BLACK HILLS CORP SD
For the period ended Dec 31, 2024. Filed Feb 12, 2025.
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FY2024 · Filed Feb 12, 2025
BKH$86.35+1.7%Stored close · as of Nov 9, 2026
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GLOSSARY OF TERMS AND ABBREVIATIONS
The following terms and abbreviations appear in the text of this report and have the definitions described below:
| AC | Alternating Current |
|---|---|
| AFUDC | Allowance for Funds Used During Construction |
| AI | Artificial Intelligence |
| AOCI | Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) |
| APSC | Arkansas Public Service Commission |
| Arkansas Gas | Black Hills Energy Arkansas, Inc., an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of Black Hills Utility Holdings, providing natural gas services to customers in Arkansas (doing business as Black Hills Energy). |
| ARO | Asset Retirement Obligation |
| ASC | Accounting Standards Codification |
| ASU | Accounting Standards Update as issued by the FASB |
| ATM | At-the-market equity offering program |
| Availability | The availability factor of a power plant is the percentage of the time that it is available to provide energy. |
| BHC | Black Hills Corporation; the Company |
| BHSC | Black Hills Service Company, LLC, a direct, wholly-owned subsidiary of Black Hills Corporation (doing business as Black Hills Energy) |
| Black-box Settlement | Settlement with a utility’s commission where the revenue requirement is agreed upon, but the specific adjustments used by each party to arrive at the amount are not specified in public rate orders. |
| Black Hills Colorado IPP | Black Hills Colorado IPP, LLC, a 50.1% owned subsidiary of Black Hills Electric Generation |
| Black Hills Electric Generation | Black Hills Electric Generation, LLC, a direct, wholly-owned subsidiary of Black Hills Non-regulated Holdings, providing wholesale electric capacity and energy primarily to our affiliate utilities. |
| Black Hills Electric Parent Holdings | Black Hills Electric Utility Holdings, LLC., a direct, wholly-owned subsidiary of Black Hills Corporation |
| Black Hills Energy | The name used to conduct the business of our Utilities |
| Black Hills Energy Renewable Resources (BHERR) | Black Hills Energy Renewable Resources, LLC, a direct, wholly-owned subsidiary of Black Hills Non-regulated Holdings |
| Black Hills Energy Services | Black Hills Energy Services Company, an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of Black Hills Utility Holdings, providing natural gas commodity supply for the Choice Gas Programs (doing business as Black Hills Energy). |
| Black Hills Non-regulated Holdings | Black Hills Non-regulated Holdings, LLC, a direct, wholly-owned subsidiary of Black Hills Corporation |
| Black Hills Power | Black Hills Power, Inc., a direct, wholly-owned subsidiary of Black Hills Corporation (doing business as Black Hills Energy). Also known as South Dakota Electric. |
| Black Hills Utility Holdings | Black Hills Utility Holdings, Inc., a direct, wholly-owned subsidiary of Black Hills Corporation (doing business as Black Hills Energy) |
| Black Hills Wyoming | Black Hills Wyoming, LLC, a direct, wholly-owned subsidiary of Black Hills Electric Generation |
| Blockchain Interruptible Service (BCIS) Tariff | A WPSC-approved tariff applicable to prospective new Wyoming Electric blockchain customers. The tariff allows customers to negotiate rates and terms and conditions for interruptible electric utility service of 10 MW or greater that would be interconnected with Wyoming Electric’s system. Agreements under the BCIS tariff must be filed with the WPSC prior to the first customer billing, be at least 2 years in duration and include specific pricing for all electricity purchased (with pricing terms subject to renegotiation every three years). BCIS customers shall not participate in the PCA to the extent of service received under the tariff. |
| Busch Ranch I | The 29 MW wind farm near Pueblo, Colorado, jointly owned by Colorado Electric and Black Hills Electric Generation. Colorado Electric and Black Hills Electric Generation each have a 50% ownership interest in the wind farm. Black Hills Electric Generation provides its share of energy from the wind farm to Colorado Electric through a PPA, which expires in October 2037. |
|---|---|
