View source for Company:Black Hills Corporation

{{Short description|Energy company}}
{{Infobox company
 | name             = Black Hills Corporation
 | logo             = Black Hills Corporation logo.svg
 | type             = [[Finance:Public company|Public]]
 | traded_as        = {{Unbulleted list|{{NYSE|BKH}}|S&P 400 component}}
 | genre            = Energy Company
 | foundation       = 1941
 | founder          = J. B. French
 | image            = File:Black Hills Corporation Headquarters.jpg
 | image_size       = 
 | image_caption    = Black Hills headquarters in Rapid City
 | location_city    = Rapid City, South Dakota
 | location_country = {{wipe|United States}}
 | location         = 
 | locations        = 
 | area_served      = 
 | key_people       =  Linden Evans (Pres., CEO)
 | industry         = 
 | products         = 
 | services         = 
 | revenue = {{decrease}} US$1.696 Billion <small>(''Fiscal Year Ended 31 December 2020'')</small><ref name=AnnualR2020>{{cite web|title=Black Hills Corporation 2020 Annual Report|url=https://s21.q4cdn.com/494657442/files/doc_financials/2020/ar/BKH-2020-Annual-Report.pdf|website=Black Hills Corporation|accessdate=15 July 2021|date=31 December 2020}}</ref>
 | operating_income = {{profit}} US$428.303 Million <small>(''Fiscal Year Ended 31 December 2020'')</small><ref name=AnnualR2020 />
 | net_income = {{profit}}  US$242.763 Million <small>(''Fiscal Year Ended 31 December 2020'')</small><ref name=AnnualR2020 />
 | assets = {{profit}} US$8.088 Billion <small>(''Fiscal Year Ended 31 December 2020'')</small><ref name=AnnualR2020 />
 | equity = {{profit}} US$2.662 Billion <small>(''Fiscal Year Ended 31 December 2020'')</small><ref name=AnnualR2020 />
 | owner            = 
 | num_employees    = 
 | parent           = 
 | divisions        = 
 | subsid           = Black Hills Power<br>Cheyenne Light, Fuel & Power<br>Black Hills Energy<br>Wyodak Resource<br>BH Exploration and Production<br>Enserco Energy
 | caption           = 
 | homepage         = [http://blackhillscorp.com/  blackhillscorp.com]
 | footnotes        = 
 | intl             = 
}}

'''Black Hills Corporation''' is a Rapid City, South Dakota diversified energy company that is an electric and gas utility in South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Arkansas, Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa. The company sells power throughout the American West.

It derives its name from its home in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

==History==
The company traces its roots to 1883 and the organization of the '''Black Hills Electric Light Company of Deadwood'''. Merged with the '''Belt Light and Power Company of Lead''' in 1905, the company became '''Consolidated Power and Light Company of South Dakota'''. Meanwhile, to the south, the Dakota Power Company began serving Rapid City in 1910. Both of these companies were purchased by holding companies in the 1920s. With Roosevelt-era legislation to break up big national utility holding companies, Black Hills Power & Light Company was formed in 1941 by combining the assets of '''General Public Utilities, Inc.''' and '''Dakota Power Company''' which provided power for most of western South Dakota.<ref>Abrahamson, Eric John. ''Improving Life With Energy, The First 125 Years of Black Hills Corporation''. Vantage Point Historical Services. 2008. {{ISBN|0-9796389-1-7}}.</ref>

In 1956, the company completed its acquisition of the '''Wyodak Coal Company''' (now '''Wyodak Resources Development Corporation'''), from the Homestake Mining Company, setting the stage for the company's significant investments in mining, oil and gas.

In July 2002, Black Hills Corporation announced that a settlement was reached with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) relating to its marketing subsidiary, Enserco Energy, Inc. Based in Golden, Colorado, Enserco engages in natural gas marketing on the wholesale market and on behalf of independent producers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Black+Hills+Corporation+Announces+Settlement+with+Commodity+Futures...-a0131672816| title= Black Hills Corporation Announces Settlement with CFTC}}</ref> On November 25, 2002, Black Hills Corporation announced that its new independent public accountants, Deloitte & Touche LLP, had completed the audit of Black Hills Corporation's 2001, 2000 and 1999 financial statements that were originally audited by Arthur Andersen LLP.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Black+Hills+Corporation+Reissues+Financial+Statements%3B+Deloitte+%26...-a0132304789 |title= Black Hills Corporation Reissues Financial Statements; Deloitte & Touche Completes Re-audit}}</ref>

