Sioux Falls, South Dakota Power Outage Today

How reliable is power in Sioux Falls?

Xcel Energy

Xcel Energy is an investor-owned utility with 104,471 customers. In 2024 its customers averaged 0.88 interruptions and 100 minutes (100 minutes) without power, so the average outage lasted 114 minutes.

Major event days, the severe-weather days that utilities report separately, made up about 36% of that time. Without them the average is 64 minutes, so weather matters here but ordinary equipment faults and tree contact account for most of the total.

Outages are infrequent, fewer than one per customer a year, and each was fixed in 114 minutes on average.

For comparison, South Dakota as a whole averaged 85 minutes and the United States 614 minutes. That puts Xcel Energy above the state average.

Among the 14 utilities in South Dakota with at least 5,000 customers that report to the federal government, Xcel Energy ranks 9th for the fewest outage minutes (1 is best). Nationally, 69% of the 926 utilities of that size reported more outage minutes in 2024.

Sioux Valley Energy

Sioux Valley Energy is a member-owned cooperative utility with 24,475 customers. In 2024 its customers averaged 1.01 interruptions and 71 minutes (71 minutes) without power, so the average outage lasted 71 minutes.

Little of that came from major storms (about 0%). Without major event days the average is still 71 minutes, so the figure mostly reflects everyday faults: failed equipment, tree limbs, animals and vehicles hitting poles.

The typical outage was repaired in 71 minutes.

For comparison, South Dakota as a whole averaged 85 minutes and the United States 614 minutes. That puts Sioux Valley 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, Sioux Valley Energy ranks 7th for the fewest outage minutes (1 is best). Nationally, 77% 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 Sioux Falls

NOAA’s Storm Events Database lists 445 storm reports for Minnehaha County from 2015 through 2026, most often thunderstorm wind (140), flood (133), hail (122), and flash flood (31). The busiest full year was 2019 with 94 reports and the quietest was 2016 with 9, so the risk changes a lot from one year to the next.

Reports peak in May (91 since 2015), followed by June and July. 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 12 storm episodes in Minnehaha County since 2015, most often in December. 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 Sioux Falls do to the grid:

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Storm reports that name Sioux Falls

Within Minnehaha County, 206 NOAA storm reports since 2015 name Sioux Falls as their location or in their description: flood (61), thunderstorm wind (59), hail (56), and flash flood (22). That is about 46% of the county’s reports, so Sioux Falls accounts for much of the county’s storm history. Reports naming Sioux Falls are most common in August. The busiest full year was 2019 with 45. These reports record 1 death and 1 injury in total.

Who a power outage hits hardest in Sioux Falls

67.2% of occupied homes in Sioux Falls are heated with piped natural gas, and 29% 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 14.1% of the population in Sioux Falls, below the US share of 17.2% and 10.7% 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 Xcel Energy whether it keeps a priority or medical-needs list, and register before the next storm rather than during it.

About the housing: 25% of the housing in Sioux Falls was built before 1970 (US 35.5%); 17.6% of homes are in buildings with 20 or more units (US 10.3%), where an outage also stops elevators and water pumps, which matters for upper floors and anyone who cannot use stairs.

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

Backup power and electricity use in Sioux Falls

The average Xcel Energy home used about 745 kWh a month in 2024 (US average 892 kWh), an average draw of 1.0 kW around the clock, and paid about 13.9 cents per kWh (12.9 in the state, 15.8 nationally), roughly $103 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 114 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 Sioux Falls

About 192,517 people live in Sioux Falls, the 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 Xcel 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.

Sioux Falls power outage map

Xcel 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.

Sioux Falls power outage questions