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1. A regional Duke Energy, supplying electricity and natural gas across several states.

2. Like a smaller, multi-state Southern Company, managing power plants, the electric grid, and natural gas distribution.

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• Electricity Utility Services: Generates, transmits, and distributes electricity to residential, commercial, and industrial customers.
• Natural Gas Utility Services: Distributes natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers.
• Gas Infrastructure Services: Constructs and maintains gas infrastructure facilities for gas transportation customers.
• Appliance Repair Services: Provides repair services for appliances to residential utility customers.
• Electrical System Construction Services: Offers construction services for electrical systems to large industrial customers.

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Black Hills Corporation (BKH) primarily sells its services directly to a broad base of individual and business customers as an electric and natural gas utility company. Its major customers fall into the following categories:

• Residential Customers: This category includes individual households that utilize electricity and natural gas for heating, cooling, lighting, cooking, and other domestic needs. The company explicitly mentions providing appliance repair services to "residential utility customers."
• Commercial Customers: This category encompasses various businesses, such as retail stores, offices, restaurants, and other small to medium-sized enterprises that require electricity and natural gas for their operations.
• Industrial Customers: This category includes large manufacturing plants, production facilities, and other industrial operations that consume significant amounts of electricity and natural gas. The company also provides "electrical system construction services to large industrial customers."

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Linden R. Evans
President & CEO

Linden R. Evans was appointed President and CEO of Black Hills Corporation in January 2019. He previously served as President and Chief Operating Officer from January 2016 to January 2019, and as President and Chief Operating Officer of the company's utilities from 2004 to 2015. Earlier in his career, he was Vice President and General Manager of the company's former telecommunication subsidiary from 2003 to 2004, and Associate Counsel from 2001 to 2003.

Kimberly F. Nooney
Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer

Kimberly F. Nooney has served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Black Hills Corporation since April 1, 2023. Prior to this role, she was Vice President – Treasurer from 2015 to 2023 and Corporate Controller from 2018 to 2022. She possesses over 28 years of experience with Black Hills across various capacities, including internal audit, corporate development, accounting systems, treasury, and financial planning and analysis.

Marne Jones
Senior Vice President Utilities

Marne Jones has held the position of Senior Vice President Utilities since June 15, 2023. She joined Black Hills Corporation in 2001 and has progressed through roles of increasing responsibility in finance, accounting, corporate services, regulatory, and utility operations. Her previous roles include VP Electric Utilities from 2021 to 2023, Vice President Regulatory and Finance from 2018 to 2021, and Vice President Regulatory from 2016 to 2018. Ms. Jones is responsible for electric and natural gas utility operations, transmission and resource planning, customer service, and safety. She brings 21 years of utility experience and prior banking experience to her current role.

Erik D. Keller
Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer

Erik D. Keller serves as the Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer. He has over 25 years of experience in IT leadership, having previously served as Vice President of Information Technology at Otter Tail Corporation and leading teams at Crary Industries, Microsoft, and the City of Moorhead.

Darren Nakata
Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer, Corporate Secretary and Chief Compliance Officer

Darren Nakata has been the Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer, Corporate Secretary, and Chief Compliance Officer since October 2025.

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Here are the key risks to Black Hills Corporation (BKH):

1. Regulatory and Political Uncertainty: As a regulated utility company, Black Hills Corporation's operations and financial performance are highly dependent on regulatory approvals for rate adjustments, environmental compliance, and infrastructure projects. Delays or unfavorable rulings from state commissions can impact the company's ability to recover costs in a timely manner, leading to "regulatory lag" and affecting the predictability of cash flows. The evolving regulatory landscape, including policy shifts related to environmental targets and stricter standards, can also increase operating expenses and necessitate significant capital outlays for compliance.
2. Capital Intensive Operations and Financing Costs: The utility sector is inherently capital-intensive, requiring substantial ongoing investments for maintaining, modernizing, and expanding infrastructure, including grid modernization and integrating renewable energy sources. Black Hills Corporation has significant capital expenditure programs. These large-scale investments expose the company to financial risks, particularly from fluctuations in interest rates, which can increase borrowing costs and put pressure on the company's balance sheet and profitability. The need for external financing to fund these projects can also lead to shareholder dilution.
3. Market Volatility and Energy Prices: Black Hills Corporation is exposed to volatility in energy markets, particularly regarding natural gas and electricity prices. Fluctuations in these commodity prices can significantly impact the company's cost structure for power generation and natural gas distribution, affecting overall profitability. While the company may use hedging strategies to mitigate some of these risks, persistent or sharp price changes can still pose a financial challenge.

