Black Hills Corporation

Black Hills Corporation is an American 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. The company is based in Rapid City, South Dakota. 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.[2]

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.

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.[11] 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 renewable energy to comply with the Colorado… requirements."[12] 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.[12]

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."[12]

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,[13] a draft could be delivered in November, and a final study as early as January.[14]

type	Public
traded as	nyse: BKH S&P 400 component
genre	Energy Company
founder	J. B. French
location city	Rapid City, South Dakota
location country	United States
key people	Linden Evans (president, CEO)
revenue	US$1.696 Billion (Fiscal Year Ended 31 December 2020) ‡R1R‡
operating income	▲ US$428.303 Million (Fiscal Year Ended 31 December 2020) ‡R1R‡
net income	▲ US$242.763 Million (Fiscal Year Ended 31 December 2020) ‡R1R‡
assets	▲ US$8.088 Billion (Fiscal Year Ended 31 December 2020) ‡R1R‡
equity	▲ US$2.662 Billion (Fiscal Year Ended 31 December 2020) ‡R1R‡
subsid	Black Hills Power Cheyenne Light, Fuel & Power Black Hills Energy Wyodak Resource BH Exploration and Production Enserco Energy
homepage	https://ir.blackhillscorp.com/

Black Hills Corporation

History

Pueblo, Colorado pushback

Components

See also

External links

References