Rapid City, South Dakota Power Outage Today

How reliable is Black Hills Energy service in Rapid City?

Black Hills Energy is an investor-owned utility with 73,846 customers. In 2024 its customers averaged 0.86 interruptions and 57 minutes (57 minutes) without power, so the average outage lasted 66 minutes.

Little of that came from major storms (about 0%). Without major event days the average is still 57 minutes, so the figure mostly reflects everyday faults: failed equipment, tree limbs, animals and vehicles hitting poles.

Outages are infrequent, fewer than one per customer a year, and each was fixed in 66 minutes on average.

For comparison, South Dakota as a whole averaged 85 minutes and the United States 614 minutes. That puts Black Hills Energy below the state average, which is better.

Among the 14 utilities in South Dakota with at least 5,000 customers that report to the federal government, Black Hills Energy ranks 5th for the fewest outage minutes (1 is best). Nationally, 82% of the 926 utilities of that size reported more outage minutes in 2024.

These are the figures the utility itself reported to the US Energy Information Administration (Form EIA-861, 2024) and describe the whole service territory, not one street. Your own address can be better or worse.

Storm season and outages in Rapid City

NOAA’s Storm Events Database lists 1,090 storm reports for Pennington County from 2015 through 2026, most often hail (704), thunderstorm wind (325), flood (29), and flash flood (15). The busiest full year was 2020 with 160 reports and the quietest was 2025 with 57, so the risk changes a lot from one year to the next.

Reports peak in July (409 since 2015), followed by June and August. October is outside those three months, so an outage now is less likely to be weather-related.

NOAA’s own narratives name power outages in 8 storm episodes in Pennington County since 2015, most often in June. That count is a floor, since the database records outages only when a spotter or agency mentions them.

What the most common storm types in Rapid City do to the grid:

• Hail. Hail rarely cuts power by itself, but it often arrives with the wind and lightning that do, and it breaks solar panels, windshields and exposed utility equipment.
• Thunderstorm wind. Straight-line wind pushes trees and limbs into distribution lines. These outages are usually local, a street or a neighborhood at a time, and crews clear them circuit by circuit.
• Flood. Floodwater reaches ground-level transformers, meters and low-lying substations. Utilities may shut power off ahead of the water on purpose, and wading near flooded equipment can electrocute.

Storm reports that name Rapid City

Within Pennington County, 418 NOAA storm reports since 2015 name Rapid City as their location or in their description: hail (283), thunderstorm wind (104), flood (15), and flash flood (7). That is about 38% of the county’s reports. Reports naming Rapid City are most common in July. The busiest full year was 2019 with 62. These reports record 6 injuries in total.

Who a power outage hits hardest in Rapid City

65% of occupied homes in Rapid City are heated with piped natural gas, and 30.7% with electricity (US 41.3% electric). A gas furnace still needs electricity for its blower and ignition, so a long winter outage leaves these homes cold too, though a gas supply stays on when the grid fails. Never heat a home with an oven, grill or camp stove indoors.

Residents aged 65 or older are 20.7% of the population in Rapid City, above the US share of 17.2% and 16.4% report a disability (US 13.3%). These are the households most likely to depend on powered medical equipment such as oxygen concentrators, CPAP machines and refrigerated medicine. If someone in your home does, ask Black Hills Energy whether it keeps a priority or medical-needs list, and register before the next storm rather than during it.

About the housing: 34.8% of the housing in Rapid City was built before 1970 (US 35.5%).

Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 (housing, heating fuel, age and disability tables).

Backup power and electricity use in Rapid City

The average Black Hills Energy home used about 767 kWh a month in 2024 (US average 892 kWh), an average draw of 1.1 kW around the clock, and paid about 14.4 cents per kWh (12.9 in the state, 15.8 nationally), roughly $110 a month.

Keeping only the essentials on (a refrigerator, router, a few lights and phone chargers, about 400 watts) through an outage that lasts the average 66 minutes takes less than 1 kWh. A portable power station or a power bank covers that; a generator is more than most households here need for a typical outage.

A generator must never run indoors, in a garage or near a window; generator and food-safety rules are in the power outage guide linked below.

If the power is out in Rapid City

About 77,997 people live in Rapid City, the 2nd largest of the 4 South Dakota cities on this site. Report the outage to the utility so a ticket exists for your address, then check Black Hills Energy’s outage map for an estimate. If 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.

Rapid City power outage map

Black Hills Energy’s outage map has the official restoration estimate for your address; the count above comes from residents. Food and generator safety: power outage guide.

Rapid City power outage questions