Black Hills Corp. Natural Gas Utility Files Consolidated Rate Review Proposal in Colorado
DENVER, Colo. - Feb. 1, 2019 - Black Hills Corp. (NYSE: BKH) today announced that its natural gas utility Black Hills Colorado Gas, doing business as Black Hills Energy, filed a rate review proposal with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission to consolidate the rates, tariffs and services of its two legacy gas utilities in Colorado. The rate review also requests $2.5 million in new revenue to recover investments in safety, reliability and system integrity for natural gas service to its 187,000 Colorado customers.
Over the past year, Black Hills has embarked on a simplification process to consolidate the gas utility operations in each of the three states where it owns multiple gas utilities, including Colorado, Nebraska and Wyoming.
In 2018, Black Hills continued its simplification efforts with a request to the CPUC to approve the combination of Black Hills' two Colorado gas utilities into a new company called Black Hills Colorado Gas. This request was approved in October and the combination completed in December.
This consolidated rate review proposal is the next step in the simplification process for Colorado. The filing proposes to consolidate, to the extent possible, the rates, tariffs, gas cost adjustments, policies and services from the two legacy companies, while also reducing the number of base rate areas and gas cost adjustment regions. The company is also requesting a new rider mechanism to recover the costs related to accelerated safety and integrity investments in its gas distribution systems.
"This consolidated rate review filing is an important step toward simplifying how we operate our natural gas utilities in Colorado," said Linn Evans, president and CEO of Black Hills Corp. "This effort, if approved, will improve customer service and safety and reduce the complexity and number of rate reviews and other regulatory filings."
Black Hills operates and maintains over 6,800 miles of main and transmission pipeline throughout its Colorado distribution systems. In 2018 alone, the Company invested over $44 million on maintenance, replacements and upgrades to ensure the safe and reliable delivery of natural gas to customers' homes and businesses, and to ensure continued compliance with state and federal regulations.
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Black Hills Corporation
Black Hills Corp. (NYSE: BKH) is a customer focused, growth-oriented utility company with a tradition of improving life with energy and a vision to be the energy partner of choice. Based in Rapid City, South Dakota, the company serves 1.25 million natural gas and electric utility customers in eight states: Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming. More information is available at www.blackhillscorp.com.
Investor Relations
Jerome E. Nichols
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Caution Regarding Forward Looking Statement
This news release includes "forward-looking statements" as defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC. We make these forward-looking statements in reliance on the safe harbor protections provided under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this news release that address activities, events or developments that we expect, believe or anticipate will or may occur in the future are forward looking statements. This includes our ability to obtain required approvals for the consolidation of rates, tariffs, and services for our gas utility operations in Colorado and approval of a revenue increase to recover operating expenses and infrastructure investments. These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions which we believe are reasonable based on current expectations and projections about future events and industry conditions and trends affecting our business. However, whether actual results and developments will conform to our expectations and predictions is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that, among other things, could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, the risk factors described in Item 1A of Part I of our 2017 Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC, and other reports that we file with the SEC from time to time.
New factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in forward looking statements emerge from time-to-time, and it is not possible for us to predict all such factors, or the extent to which any such factor or combination of factors may cause actual results to differ from those contained in any forward-looking statement. We assume no obligation to update publicly any such forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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Source: Black Hills Corporation via Globenewswire