In 2004, Black Hills acquired Cheyenne Light from [[Company:Xcel Energy|Xcel Energy]]. Cheyenne Light continues to operate as a separate subsidiary.<ref>[http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/psc-approves-sale-to-black-hills-power/article_86360f9f-28d5-5896-8c6b-a324cfcb1820.html  PSC approves sale to Black Hills Power]</ref>

In 2007, it announced an agreement to buy the [[Chemistry:Natural gas|natural gas]] utility in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa and its Colorado electric utility from Aquila, Inc. Completed in July 2008, the deal increased the company's customer base from 137,000 to 753,000 and increased its employee base from 916 to 2,000.<ref>{{cite web | last =Daly | first =Dan | title =BH Corp.: Aquila deal to close in second quarter | publisher =Rapid City Journal | date =February 10, 2008 | url =http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2008/02/10/news/local/doc47ac95761ca11954226405.txt | accessdate =2008-03-28 }}</ref>

In July 2015, Black Hills announced it was purchasing SourceGas for $1.89 billion. The deal covers approximately 425,000 customers in Arkansas, Colorado, Nebraska and Wyoming and a 512-mile regulated intrastate natural gas transmission pipeline in Colorado.<ref>{{cite web | title = Black Hills Corp. to Acquire SourceGas Holdings LLC | publisher =Black Hills Corp. | date = 2015-07-12 | url =http://www.blackhillscorp.com/node/117119#.Vv9FfmNJorg | accessdate =2016-04-01 }}</ref>

In late 2016, Black Hills announced plans to invest $700 million to build a 1 million square foot drilling and pipe production plant in Norfolk, Nebraska. The facility was expected to employ 400 people. Black Hills said it would use 500,000 tons of steel per year from [[Company:Nucor|Nucor Steel]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://dailyenergyinsider.com/industry/2460-black-hills-energy-extends-timeline-pipeline-project-completion/|title=Black Hills Energy extends timeline for pipeline project completion|date=2016-12-07|newspaper=Daily Energy Insider|language=en-US|access-date=2016-12-07}}</ref>

In March 2018, Black Hills received, and turned down, an unsolicited $1.1 billion purchase offer from the San Isabel Electric Association in Colorado; it responded to the offer with a full-page newspaper ad in the Pueblo Chieftain.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.chieftain.com/news/pueblo/black-hills-not-for-sale-utility-insists/article_c2f17e41-dad9-53db-b0a5-c98aa2663eeb.html|title=Black Hills not for sale, utility insists|last=Roper|first=Peter|date=2018-03-15|work=Pueblo Chieftain|access-date=2018-09-22|language=en|ref=Mar. 2018 San Isabel Elec. Assoc $1.1B buyout offer - Chieftain}}</ref>

== Pueblo, Colorado pushback ==
Since 2008, Black Hills Energy's operation in Pueblo has been challenged by various constituencies on numerous policies, most notably the four rate hikes between 2010 and 2018, in some cases amounting to 50% rate increases.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://gazette.com/news/pueblo-and-black-hills-energy-square-off-in-an-electric/article_8869810d-2453-551c-af1b-78ed68237c13.html|title=Pueblo and Black Hills Energy square off in an electric war|last=Jaffe|first=Mark|date=2018-03-31|work=Colorado Springs Gazette|access-date=2018-09-22|language=en|ref=Mar. 2018 - Pueblo, Black Hills square off in electric war - CO Springs Gazette}}</ref> Voters in 2010 approved a 20-year franchise agreement with the company.

