Black Hills Corporation facts for kids
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Black Hills headquarters in Rapid City
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| Public | |
| Traded as |
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| Genre | Energy Company |
| Founded | 1941 |
| Founder | J. B. French |
| Headquarters |
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United States
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Key people
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Linden Evans (president, CEO) |
| Revenue |  US$1.696 Billion (Fiscal Year Ended 31 December 2020) |
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Operating income
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 US$428.303 Million (Fiscal Year Ended 31 December 2020) |
| US$242.763 Million (Fiscal Year Ended 31 December 2020) |
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| Total assets | US$8.088 Billion (Fiscal Year Ended 31 December 2020) |
| Total equity | US$2.662 Billion (Fiscal Year Ended 31 December 2020) |
| Subsidiaries | Black Hills Power Cheyenne Light, Fuel & Power Black Hills Energy Wyodak Resource BH Exploration and Production Enserco Energy |
Black Hills Corporation is an American company that provides electricity and natural gas to homes and businesses. They serve many states, including South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Arkansas, Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa. This company helps power many communities across the western United States. Their main office is in Rapid City, South Dakota, and their name comes from the beautiful Black Hills area where they started.
Contents
Company History
The story of Black Hills Corporation began a long time ago, in 1883. That's when the Black Hills Electric Light Company of Deadwood was formed. Later, in 1905, this company joined with another one called the Belt Light and Power Company of Lead. Together, they became the Consolidated Power and Light Company of South Dakota.
Around the same time, in 1910, the Dakota Power Company started providing electricity in Rapid City, South Dakota. In the 1920s, larger companies bought both of these power providers. However, new laws in the 1940s aimed to break up these big national companies.
Because of these new laws, Black Hills Power & Light Company was created in 1941. It combined parts of two companies: General Public Utilities, Inc. and Dakota Power Company. This new company then supplied power to most of western South Dakota.
Growth and New Ventures
In 1956, Black Hills Power & Light Company bought the Wyodak Coal Company. This company is now known as Wyodak Resources Development Corporation. This purchase was a big step, leading the company to invest in mining, oil, and natural gas.
In 2004, Black Hills acquired Cheyenne Light from Xcel Energy. Cheyenne Light still operates as a separate part of Black Hills Corporation.
A few years later, in 2007, Black Hills made a deal to buy natural gas and electric utilities from Aquila, Inc. This deal was completed in July 2008. It greatly increased the number of customers Black Hills served, from about 137,000 to 753,000. The number of employees also grew from 916 to 2,000.
In July 2015, Black Hills announced another big purchase: SourceGas for $1.89 billion. This deal added about 425,000 customers in Arkansas, Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming. It also included a 512-mile natural gas pipeline in Colorado.
In late 2016, Black Hills planned to invest $700 million to build a large drilling and pipe production plant in Norfolk, Nebraska. This facility was expected to create 400 jobs.
Community and Energy Goals
Since 2008, Black Hills Energy's operations in Pueblo, Colorado have faced some challenges. Local groups have raised concerns about several price increases for electricity between 2010 and 2018. In some cases, these increases were quite large. Despite this, voters in 2010 approved a 20-year agreement for the company to continue serving the city.
Black Hills Energy is working towards a future with more clean energy. Julie Rodriguez, a manager for the company in Colorado, explained their main goals. She said they want to find energy sources that are affordable for customers. They also aim to produce enough renewable energy to meet Colorado's requirements.
Renewable Energy Efforts
To reach these goals, the company asked for ideas in June 2017 for new renewable energy projects. These projects could include wind power or other sources that don't produce greenhouse gases. The Colorado Public Utilities Commission approved this plan.
As of June 2017, Black Hills Energy in Colorado got 19 percent of its electricity from renewable sources. The rest came from natural gas. To meet customer needs and state laws, Black Hills Energy has built new natural gas facilities, wind farms, and solar energy systems. By 2020, the company needed to generate at least 30 percent of its electricity from renewable resources to follow Colorado state laws. Rodriguez stated that developing affordable renewable energy is important for the communities they serve. It also helps them keep providing safe and reliable energy.
In August 2018, the Pueblo city council decided to explore other options for their energy supply. They voted to hire a consulting firm to study if they could end their agreement with Black Hills early. They considered forming their own city-run energy company.
Company Parts
Black Hills Corporation is made up of several important parts:
- Black Hills Power provides electricity to 64,200 customers. These customers are located between Rapid City, South Dakota and Newcastle, Wyoming, and also in southeastern Montana.
- Its Cheyenne Light, Fuel & Power Company serves about 80,000 customers in Cheyenne, Wyoming and southeastern Wyoming.
- Through its Black Hills Energy part, the company can generate 1,000 Megawatts of power. This power comes from plants in Colorado, Nevada, Wyoming, and California, including two plants that serve Las Vegas, Nevada.
- The company also has a large part that sells energy to other companies, known as its wholesale energy wing.
A very important part of the company is the Wyodak Mine. This mine is near Gillette, Wyoming, in the Powder River Basin. It is the oldest operating surface mine for coal in the United States. The mine has a lot of coal reserves, about 286 million tons. Black Hills Corporation also has natural gas and oil reserves, mostly in New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming.
See also
- List of S&P 400 companies