| Busch Ranch II | The 59.4 MW wind farm near Pueblo, Colorado owned by Black Hills Electric Generation to provide wind energy to Colorado Electric through a PPA expiring in November 2044. |
| CACJA Adjustment | Clean Air Clean Jobs Act Adjustment is an adjustment mechanism that allows Colorado Electric to collect from customers the capital costs related to Pueblo Airport Generation CT #6. |
| CEPR | Clean Energy Plan Rider, which is a 1.5% surcharge to fund Colorado Electric's recovery of renewable energy projects under the Clean Energy Plan. In conjunction with the implementation of the CEPR in January 2025, the RESA surcharge was reduced from 2.0% to 1.5%. |
| CFTC | United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission |
| Cheyenne Light | Cheyenne Light, Fuel and Power Company, a direct, wholly-owned subsidiary of Black Hills Corporation, providing electric service in the Cheyenne, Wyoming area (doing business as Black Hills Energy). Also known as Wyoming Electric. |
| Cheyenne Prairie | Cheyenne Prairie Generating Station located in Cheyenne, Wyoming serves the utility customers of South Dakota Electric and Wyoming Electric. The facility includes one simple-cycle, 40 MW combustion turbine that is wholly-owned by Wyoming Electric and one combined-cycle, 100 MW unit that is jointly-owned by Wyoming Electric (42 MW) and South Dakota Electric (58 MW). |
| Choice Gas Program | Regulator-approved programs in Wyoming and Nebraska that allow certain utility customers to select their natural gas commodity supplier, providing the unbundling of the commodity service from the distribution delivery service. |
| CIAC | Contribution in aid of construction |
| City of Gillette | Gillette, Wyoming |
| Clean Energy Plan | 2030 Ready Plan that establishes a roadmap and preferred resource portfolio for Colorado Electric to achieve the State of Colorado’s requirement calling upon electric utilities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by a minimum of 80% from 2005 levels by 2030. The recommended resource portfolio proposes the addition of 350 MW of clean energy resources to Colorado Electric's system. Colorado legislation allows electric utilities to own up to 50% of the renewable generation assets added to comply with the Clean Energy Plan. |
| CO2 | Carbon dioxide |
| Chief Operating Decision Maker (CODM) | Chief Executive Officer |
| Colorado Electric | Black Hills Colorado Electric, LLC, a direct, wholly-owned subsidiary of Black Hills Electric Parent Holdings, providing electric service to customers in Colorado (doing business as Black Hills Energy). |
| Colorado Gas | Black Hills Colorado Gas, Inc., an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of Black Hills Utility Holdings, providing natural gas services to customers in Colorado (doing business as Black Hills Energy). |
| Common Use System | The Common Use System is a jointly operated transmission system we participate in with Basin Electric Power Cooperative and Powder River Energy Corporation. The Common Use System provides transmission service over these utilities' combined 230-kilovolt (kV) and limited 69-kV transmission facilities within areas of southwestern South Dakota and northeastern Wyoming. |
| Consolidated Indebtedness to Capitalization Ratio | Any Indebtedness outstanding at such time, divided by capital at such time. Capital being consolidated net-worth (excluding non-controlling interest) plus consolidated indebtedness (including letters of credit and certain guarantees issued) as defined within the current Revolving Credit Facility. |
| Cooling Degree Day | A cooling degree day is equivalent to each degree that the average of the high and low temperature for a day is above 65 degrees. The warmer the climate, the greater the number of cooling degree days. Cooling degree days are used in the utility industry to measure the relative warmth of weather and to compare relative temperatures between one geographic area and another. Normal degree days are based on the National Weather Service data for selected locations. |
|---|---|
| Corriedale | The 52.5 MW wind farm near Cheyenne, Wyoming, jointly owned by South Dakota Electric (32.5 MW) and Wyoming Electric (20 MW), serving as the dedicated wind energy supply to the Renewable Ready program, which is a voluntary renewable energy subscription program for large commercial, industrial, and governmental customers in South Dakota and Wyoming. |
