Electric Substations in South Dakota
40 named substations in South Dakota, with the highest-voltage facilities listed first. Each substation profile shows voltage class, connected transmission lines, and the datacenter candidate sites closest to it.
At a glance
How is South Dakota's substation network split by voltage?
By maximum voltage, the named substations break down as 6 at 345–499 kV; 23 at 230–344 kV; 7 at 115–229 kV; 3 at 69–114 kV; 1 withvoltage not recorded. 15% of South Dakota's named substations operate at 345 kV or above, against 8% across all 16,654 named US substations. The state median of 230 kV is above the national median of 115 kV.
How does South Dakota compare with other states?
South Dakota ranks 45th of 50 states and DC by number of named substations and 42nd by named substations at 345 kV or above. It also has 1,151 scored datacenter candidate sites with an average DC Readiness score of 54.7 (national average 53), and an average power sub-score of 39.1 against 37.4 nationally. Most of those sites (685) are in the SPP market.
Which substations in South Dakota have the highest voltage?
| Substation | Max voltage | Connected lines | Line owner |
|---|---|---|---|
| BROADLAND | 345 kV | 2 | — |
| BROOKINGS COUNTY | 345 kV | 6 | OTTER TAIL POWER CO |
| FORT THOMPSON | 345 kV | 4 | WAPA-- WESTERN AREA POWER ADMINISTRATION |
| GROTON | 345 kV | 3 | MONTANA-DAKOTA UTILITIES CO |
| SPLIT ROCK | 345 kV | 13 | NORTHERN STATES POWER CO - MINNESOTA |
| WATERTOWN | 345 kV | 2 | OTTER TAIL POWER CO |
| BISON | 230 kV | 4 | MONTANA-DAKOTA UTILITIES CO |
| FORT RANDALL | 230 kV | 10 | NORTHWESTERN ENERGY - (SD) |
| FORT THOMPSON | 230 kV | 16 | WAPA-- WESTERN AREA POWER ADMINISTRATION |
| GLENHAM | 230 kV | 4 | MONTANA-DAKOTA UTILITIES CO |
| HURON | 230 kV | 11 | NORTHWESTERN ENERGY - (SD) |
| LAKE PLATTE | 230 kV | 4 | WAPA-- WESTERN AREA POWER ADMINISTRATION |
| LANGE | 230 kV | 2 | BLACK HILLS POWER, INC. |
| LOOKOUT | 230 kV | 7 | BLACK HILLS POWER, INC. |
| MAURINE | 230 kV | 4 | WAPA-- WESTERN AREA POWER ADMINISTRATION |
| NEW UNDERWOOD | 230 kV | 7 | WAPA-- WESTERN AREA POWER ADMINISTRATION |
| OAHE | 230 kV | 12 | NORTHWESTERN ENERGY - (SD) |
| PHILIP | 230 kV | 5 | WAPA-- WESTERN AREA POWER ADMINISTRATION |
| RAPID CITY DC TIE | 230 kV | 3 | — |
| SIOUX FALLS | 230 kV | 11 | NORTHERN STATES POWER CO - MINNESOTA |
| SOUTH RAPID CITY | 230 kV | 3 | BLACK HILLS POWER, INC. |
| SULLY BUTTES | 230 kV | 4 | WAPA-- WESTERN AREA POWER ADMINISTRATION |
| UTICA JUNCTION | 230 kV | 8 | NORTHWESTERN ENERGY - (SD) |
| VIRGIL FODNESS | 230 kV | 6 | — |
| VT HANLON | 230 kV | 7 | NORTHWESTERN ENERGY - (SD) |
| WATERTOWN | 230 kV | 9 | OTTER TAIL POWER CO |
| WEST HILL | 230 kV | 4 | BLACK HILLS POWER, INC. |
| WHITLOCK | 230 kV | 2 | MONTANA-DAKOTA UTILITIES CO. |
| YELLOW CREEK | 230 kV | 7 | BLACK HILLS POWER, INC. D/B/A |
| ABERDEEN | 115 kV | 5 | MONTANA-DAKOTA UTILITIES CO |
| CORSON | 115 kV | 2 | NORTHERN STATES POWER CO - MINNESOTA |
| GROTON | 115 kV | 3 | MONTANA-DAKOTA UTILITIES CO |
| LAWRENCE | 115 kV | 7 | NORTHERN STATES POWER CO - MINNESOTA |
| PATHFINDER | 115 kV | 2 | NORTHERN STATES POWER CO - MINNESOTA |
| SUMMIT | 115 kV | 5 | OTTER TAIL POWER CO |
| SUNDANCE HILL | 115 kV | 5 | BLACK HILLS POWER INC |
| BLACK HILLS POWER | 69 kV | 3 | BLACK HILLS POWER, INC. D/B/A |
| DELL RAPIDS | 69 kV | 1 | — |
| LAKE PRESTON 69 KV SUBSTATION | 69 kV | 2 | OTTER TAIL POWER CO |
| NEW VT HANLON | — | 0 | — |
Every named substation in South Dakota
All 40 named substations, grouped by voltage band.
230–344 kV · 23
voltage not recorded · 1
Frequently asked questions
How many electric substations are in South Dakota?
HIFLD records 970 substations in South Dakota, of which 40 carry a station name. That is the 45th-most named substations of any state in the dataset.
What is the highest-voltage substation in South Dakota?
6 named substations in South Dakota share the top voltage of 345 kV, including BROADLAND, BROOKINGS COUNTY, FORT THOMPSON.
Which substation in South Dakota connects the most transmission lines?
FORT THOMPSON has the most connected transmission lines of the named substations listed here, with 16 at up to 230 kV.
How many substations in South Dakota are 345 kV or higher?
6 of 40 named substations (15%) operate at 345 kV or above, compared with 8% nationally. South Dakota ranks 42nd of 50 states and DC for named substations at that level.
How many datacenter candidate sites in South Dakota are at substations?
477 of the 1,151 scored candidate sites in South Dakota are substation sites — locations generated at an existing substation. Scored sites across South Dakota average 54.7 on the 0–100 DC Readiness scale, against 53 nationally.
Looking for a specific record? The directory lists every substation in South Dakota, A to Z.
More on South Dakota, and states with similar counts
About this data
Source: HIFLD Electric Substations and Transmission Lines (U.S. Department of Homeland Security), as published June 29, 2026. See the methodology for how records are matched, cleaned and scored.
Cite as: GridCensus, “Electric substations in South Dakota”, https://gridcensus.com/substations/south-dakota (data as of June 29, 2026).
Dataset updated . Screening estimates derived from public data sources.
Go deeper than the public screen
Every site and score for substations in South Dakota is free to browse. Pro adds Watchtower on 25 sites, alerts when new candidate sites, datacenters or interconnection-queue requests appear in your markets, score and capacity history, and CSV export. Enterprise adds team seats, weekly data files for all 147,272 sites, the REST API and an MCP server for AI tools.