RAPID CITY, S.D.—More jobs are expected in Rapid City as a result of utility purchases by Black Hills Corp.
Company officials said they will discuss a corporate expansion plan Thursday that will result from acquisition of utilities in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska.
In February, Aquila, a Kansas City, Mo.-based company, announced it will sell natural-gas operations in the four states and its Colorado electric utility to Black Hills Corp. for about $940 million in cash.
A Black Hills Corp. official, Barbara Zar, confirmed the company will hire as many as 200 people in Rapid City once the deal is completed.
The acquisition, which could get regulatory approval early next year, will more than double the work force of Black Hills Corp. to about 2,000 employees.
The firm’s utility customers will quadruple—to 750,000 in a dozen states.
Zar said some of Aquila’s workers will be offered jobs in Rapid City and that others will be hired locally.
Black Hills Corp., parent company of Black Hills Power, has sold its communications business, Black Hills FiberCom, and bought Cheyenne Light, Fuel, & Power in Wyoming.
Last year, it tried to acquire NorthWestern Corp., which would have expanded its utility territory through much of Montana and parts of eastern South Dakota.
Black Hills Corp. produces electricity and natural gas and is involved in oil and coal mining. Subsidiary Black Hills Power provides electricity to 63,500 customers in western South Dakota, southeastern Montana and northeastern Wyoming, and its Cheyenne Light, Fuel and Power serves 38,700 electric customers and 32,500 gas customers in Cheyenne, Wyo., and other parts of Laramie County, Wyo.
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Information from: Rapid City Journal,
