Power Outages in Pierre, South Dakota

What usually causes power outages in South Dakota

Large outages in South Dakota mostly come from blizzards, severe thunderstorms and hail, and high winds. Between those events, most outages are small: a failed transformer, a tree limb on a line, a car hitting a pole, or an animal in a substation.

In October, the risk to watch in South Dakota is high winds. When a warning is issued for Pierre, charge phones and battery packs ahead of time and sign up for City of Pierre Utilities’s outage alerts if you have not already.

First steps if the power is out in Pierre

1. Look outside. If streetlights and neighbors still have power, check your main breaker and any tripped GFCI outlet before calling.
2. Report it to City of Pierre Utilities. Use the outage line, app or map so a restoration ticket exists for your address, then add a report on this page.
3. Unplug TVs and computers so the voltage spike when power returns does not damage them.
4. Keep the fridge and freezer shut. A closed fridge stays cold for about 4 hours, a full freezer for about 48.
5. Stay 35 feet from downed lines and never run a generator indoors or in a garage.

Food safety times, generator rules and what to keep in an outage kit are in our power outage guide.

How power is restored in Pierre

About 14,091 people live in Pierre, the 4th largest of the 4 South Dakota cities on this site. After a large outage, City of Pierre Utilities works from the top of the system down: transmission lines and substations first, then the main feeders that serve thousands of homes, then neighborhood lines, and finally single houses with a damaged service drop. Hospitals, water plants and emergency services are put ahead of homes on the same circuit.

That is why the lights can come back on one street while the next one stays dark. If your neighbors have power and you do not, report it again: the fault may be on the line to your house alone, which is a separate repair.

A routine outage from one failed part is often fixed in 2 to 4 hours. Storm damage that needs new poles, or repeated damage to the same line, can take a day or more. Only City of Pierre Utilities’s outage map has an estimate for your address.

Frequently asked questions