| CP Program | Commercial Paper Program |
| CPCN | Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity |
| CPUC | Colorado Public Utilities Commission |
| CSO | Chief Security Officer |
| CT | Combustion Turbine |
| Cushion Gas | The portion of natural gas necessary to force saleable gas from a storage field into the transmission system and for system balancing, representing a permanent investment necessary to use storage facilities and maintain reliability. |
| Cybersecurity incident | An unauthorized occurrence, or a series of related unauthorized occurrences, on or conducted through a registrant’s information systems that jeopardizes the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of a registrant’s information systems or any information residing therein. |
| Cybersecurity threat | Any potential unauthorized occurrence on or conducted through a registrant’s information systems that may result in adverse effects on the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of a registrant’s information systems or any information residing therein. |
| DC | Direct Current |
| Dividend Payout Ratio | Annual dividends paid on common stock divided by net income from continuing operations available for common stock |
| DSM | Demand Side Management |
| Dth | Dekatherm. A unit of energy equal to 10 therms or one million British thermal units (MMBtu). |
| EBITDA | Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, a non-GAAP measure. |
| ECA | Energy Cost Adjustment is an adjustment that allows us to pass the prudently-incurred cost of fuel and purchased energy through to customers. |
| EECR | Energy Efficiency Cost Recovery is an adjustment mechanism that allows us to recover from customers the costs associated with providing energy efficiency programs. |
| EIA | Environmental Improvement Adjustment is an annual adjustment mechanism that allows South Dakota Electric to recover from customers eligible investments in, and expense related to, new environmental measures. |
| Energy Assistance Benefit Charge | Energy Assistance Benefit Charge is a Colorado statutory-created surcharge to provide additional funding for bill assistance and weatherization for income-qualified customers. We collect these funds and remit them to a Colorado non-profit organization that assists low-income residents with utility bills, repairs, and energy efficiency upgrades. |
| Energy Transition | The global energy sector’s shift from fossil-based systems of energy production and consumption, including oil, natural gas and coal to renewable energy sources like wind and solar, as well as battery storage solutions. |
| EPA | United States Environmental Protection Agency |
| ESG | Environmental, Social and Governance |
| EV | Electric Vehicle |
| EWG | Exempt Wholesale Generator |
| FASB | Financial Accounting Standards Board |
| FERC | United States Department of Energy's Federal Energy Regulatory Commission |
| Fitch | Fitch Ratings Inc. |
| GAAP | Accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America |
|---|---|
| Gas Price Risk Management Rider | Gas Price Risk Management Rider is a Colorado Gas mechanism that is similar to GCA but designed to also provide a price floor and price ceiling. |
| GCA | Gas Cost Adjustment is a mechanism that allows us to pass the prudently-incurred cost of gas and certain services through to customers. |
| GHG | Greenhouse gases |
| Gillette Energy Complex | The Gillette Energy Complex located in Gillette, Wyoming includes 793 MW of coal-fired generating facilities (Neil Simpson II, Wygen I, Wygen II, Wygen III, Wyodak Plant) which are supplied by WRDC and a 40 MW gas-fired generation facility (Neil Simpson CT). We operate and own majority interests in five of the six facilities and own 20% of Wyodak Plant. |
| GWh | Gigawatt Hours |
| Heating Degree Day | A heating degree day is equivalent to each degree that the average of the high and the low temperatures for a day is below 65 degrees. The colder the climate, the greater the number of heating degree days. Heating degree days are used in the utility industry to measure the relative coldness of weather and to compare relative temperatures between one geographic area and another. Normal degree days are based on the National Weather Service data for selected locations. |
| HomeServe | Products offered to our natural gas residential customers interested in purchasing additional home repair service plans. |
