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Black Hills tells investors of 3 GW data‑center pipeline and roughly $200M refundable customer contributions; PSC questioning probes implications for Montana
Summary
At the May 14 PSC hearing, joint‑applicant witness Marnie Jones confirmed Black Hills investor disclosures showing a roughly 3 GW data‑center pipeline, about 600 MW in the five‑year plan, a 1.8 GW generation reservation agreement and approximately $200M in refundable CIAC payments; commissioners and intervenors pressed how those developments relate to Montana customers and merger review.
HELENA, Mont. — Black Hills Corporation told investors it is pursuing a multigigawatt data‑center pipeline and has taken concrete steps to secure generation and transmission capacity, testimony in a public PSC hearing showed May 14.
Marnie Jones, Black Hills' senior vice president and the company's incoming chief operating officer in the merged firm, confirmed on the record that investor materials describe a current data‑center pipeline of about 3 gigawatts and that the company's five‑year financial plan includes roughly 600 megawatts of data‑center load by 2030.
Jones acknowledged a generation reservation agreement entered by the company's Wyoming Electric subsidiary tied to an expected 1.8‑gigawatt customer and said the company has received approximately $200 million in refundable customer contributions in aid of construction (CIAC) to secure long‑lead generation equipment while definitive contracts are negotiated. She said the agreement is structured to protect customers and that additional investment would be required if load exceeds current plans.
Counsel for 350 Montana and Montana Farmers Union introduced the SEC filings and investor slide decks into cross‑examination to highlight the scale and pace of the pipeline and to press whether Montana customers could be disadvantaged if resource allocation becomes enterprise‑wide. Joint applicants and other counsel repeatedly objected that the substance of data‑center service and tariff design is being litigated in separate PSC dockets and is not by itself dispositive of the merger decision; the commission sustained several relevance objections while permitting offers of proof to preserve appellate record.
Jones also testified about Black Hills' Ready Wyoming transmission project, describing it as placed in service at the end of 2025 at roughly $350 million; she said those costs are allocated to Wyoming retail customers in that service area. Jones told commissioners the merger would place Northwestern Energy as a direct subsidiary of the renamed parent company (referred to in testimony as Bright Horizon Energy) and said the strategic combination, in Black Hills' view, creates opportunities to invest in generation and transmission where needed.
The transcript shows the commission then moved to a confidential session for protected financial materials under its protective order; the public and press were excluded and the hearing paused to switch to a confidential Zoom meeting for parties with nondisclosure agreements signed. The commission will continue its evidentiary work with additional witnesses and confidential testimony as scheduled.
