Does Black Hills offer one for one net metering?

We have not been able to verify a published one for one credit from Black Hills. As a investor owned provider it is not bound by whatever state rule covers the investor owned utilities, so it sets its own terms. Ask Black Hills for the current export rate in writing before you sign anything.

What does Black Hills pay for power sent back to the grid?

Black Hills has not published a figure we can verify, so we do not print one. Your installer must confirm the current rate against Black Hills’s own tariff before you commit.

Do I need a battery with Black Hills?

Yes, and we treat it as mandatory. Because Black Hills does not credit exports one for one, the return has to come from using your own production rather than selling it, which after dark means storage and usually a larger array than a one for one utility would need. The other half is backup: panels alone shut off in an outage, so a battery is what keeps the house running in a storm. We do not refer panels-only systems in Black Hills territory. This is our referral policy, not a legal or utility requirement.

How do I find my Black Hills bill?

Sign in at blackhillsenergy.com. Open My Account, then Billing. Open the latest bill and save the PDF. Or screenshot the summary page. If you cannot get to it, a rough guess at your average monthly amount is enough to start.

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Black Hills Energy

Western South Dakota, including Rapid City, Spearfish and Sturgis. Also serves Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska and Iowa, under quite different rules in each.

Type: Investor owned
Accounts: 75K

What they credit you

We confirm it for you

Not yet published here

Black Hills is a investor owned provider, so its terms are set by its own board rather than by any state rule. We have not yet read Black Hills’s own tariff, and we will not print a number we have not verified. Your installer confirms the current terms in writing before you sign. If they will not, walk away.

Black Hills requirementRequired

Battery backup is mandatory
in Black Hills territory.

Black Hills has not published a one for one credit that we have been able to verify. Until it does, we assume exporting power to Black Hills is worth well below what you pay to buy it back.

That does not make solar a bad idea in Black Hills territory. It changes what you should build. When exports are worth a fraction of retail the credit stops being the return, and the job becomes using more of your own production inside the house, which usually means a larger array than a one for one utility would need.

Sizing is where that gets decided, so ask about it directly. South Dakota sets no net metering rule at all, so the terms in your interconnection agreement are the only terms. Read that document rather than any summary of state policy, because there is no state policy behind it. Black Hills sets its own limits. Ask Black Hills what it allows before you accept that a bigger system is off the table.

A battery then does two separate jobs. It moves daytime production into the evening so you use it instead of selling it, and it keeps the house running when the grid goes down. That second job is not a bonus. Panels on their own shut off in an outage, by design, so a roof full of them powers nothing during a storm. That is the part we will not refer around.

So we treat it as a requirement, not an upgrade. We will not refer you for a panels-only system in Black Hills territory, and you should be skeptical of anyone who quotes you one without raising storage first.

Our referral policy, not a legal or utility requirement

What your installer should be telling you

Get the export rate and its duration in writing before you sign. There is no state rule to fall back on if the terms change.

Applying to Black Hills

What Black Hills itself requires, as distinct from what the state rule requires. Read from its own published guidelines on the date shown.

There is no statewide policy, and that was deliberate: The Legislature has considered mandatory net metering a number of times and concluded it is not in the public interest. This is not a gap waiting to be filled.
Your interconnection agreement is the whole rule: Whatever your utility offers is voluntary. Read the agreement itself, in full, because nothing in state law sits above it.
Ask for the export rate as a number and as a commitment: Two separate questions: what will you be paid, and for how long is that guaranteed. In a state with no rule, the second question is the one that matters.
Self consumption is the reliable part: A kilowatt hour your house uses as it is produced is worth the retail rate no matter what any agreement says about exports. In South Dakota that is the only part of the return nobody can change.

From Black Hills’s published guidelines · checked 2026-09-05 · source

Black Hills net metering questions

Does Black Hills offer one for one net metering?: We have not been able to verify a published one for one credit from Black Hills. As a investor owned provider it is not bound by whatever state rule covers the investor owned utilities, so it sets its own terms. Ask Black Hills for the current export rate in writing before you sign anything.
What does Black Hills pay for power sent back to the grid?: Black Hills has not published a figure we can verify, so we do not print one. Your installer must confirm the current rate against Black Hills’s own tariff before you commit.
Do I need a battery with Black Hills?: Yes, and we treat it as mandatory. Because Black Hills does not credit exports one for one, the return has to come from using your own production rather than selling it, which after dark means storage and usually a larger array than a one for one utility would need. The other half is backup: panels alone shut off in an outage, so a battery is what keeps the house running in a storm. We do not refer panels-only systems in Black Hills territory. This is our referral policy, not a legal or utility requirement.
How do I find my Black Hills bill?: Sign in at blackhillsenergy.com. Open My Account, then Billing. Open the latest bill and save the PDF. Or screenshot the summary page. If you cannot get to it, a rough guess at your average monthly amount is enough to start.
What is the catch with Black Hills?: Get the export rate and its duration in writing before you sign. There is no state rule to fall back on if the terms change.

Installers serving Black Hills customers

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