| Information systems | Electronic information resources, owned or used by the registrant, including physical or virtual infrastructure controlled by such information resources, or components thereof, organized for the collection, processing, maintenance, use, sharing, dissemination, or disposition of the registrant’s information to maintain or support the registrant’s operations. |
| Integrated Generation | Non-regulated power generation and mining businesses (Black Hills Electric Generation and WRDC) that are vertically integrated within our Electric Utilities segment. |
| Iowa Gas | Black Hills Iowa Gas Utility Company, LLC, a direct, wholly-owned subsidiary of Black Hills Utility Holdings, providing natural gas services to customers in Iowa (doing business as Black Hills Energy). |
| IPP | Independent Power Producer |
| IRA | Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 |
| IRC | Internal Revenue Code |
| IRP | Integrated Resource Plan |
| IRS | United States Internal Revenue Service |
| ITC | Investment Tax Credit |
| IUC | Iowa Utilities Commission |
| Kansas Gas | Black Hills Kansas Gas Utility Company, LLC, a direct, wholly-owned subsidiary of Black Hills Utility Holdings, providing natural gas services to customers in Kansas (doing business as Black Hills Energy). |
| KCC | Kansas Corporation Commission |
| kV | Kilovolt |
| Large Power Contract Service (LPCS) Tariff | Innovative tariff solution developed in collaboration with Microsoft and approved by the WPSC in 2016. The LPSC is applicable to Wyoming Electric retail customers with new loads of 13 MW or greater who agree to Black Hills Energy-dispatched, customer-owned generation, on-site for the purpose of providing backup service for the customer’s load and maintaining reliability. If the parties agree through negotiations to electric service through this tariff, a Large Power Service Agreement will be executed. The associated service agreement provides qualifying customers with market-based energy rates and access to renewable energy resources that is not served from utility-owned generation (i.e. minimal capital model for Wyoming Electric). Customers shall not participate in the PCA or TCAM to the extent of service received under the tariff. |
| Mcf | Thousand cubic feet |
| Mcfd | Thousand cubic feet per day |
| MDU | Montana-Dakota Utilities Co., a subsidiary of MDU Resources Group, Inc. |
|---|---|
| MMBtu | Million British thermal units |
| Moody’s | Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. |
| MSHA | United States Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration |
| MW | Megawatt |
| MWh | Megawatt-hour |
| N/A | Not Applicable |
| NAV | Net Asset Value |
| Nebraska Gas | Black Hills Nebraska Gas, LLC, an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of Black Hills Utility Holdings, providing natural gas services to customers in Nebraska (doing business as Black Hills Energy). |
| Neil Simpson II | A mine-mouth, coal-fired power plant owned and operated by South Dakota Electric with a total capacity of 90 MW located at our Gillette Energy Complex. |
| NERC | North American Electric Reliability Corporation |
| NOX | Nitrogen oxide |
| NOL | Net Operating Loss |
| Northern Iowa Windpower | Northern Iowa Windpower, LLC, a 87.1 MW wind farm located near Joice, Iowa, previously owned by Black Hills Electric Generation. In March 2023, Black Hills Electric Generation completed the sale of Northern Iowa Windpower assets to a third-party. |
| OCI | Other Comprehensive Income |
| OSHA | United States Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety & Health Administration |
| PacifiCorp | PacifiCorp, a wholly owned subsidiary of MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company, itself an affiliate of Berkshire Hathaway. |
| PCA | Power Cost Adjustment is an annual adjustment mechanism that allows Wyoming Electric to pass a portion of prudently-incurred delivered power costs, including fuel, purchased capacity and energy, and transmission costs, through to customers. |
| PCCA | Power Capacity Cost Adjustment is an annual adjustment that allows Colorado Electric to pass the prudently-incurred purchased capacity costs, incremental to costs included in base rates, through to customers. |
| Peak View | The 60.8 MW wind farm owned by Colorado Electric. |
