Choice Gas

Welcome to the 2025 Choice Gas Guide

Every year, Black Hills Energy sends its customers a Choice Gas Supplier Selection Form in the mail. This form allows customers the opportunity to choose their wholesale natural gas provider. Black Hills Energy will then make energy purchases on your behalf, that you choose. If you pick a good rate, you can save a tremendous amount of money on your Natural Gas bill.

This site is designed to help you understand the Choice Gas program, and allow you to visualize how different rate offers will affect your natural gas bill.

Use the Notes tool to keep important information about the Choice Gas program handy. Information entered here will be saved between visits and it never leaves your device.

Open The Price Explorer

Definitions

Control Number: Your Control Number is used to authorize a Vendor/Supplier and a Offer/Rate. If you give your Control Number to a Supplier over the phone, they will be able to make selections on your behalf. Keep your Control Number private, and do not share it until you are ready to make a rate selection. Think of the Control Number as a password.
Confirmation Code: A Confirmation Code is a unique identifier for a rate. If a Supplier offers a Confirmation Code, you can use that code to lock in a rate. Suppliers will often avoid giving you a Confirmation Code.
Commodity Charge: The Commodity Charge is the cost of the natural gas you use. This is the part of your bill subject to the Choice Gas program. The Commodity Charge is only one part of your overall bill. Additional usage-base charges, taxes, and fees will also appear on your bill.
Therm: A therm is a unit of heat energy. One therm is equal to about 100,000 British Thermal Units (BTU). Natural Gas is measured and billed in therms. 1 MMBTU ~= 10 therms. To convert $/MMBTU price to $/therm, divide by 10.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an Offer?

An offer is a rate that a supplier is willing to sell you gas at. The offer includes a commodity charge rate and a term (1 or 2 years). The commodity charge is but one part of your overall bill. On your bill these are broken up into four categories:

Delivery and distribution: These costs are a per-therm charge. The more you use, the more you pay.
Energy Supply: These costs are the subject of Choice Gas negotiation. You can see an Index rate, Fixed/Therm, Fixed/Month, or a combination of these.
Other Costs: There are some administration fees here. If you have balanced billing, adjustments will appear in this section.
Taxes and Fees: State/County taxes appear here. Some per-therm charges may also appear in this section.

The Price Explorer will use provided data to simulate your natural gas bill for every offer and show you how your energy bill would be affected. Other charges, like taxes and connection fees are also simulated, and can be configured in the Data Editor.

What are the different rates and how are they different?

GCA/Gas Cost Adjustment Regulated Rate (formerly known as the Pass-On Rate): This rate is a fixed price per therm, but it can change every month. The rate is regulated by the Wyoming Public Service Commission, and is usually quite competitive. In some ways, it is an index rate, but in other ways it can be considered a fixed/therm rate, which is why it is in a category of its own.
Market/Index/CIG-adder: These rates track the current regional market price, known as CIG. If the current natural gas prices are low and stable, these rates can be a good choice.
Blended Rate: These rates are a combination of the Fixed/Therm and Fixed/Month rates. Commonly, a supplier will offer more-volatile rates (like Market/Index) when consumption is low, and more-stable rates (like Fixed/Therm) when consumption is high.
Fixed per Therm: These rates are a fixed price per therm. If you use 100 therms at 50 cents/therm, the commodity charge will be $50. If you use 200 therms at 50 cents/therm, the commodity charge will be $100. The rate will not change for the duration of your Offer term.
Fixed per Month (commonly called Winter rates or Budget assist rates): These rates are a fixed price per month. If you are offered a Fixed/Month rate of $50, you will pay a $50 commodity charge every month, regardless of how much gas you use. However, be mindful of other per-therm charges (Volumetric Charge and Taxes) on your bill. Just because your commodity charge is fixed, it doesn't mean your entire bill will be. Generally, fixed/month offers are more costly.

Type	Rate Can Change?	Regulated	Volatility	Best When…
GCA/Gas Cost Adjustment	Yes, every month	Yes	Low-Medium	You can tolerate a few swings in the market rate, but want the security of a regulatory agency managing prices.
Market/Index/CIG-adder	Yes, every month	No	High	You can tolerate swings in the market rate, and want to take advantage of low prices.
Blended Rate	Yes, depending on how the rate is blended	No	Medium	You want to take advantage of low prices when you use less gas, and want to avoid potentially-high variable prices when you use more gas.
Fixed per Therm	No	No	—	You want to know that your usage is the only variable affecting your bill total.
Fixed per Month	No	No	—	You want to be able to use as much gas as you want without causing your bill to spike. Note: Fixed/Month rates are generally substantially higher on average than other rates, and only represent one charge on your bill. Other per-therm charges and taxes will still fluctuate based on usage.

How do I get my bill to be the same every month?

Enroll in Budget Billing from Black Hills Energy. Budget Billing uses your average bill over the last 12 months to determine your monthly payment. Budget Billing makes more-volatile commodity charge plans (Fixed/Therm, Index) easier to budget for.