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U.S. EPA Awards Black Hills Energy 2009 ENERGY STAR(R) Leadership in Housing Award

Posted on: Tuesday, 12 May 2009, 15:01 CDT

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa, May 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Black Hills Energy has received a 2009 ENERGY STAR Leadership in Housing Award from the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

This award recognizes the contribution Black Hills Energy has made to energy-efficient construction by verifying and incenting the construction of 201 ENERGY STAR qualified homes last year throughout its Iowa service territory. According to ENERGY STAR, these homes will save Black Hills Energy customers approximately $89,800 on utility bills each year.

"Black Hills Energy is honored to receive this ENERGY STAR award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency," said Linn Evans, president and chief operating officer - utilities. "We are committed to helping customers be more energy efficient so they can increase the comfort of their home and office, and advance the efficient use of energy."

To earn the ENERGY STAR qualification, a home must meet strict guidelines for energy efficiency set by the EPA. These homes are at least 15 percent more efficient than homes built to the 2004 International Residential Code guidelines, and include additional energy-saving features that typically make them 20 percent to 30 percent more efficient than standard homes.

ENERGY STAR qualified homes offer homebuyers all the features they want in a new home, plus energy-saving features like effective insulation systems, high performance windows, tight construction and ducts, efficient products, properly-sized and installed efficient heating and cooling equipment, and third-party verification of energy performance.

"Most homebuyers focus on what's outside the walls," said Sam Rashkin, national director for the Environmental Protection Agency's ENERGY STAR Homes Program, "but they also need to look behind the walls for the energy-efficient features found in ENERGY STAR qualified homes that help ensure comfort, quiet, improved indoor air quality and low utility bills for years to come."

About Black Hills Energy

Black Hills Energy serves 149,500 natural gas customers in 130 Iowa communities. Black Hills Energy is part of Black Hills Corp. (NYSE: BKH) -- a diversified energy company with a tradition of exemplary service and a vision to be the energy partner of choice -- based in Rapid City, S.D. The company has other main offices in Golden, Colo., and Omaha, Neb. Black Hills Corp.'s regulated utilities serve 759,000 electric and natural gas utility customers in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming. The company's non-regulated businesses generate wholesale electricity, produce natural gas, oil and coal, and market energy. Black Hills employees partner to produce results that improve life with energy. More information is available at www.blackhillscorp.com.

About ENERGY STAR

ENERGY STAR was introduced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1992 as a voluntary market-based partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through increased energy efficiency. Today, ENERGY STAR offers businesses and consumers energy-efficient solutions to save energy, money and help protect the environment for future generations. More than 12,000 organizations are ENERGY STAR partners committed to improving the energy efficiency of products, homes, buildings and businesses. For more information about ENERGY STAR, visit www.energystar.gov or call toll-free 1-888-STAR-YES (1-888-782-7937).

SOURCE Black Hills Energy

Source: PR Newswire

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