| PHMSA | United States Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration |
| PPA | Power Purchase Agreement |
| PSA | Power Sales Agreement |
| PTC | Production Tax Credit |
| Pueblo Airport Generation | Pueblo Airport Generating Station located in Pueblo, Colorado includes 440 MW of combined cycle gas-fired power generation plants jointly owned by Colorado Electric (240 MW) and Black Hills Colorado IPP (200 MW). Black Hills Colorado IPP owns and operates this facility. The plants commenced operation on January 1, 2012. |
| PSPS | Public Safety Power Shutoff |
| PUHCA 2005 | Public Utility Holding Company Act of 2005 |
| Ready Wyoming | A 260-mile, multi-phase transmission expansion project in Wyoming. This transmission project is expected to serve the growing needs of customers by enhancing resiliency of Wyoming Electric’s overall electric system and expanding access to power markets and renewable resources. The project is expected to help Wyoming Electric maintain top-quartile reliability and enable economic development in the Cheyenne, Wyoming region. |
| RESA | Renewable Energy Standard Adjustment is an incremental retail rate limited to 1.5% for Colorado Electric customers that provides funding for renewable energy projects and programs to comply with Colorado’s Renewable Energy Standard. |
| Revolving Credit Facility | Our $750 million credit facility used to fund working capital needs, letters of credit and other corporate purposes, which was amended on May 31, 2024, and will terminate on May 31, 2029. This facility includes an accordion feature that allows us to increase total commitments up to $1.0 billion with the consent of the administrative agent, the issuing agents, and each bank increasing or providing a new commitment. |
|---|---|
| RMNG | Rocky Mountain Natural Gas LLC, an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of Black Hills Utility Holdings, is an intrastate transmission pipeline that provides natural gas transmission and wholesale services in western Colorado (doing business as Black Hills Energy). |
| RNG | Renewable natural gas |
| SDPUC | South Dakota Public Utilities Commission |
| SEC | United States Securities and Exchange Commission |
| Service Guard Comfort Plan | Appliance protection plan that provides home appliance repair services through on-going monthly service agreements to residential utility customers. |
| Scope 1 | Direct GHG emissions that occur from sources that are controlled or owned by an organization. |
| Scope 3 | Emissions which are the result of activities from assets not owned or controlled by the reporting organization, but that the organization indirectly affects in its value chain. |
| SO2 | Sulfur dioxide |
| SOFR | Secured Overnight Financing Rate |
| S&P | S&P Global Ratings, a division of S&P Global Inc. |
| South Dakota Electric | Black Hills Power, Inc., a direct, wholly-owned subsidiary of Black Hills Corporation, providing electric service to customers in Montana, South Dakota, and Wyoming (doing business as Black Hills Energy). |
| SSIR | System Safety and Integrity Rider is a mechanism that allows us to recover the costs associated with certain pipeline safety and integrity investments, including the replacement of higher risk pipe, the improvement of the data management system, and the mitigation of other safety issues identified on our natural gas system. |
| System Peak Demand | Represents the highest point of retail customer usage for a single hour. |
| TCA | Transmission Cost Adjustment is an annual adjustment mechanism that allows us to recover from customers eligible transmission investments prior to the next rate review. |
| TCAM | Transmission Cost Adjustment Mechanism is a WPSC-approved tariff based on a formulaic approach that determines the recovery of Wyoming Electric's transmission costs. |
| TCJA | Tax Cuts and Jobs Act enacted on December 22, 2017, which reduced the U.S. federal corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%. As such, we remeasured our deferred income taxes at the 21% federal tax rate as of December 31, 2017. |
| Tech Services | Non-regulated product lines delivered by our Utilities that 1) provide electrical system construction services to large industrial customers of our electric utilities, and 2) serve gas transportation customers throughout its service territory by constructing and maintaining customer-owned gas infrastructure facilities, typically through one-time contracts. |
