Empire Electric Association electricity rates
Electric cooperative · Colorado · WECC region
Empire Electric Association is a member-owned electric cooperative, so its customers own it and elect its board, serving 13,016 homes in Colorado. Its residential customers pay an average of 16.40¢/kWh including fixed and delivery charges, 9% less than the U.S. average.
Rate basis: EIA-861 2025 annual data, adjusted to the 12 months ending 2026-07 using the state's price trend.
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Empire Electric Association bill estimates
| Monthly use | At average all-in rate | Base tariff charges* |
|---|---|---|
| 500 kWh | $82.00 | $84.65 |
| 1,000 kWh | $164.00 | $137.29 |
| 1,500 kWh | $246.00 | $189.93 |
| 2,000 kWh | $328.00 | $242.58 |
*Residential Service (effective 2017-01-01, $32.00/month customer charge), energy and fixed charges from the OpenEI Utility Rate Database. Riders, fuel adjustments and taxes are often billed separately, so real bills usually land closer to the all-in column. Calculate your bill.
Empire Electric Association residential rate plans
| Plan | Effective | Customer charge | Energy charges |
|---|---|---|---|
| Residential Service | 2017-01-01 | $32.00 | 10.53¢ |
| Residential Time of Use: 1 Phasetime-of-use | 2012-01-01 | $25.10 | 18.1¢ (10am–10pm) · 4.9¢ (12am–10am, 10pm–12am) — summer weekdays |
| Residential Time of Use: 3 Phasetime-of-use | 2012-01-01 | $42.90 | 18.1¢ (10am–10pm) · 4.9¢ (12am–10am, 10pm–12am) — summer weekdays |
| Residential Service | 2014-01-01 | $30.73 | 10.13¢ |
| Residential and Farm and Home: 3-Phase | 2012-01-01 | $37.35 | 11.27¢ |
| Residential and Farm and Home: 1-Phase | 2012-01-01 | $19.50 | 11.27¢ |
Source: OpenEI U.S. Utility Rate Database. Rates change. Check the linked tariff or your bill for current figures.
Empire Electric Association rate history
2015–2025: +5% change in the average residential rate (14.88¢ → 15.68¢). Annual EIA-861 data.
Outages & reliability
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Reliability history
| 2025 | Empire Electric Association | Colorado avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outage minutes per customer (SAIDI) | 175 | 269 | 266 |
| Outages per customer (SAIFI) | 1.36 | 1.26 | 1.34 |
| Average restoration time (CAIDI) | 2 hr 8 min | — | — |
| Outage minutes excluding major storms | 175 | 118 | 121 |
Outages in counties served (2025)
From ORNL EAGLE-I, which tracks customers without power every 15 minutes. These counts cover every utility in each county. Weighted across Empire Electric Association's counties, customers averaged 0 min without power.
| County | Outage min/customer | Days with outages | Peak customers out | Worst day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montezuma | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2025-11-16 |
| Dolores | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2025-02-25 |
| San Miguel | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2025-02-25 |
Empire Electric Association service area
Empire Electric Association serves 3 counties in Colorado and 17 ZIP codes.
Dolores, Montezuma, San Miguel
Cities: Durango, Cortez, Telluride, Mountain Village, Mancos, Towaoc
Programs, smart meters & solar
| Smart meters (AMI) for homes | 100% |
| Customers with daily usage data online | 13,002 |
| Time-based rate programs | Time-of-use rates |
| Homes on time-based rates | 13,016 |
| Net-metered solar homes | 665 |
| Home batteries paired with solar | 15 |
| Residential efficiency incentives paid (2025) | $336,036 |
| Residential energy saved by programs | 1,696 MWh |
Empire Electric Association at a glance
| Ownership | Electric cooperative |
| Services | Generation, Distribution |
| Commercial rate | 11.54¢/kWh |
| Industrial rate | 7.67¢/kWh |
| Retail revenue (2025) | $53,916,500 |
| Electricity sold (2025) | 542,775 MWh |
| Peak demand | 79 MW summer · 91 MW winter |
| Power from own generation | 0% (rest purchased) |
| Line losses | 0.7% |
| Balancing authority | WACM |
| EIA utility ID | 5862 |
| Website | No website address available. |
Other utilities in Colorado
Frequently asked questions
What is Empire Electric Association's electricity rate?
Empire Electric Association residential customers pay an average of 16.40¢ per kWh, all charges included (EIA-861 2025 annual data, adjusted to the 12 months ending 2026-07 using the state's price trend). That's 1% below the Colorado average of 16.58¢ and 9% below the U.S. average.
What is the average Empire Electric Association electric bill?
About $115 a month. The average Empire Electric Association home uses 703 kWh a month. At 1,000 kWh the bill would be about $164.
How many customers does Empire Electric Association have?
Empire Electric Association serves 13,016 residential customers and 15,986 customers in total in Colorado, across 3 counties.
How reliable is Empire Electric Association?
In 2025, the average Empire Electric Association customer was without power for 2 hr 55 min (SAIDI) over 1.36 interruptions (SAIFI), including major storms. Excluding major event days it was 2 hr 55 min. The Colorado average was 4 hr 29 min and the U.S. average 4 hr 26 min.
Does Empire Electric Association offer time-of-use rates?
Yes. The OpenEI rate database lists 2 time-of-use residential plans, including Residential Time of Use: 1 Phase. Running big appliances off-peak can cut their cost. Pick the plan in the calculator above to see by how much.
Does Empire Electric Association offer net metering for solar?
Empire Electric Association had 665 residential net-metered customers in 2025 with 4.0 MW of capacity and 15 solar-paired batteries. Estimate solar savings at this utility's rate.
Sources: EIA-861 2025 and EIA-861M (through July 2026), OpenEI URDB, ORNL EAGLE-I, U.S. Census. Methodology. Spot an error? Rates change often, so confirm with Empire Electric Association before making decisions.