Describing the company's vision for the future, Julie Rodriguez, program manager for community affairs and economic development for Black Hills Energy's Colorado electric operations, said, "Our primary goals are to identify an energy resource that is cost effective for our customers, while also generating sufficient [[Engineering:Renewable energy|renewable energy]] to comply with the Colorado… requirements."<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://dailyenergyinsider.com/efficiency/6221-blacks-hills-energy-seeks-meet-colorado-renewable-energy-requirements-request-proposals/|title=Blacks Hills Energy seeks to meet Colorado renewable energy requirements with request for proposals|last=Randolph|first=Kevin|date=2017-06-30|work=Daily Energy Insider|access-date=2017-07-29|language=en-US}}</ref> To achieve its goals, in June 2017, the company issued a request for proposals for up to 60 megawatts of renewable energy, including wind energy and other sources, along with those that are greenhouse gas-neutral or recycled energy. The Colorado Public Utilities Commission approved the request as part of the company's 2016 Electric Resource Plan and 2018-2021 Renewable Energy Standard Compliance Plan.<ref name=":0" />

As of June 2017, Black Hills Energy in Colorado obtains 19 percent of its electricity from renewable resources, with the rest coming from natural gas. In attempts to meet customer demand and requirements set by the state, Black Hills Energy has established new natural gas facilities, wind farms, and solar energy systems. By 2020, in order to comply with Colorado state laws, the company must generate at least 30 percent of its electricity from renewable resources. Rodriguez, asserting her company's dedication to meeting this goal, said, "Developing renewable energy at a reasonable cost is important to the communities we serve and allows us to continue providing customers with the safe, reliable energy they've come to expect."<ref name=":0" />

In August 2018, Pueblo city council unanimously voted to spend $122,000 on a consulting firm, selected by the Electric Utility Commission from eight proposals, to explore its options to prematurely exit the Black Hills franchise agreement by 2020, perhaps forming its own municipal energy operation. While study results are due in nine months,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.krdo.com/news/pueblo-hires-firm-to-study-ending-deal-with-black-hills-energy/781398418|title=Pueblo hires firm to study ending deal with Black Hills Energy|last=Beedie|first=Dan|date=2018-08-15|work=KRDO|access-date=2018-09-22|language=en-US}}</ref> a draft could be delivered in November, and a final study as early as January.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.chieftain.com/news/pueblo/pueblo-council-hires-firm-to-discern-how-to-end-black/article_6adfded5-d275-5f11-9c3b-73813c5b3302.html|title=Pueblo council hires firm to discern how to end Black Hills pact|last=Severance|first=Ryan|date=2018-08-13|work=Pueblo Chieftain|access-date=2018-09-22|language=en|ref=Council hires firm to discern how to end Black Hills pact - Aug. 2018 Chieftain}}</ref>

==Components==
[[File:Wyodak Mine seen from Interstate 90 in Campbell County, Wyoming.jpg|thumb|Wyodak Mine east of Gillette, Wyoming]]

The company is the electric utility for 64,200 customers between Rapid City, South Dakota and New Castle, Wyoming as well as southeastern Montana via its '''Black Hills Power''' subsidiary.<ref>{{cite web| title =About BHP| publisher =Black Hills Power| url =http://www.blackhillspower.com/about.htm| accessdate =2008-03-28| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20080306065245/http://www.blackhillspower.com/about.htm| archive-date =2008-03-06| url-status =dead}}</ref> Its '''Cheyenne Light, Fuel & Power Company''' subsidiary serves another 80,000 in Cheyenne, Wyoming and southeastern Wyoming. Via its '''Black Hills Energy''' component it has 1,000 Megawatts of generating capacity in Colorado, Nevada, Wyoming and California including two plants serving Las Vegas, Nevada.<ref>{{cite web|title=Power Generation |publisher=Black Hills Corporation |url=http://www.blackhillsenergy.com/powergen.htm |accessdate=2008-03-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070421171754/http://www.blackhillsenergy.com/powergen.htm |archive-date=April 21, 2007 }}</ref> The company's bigger component is its wholesale energy wing.

The centerpiece of the operation is the Wyodak Mine near Gillette, Wyoming in the [[Earth:Powder River Basin|Powder River Basin]], which is the oldest operating surface mine for coal in the United States.<ref>{{cite web | title =Wyodak Resources | publisher =Black Hills Corporation | url =http://www.wyodak.com/ | accessdate =2008-03-28 }}</ref> The mine has permitted reserves of 286 million tons. In addition it claims {{convert|169|Gcuft|m3}} in oil and gas reserves(76% of which is natural gas) principally in New Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming.

==See also== 
* List of S&P 400 companies

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Finance links
| symbol = BKH
| sec_cik = BKH
| google = NYSE:BKH
| yahoo = BKH
| bloomberg = BKH:US
| reuters = BKH
| nasdaq = BKH
}}


[[Category:Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange]]

{{Sourceattribution|Black Hills Corporation}}