEEE 1366 |
| 2015 | 235.6 | — | 3.38 | — | IEEE 1366 |
| 2014 | 164.6 | — | 1.43 | — | IEEE 1366 |
| 2013 | 355.3 | — | 3.44 | — | IEEE 1366 |
Counties in its service territory
Counties the utility listed on Form EIA-861 for 2024. Listing a county does not mean the utility serves all of it.
Other utilities in South Dakota
| Utility | Ownership | Residential customers | ¢ per kWh | Monthly bill | SAIDI, all events | SAIDI, no major events |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City of Brookings | Municipal | 10,544 | 11.12¢ | $89.79 | 10.6 | 10.6 |
| City of Pierre | Municipal | 6,126 | 10.65¢ | $93.85 | — | — |
| City of Madison | Municipal | 2,802 | 11.49¢ | $113.58 | — | — |
| City of Volga | Municipal | 1,075 | 12.80¢ | $115.03 | — | — |
| Black Hills Electric Coop, Inc | Cooperative | 9,227 | 14.76¢ | $163.70 | 228.7 | 102.0 |
| West River Electric Assn Inc | Cooperative | 18,423 | 14.25¢ | $127.85 | 43.5 | 43.5 |
| Southeastern Electric Coop Inc | Cooperative | 20,160 | 12.41¢ | $139.98 | 71.3 | 71.3 |
| Central Electric Coop, Inc | Cooperative | 6,483 | 13.64¢ | $201.08 | — | — |
All South Dakota utilities · Municipal utilities nationwide
Questions and answers
How much does electricity cost from Watertown Municipal Utilities?
Residential customers paid an average of 9.30¢ per kilowatthour in 2024. EIA derives this by dividing residential revenue by residential sales; it is an average across all rate schedules and charges, not a tariff rate.
How does that compare with South Dakota?
The South Dakota average residential price in 2024 was 12.86¢ and the US average 16.48¢; Watertown Municipal Utilities was 28% below the state figure. Among 20 utility filings with a bundled residential price in South Dakota, it had the 19th highest.
What is the average Watertown Municipal Utilities bill?
$79.62 a month in 2024, on average residential use of 856 kWh a month (annual revenue and sales divided by customers and by twelve). The South Dakota average was $127.81 on 994 kWh.
How reliable is Watertown Municipal Utilities service?
It reported 3.3 minutes of interruption per customer (SAIDI) including major event days and 3.3 minutes excluding them, with 0.06 interruptions per customer (SAIFI) in 2024. Utilities calculate these under differing methods, so comparisons are approximate.
Is the Watertown Municipal Utilities price rising?
The average residential price was up 3.4% in 2024 compared with 2023 and up 3.7% compared with 2019. EIA's early, not fully edited release for 2025 shows 9.29¢.
Which counties does Watertown Municipal Utilities serve?
Its Form EIA-861 service territory lists 1 county: Codington County, SD. A county can appear in several utilities' territories.
Provenance
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration. Annual figures are from Form EIA-861 (sales to ultimate customers, reliability, operational data and service territory files), final release for 2024, respondent "Watertown Municipal Utilities", utility number 20187; the 2025 row is from EIA's early release. Monthly utility figures are from the Form EIA-861M sample. State and US averages are from the Form EIA-861M sales and revenue workbook, published through July 2026. All are US government works in the public domain. Page built 30 Sep 2026. Errors in processing are corrected at the next build; see corrections. For tariffs and rate schedules, consult the utility or the state utility commission.