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• The increasing proliferation of distributed generation technologies, such as rooftop solar and battery storage, which allows customers to generate and store their own electricity, potentially reducing demand for Black Hills' centralized electric utility services and impacting revenue.
• The growing trend towards the electrification of heating, cooking, and transportation, driven by environmental concerns and policy, which could lead to a long-term decline in demand for natural gas, thereby impacting the revenue and asset utilization of Black Hills' Gas Utilities segment.

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1. Strategic Capital Investment and Infrastructure Modernization: Black Hills Corporation plans a significant capital investment of $4.7 billion between 2026 and 2030, with a focus on enhancing customer reliability and service safety. This includes expanding electric transmission and generation capabilities, such as the 260-mile "Ready Wyoming" transmission project completed in December 2025, and constructing new natural gas infrastructure. These investments are expected to lead to rate base growth, enabling the company to recover costs and increase revenues through future rate adjustments.

2. Growing Data Center Demand: The company is strategically positioned to benefit from the burgeoning demand from large data center customers. Black Hills has tripled its data center pipeline to over 3 gigawatts (GW), with plans to serve 600 megawatts (MW) by 2030 under a minimal capital investment model. Partnerships with major technology companies like Microsoft and Meta are expected to contribute significantly, with data centers projected to drive more than 10% of consolidated earnings per share (EPS) starting in 2028.

3. Favorable Regulatory Outcomes and Rate Recovery: Black Hills actively pursues and achieves new rates and rider recovery through its regulatory efforts, which is a consistent driver of increased revenue and margins. The company successfully completed three rate reviews in 2025, adding over $52 million in new annual revenue, and continues to prioritize regulatory progress to recover investments in its utility systems.

4. Organic Customer Growth and Economic Development: Ongoing customer growth within Black Hills' service territories and solid economic development contribute to increased energy demand. The Electric Utilities segment serves approximately 218,000 customers, while the Gas Utilities segment serves about 1,094,000 customers across multiple states, ensuring a steady foundation for revenue expansion.

5. Proposed Merger with NorthWestern Energy: The planned all-stock, tax-free merger with NorthWestern Energy Group Inc. is anticipated to create a larger, more competitive utility company, enhancing financial strength and offering new opportunities. The combined entity is expected to serve around 2.1 million customers across eight states, providing advantages of increased scale and projected long-term EPS growth of 5% to 7%. The merger is expected to close in the second half of 2026.

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Share Issuance

• In 2025, Black Hills completed its equity issuance program, raising $219.6 million in net proceeds through the issuance of 3.7 million shares via an at-the-market (ATM) offering.
• The company's equity issuances in 2025 were between $215 million and $235 million, following $182 million in equity issuances completed in 2024.
• Black Hills anticipates a significantly lower equity need of $50 million to $70 million for 2026, a reduction from $220 million in 2025.

Outbound Investments

• Black Hills Corporation entered into an all-stock Merger Agreement with NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. on August 18, 2025, in a transaction valued at approximately $4.4 billion.
• Upon the merger's completion, NorthWestern will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Black Hills, and the combined entity will be renamed Bright Horizon Energy Corporation.
• The all-stock merger is expected to result in Black Hills shareholders owning approximately 56% of the combined company.

Capital Expenditures

• Black Hills forecasts $4.7 billion in capital investments from 2025 to 2029, including $1 billion in 2025.
• The company plans to invest $4.7 billion from 2026 through 2030, prioritizing customer growth, safety, integrity and modernization programs, and new generation and transmission to meet increasing demand, including from data centers.
• Key projects include the completion of the $350 million Ready Wyoming electric transmission expansion project by the end of 2025, and the ongoing construction of the 99 MW Lange II generation project in South Dakota, slated for completion in the second half of 2026.