PUEBLO, Colo. (KOAA) — Pueblo residents will be seeing changes in the coming year regarding their utility provider.
On Tuesday, Black Hills Energy, the regional utility provider to Pueblo County residents has announced it plans to go ahead and enter into a merger with NorthWestern Energy, which currently operates in South Dakota, Montana, and Nebraska.
Black Hills Energy's footprint is currently across 8 western states: Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming.
The merger, which is expected to take 12 - 15 months to complete, will see the new company, which has not been named as of the time of publishing this article, have a total of 2.1 million customers across 8 states.
We are excited to bring our two highly complementary companies together to create significant long-term value for customers, employees, shareholders, and the communities we serve. Our future success will be driven equally by the people, assets, and capabilities of both organizations. The combined company will have greater scale and financial strength to consistently deliver for customers across our service territories and invest at the pace and scale that today’s energy transformation demands. Our vision is to be the energy partner of choice for our customers, communities, and investors, and this merger will accelerate our ability to achieve this goal.
It remains unclear what impact this will have on Pueblo residents on their wallets. The energy companies say they hope that the new enterprise will increase optimization and efficiency, "over time," bringing rates down for customers, but they did not dive into the specifics.
In the agreement, shareholders of NorthWestern will receive a " fixed exchange ratio of 0.98 shares of Black Hills for each share of NorthWestern they own at the close of the transaction. The exchange ratio implies an approximately 4% premium based on the volume weighted average price of each company’s common stock since Black Hills and NorthWestern began discussing transaction terms in March 2025," their release read.
Following the merger, Black Hills Energy shareholders will own 56% and NorthWestern Energy shareholders will own 44% of the newly created enterprise.
Our merger with Black Hills will create a premier regional regulated utility company with a larger, more resilient platform consistent with mid-cap peers. Together, we will be better positioned to meet rising demand, accelerate investment in energy and grid infrastructure, and support customers and communities through a rapidly evolving energy landscape. NorthWestern and Black Hills are best-in-class operators, and we are confident that our closely aligned cultures and skilled workforces will enable us to successfully bring the companies together. We will remain a trusted energy partner to our customers and look forward to building a brighter future for the people, businesses, and communities we are privileged to serve.
News5 will continue to follow this story as it makes its way through the regulatory process.
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