When will the power be back in Rapid City, SD?
| Utility information | Our restoration forecast |
|---|---|
| Official ETA, when the utility posts one | Independent estimated return window when trend data allows — often available first |
| Utility-reported status & customer counts | Confidence range + whether the outage is growing, stable, or restoring |
How the forecast works: we analyze how quickly customers are being restored, whether the outage is still growing, current weather, outage size, and similar past outages in this area. Every completed forecast is compared with when power actually returned. As of Aug 29, 10,231 completed outages have been graded this way — median error 1.6 hours across the most recent 600 of them (about 2.5 days), and we publish the misses. See the full record (how it works). Independent and unofficial: never the utility's commitment.
Track current power outages in Rapid City, South Dakota — customers reported out, restoration progress, active weather alerts, and an independent restoration estimate. Rapid City is a city in Pennington County; when the serving utility's public feed reports Rapid City directly, this page shows the city's own outage count and restoration time, with the county-wide view as context.
Rapid City is a city of about 79,894 residents in Pennington County.
West River Electric Assn has reported outages for Rapid City by name on its own public outage map (most recently observed 2026-08-21) — so when Rapid City is affected, this page can show the city's own customers-out count and restoration time rather than only the county-wide total.
ZIP codes in Rapid City: 57701 · 57702 · 57703 · 57709 Checking a ZIP goes straight to the address-level view for that area.
Around Rapid City: the closest other places we track are Box Elder, about 7 miles to the northeast; Gillette, WY, about 114 miles to the west; Casper, WY, about 177 miles to the southwest; Sheridan, WY, about 191 miles to the west. Also nearby: Dickinson, ND (196 mi N), Cheyenne, WY (219 mi S), Mandan, ND (222 mi NE), Bismarck, ND (224 mi NE), Laramie, WY (226 mi SW), Sterling, CO (238 mi S), Huron (249 mi E), Wellington, CO (250 mi S). Looking further out, the nearest place we track is: north toward Williston, ND (285 mi); northeast toward Aberdeen (252 mi); east toward Mitchell (259 mi); south toward Severance, CO (257 mi); southwest toward Steamboat Springs, CO (309 mi); west toward Riverton, WY (270 mi); northwest toward Billings, MT (287 mi).
Who serves Rapid City?
We track live outage data from West River Electric Assn in Pennington County — but several utilities can serve one county, so confirm your own by searching your address on the live map. See the forecast panel above for how the estimate works — its inputs, its independence from the utility, and how every completed forecast is scored against what actually happened. Outages below 5 customers are too small for a meaningful area-wide estimate — the page says so instead of guessing.
Rapid City's last tracked outage began Aug 27, peaked at 26 customers out, and was restored in 2 hours.
- Aug 27 — 26 customers out, restored in 2 hours
Common questions
When will my power be back on in Rapid City, SD?
It depends on the cause and how many crews are working. When's the Power Back? combines the live outage count, the current restoration rate, weather, and local history into an independent estimate for the Rapid City area — shown even before your utility posts an official restoration time. Check the live power outage status at the top of this page.
How do I check the power outage status in Rapid City, SD?
This page is a live power outage status check for the Rapid City area: current customers out, the affected areas on the map, and an independent restoration forecast when enough trend data is available, refreshed about every 15 minutes from utilities' own outage maps and the federal government's county outage data. To narrow it to your own street, search a Rapid City ZIP code — 57701, 57702, 57703, 57709 — and the map opens on that area. Your utility's own outage map remains the official word for your account.
How do I report a power outage in Rapid City, SD?
Report it to your electric utility — crews are dispatched from customer reports. Utilities tracked in Pennington County include West River Electric Assn; confirm your own provider, then use its outage line or website. Reporting a downed line helps crews find the fault faster. In a life-threatening emergency, call 911.
Does this page show Rapid City specifically, or the whole county?
Both, and for Rapid City we have the city-level view: West River Electric Assn has published outages for Rapid City under its own name, most recently seen on 2026-08-21. When Rapid City is affected, you get its own customers-out count and restoration time, with the Pennington County county-wide total shown separately as context. Don't add the two together — the county figure already includes Rapid City.
How accurate is the restoration estimate?
Every estimate is later graded against when the tracked outage was substantially restored (~90% of customers back), and the track record is published on our accuracy page. Estimates firm up a few hours into an outage once a steady restoration trend appears; very small outages are marked "too small to estimate" rather than guessed.