| TEPR | Transportation Electrification Program Rider is a CPUC-approved mechanism associated with Colorado Electric's EV program. |
| TFA | Transmission Facility Adjustment is an annual adjustment mechanism that allows South Dakota Electric to recover charges for qualifying new and modified transmission facilities from customers. |
| Transmission Tie | South Dakota Electric owns 35% of a AC-DC-AC transmission tie that interconnects the Western and Eastern transmission grids, which are independently-operated transmission grids serving the western and eastern United States, respectively. Basin Electric Power Cooperative owns the remaining ownership percentage. This transmission tie allows us to buy and sell energy in the Eastern grid without having to isolate and physically reconnect load or generation between the two transmission grids, thus enhancing the reliability of our system. It accommodates scheduling transactions in both directions simultaneously, provides additional opportunities to sell excess generation or to make economic purchases to serve our native load and contract obligations, and enables us to take advantage of power price differentials between the two grids. The total transfer capacity of the tie is 400 MW, including 200 MW from West to East and 200 MW from East to West. |
|---|---|
| TSA | United States Department of Homeland Security's Transportation Security Administration |
| Utilities | Black Hills’ Electric and Gas Utilities |
| VEBA | Voluntary Employee Benefit Association |
| VIE | Variable Interest Entity |
| Wildfire Mitigation Plan (WMP) | Our three-layered approach to manage wildfire risks driven by asset-based risk assessments that include asset programs, integrity programs and operational response. |
| Wind Capacity Factor | Measures the amount of electricity a wind turbine produces in a given time period relative to its maximum potential |
| Winter Storm Uri | February 2021 winter weather event that caused extreme cold temperatures in the central United States and led to unprecedented fluctuations in customer demand and market pricing for natural gas and energy. |
| Working Capacity | Total gas storage capacity minus cushion gas |
| WPSC | Wyoming Public Service Commission |
| WRDC | Wyodak Resources Development Corp., a coal mine which is a direct, wholly-owned subsidiary of Black Hills Non-regulated Holdings, providing coal supply primarily to five on-site, mine-mouth generating facilities at our Gillette Energy Complex (doing business as Black Hills Energy). |
| Wygen I | A mine-mouth, coal-fired generating facility with a total capacity of 90 MW located at our Gillette Energy Complex. Black Hills Wyoming owns 76.5% of the facility and Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska (MEAN) owns the remaining 23.5%. |
| Wygen II | A mine-mouth, coal-fired power plant owned by Wyoming Electric with a total capacity of 95 MW located at our Gillette Energy Complex. |
| Wygen III | A mine-mouth, coal-fired power plant operated by South Dakota Electric with a total capacity of 116 MW located at our Gillette Energy Complex. South Dakota Electric owns 52% of the power plant, MDU owns 25%, and the City of Gillette owns the remaining 23%. |
| Wyodak Plant | The 402.3 MW mine-mouth, coal-fired generating facility located at our Gillette Energy Complex, jointly owned by PacifiCorp (80%) and South Dakota Electric (20%). WRDC supplies all of the fuel for the facility. |
| Wyoming Electric | Cheyenne Light, Fuel and Power Company, a direct, wholly-owned subsidiary of Black Hills Corporation, providing electric service to customers in the Cheyenne, Wyoming area (doing business as Black Hills Energy). |
| Wyoming Gas | Black Hills Wyoming Gas, LLC, an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of Black Hills Utility Holdings, providing natural gas services to customers in Wyoming (doing business as Black Hills Energy). |
| Wyoming Integrity Rider | The Wyoming Integrity Rider (WIR) is a WPSC-approved tariff that allows Wyoming Gas to recover costs from customers associated with ongoing infrastructure replacement, gas meter and yard line replacement projects driven by federal regulation. |
The text of this filing, as the company filed it with the SEC, without its images or exhibits. This is not investment advice.