UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

SCHEDULE 14A

Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of

the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Amendment No.)

Filed by the Registrant ☒

Filed by a Party other than the Registrant ☐

Check the appropriate box:

☐ Preliminary Proxy Statement

☐ Confidential, for Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by Rule 14a-6(e)(2))

☒ Definitive Proxy Statement

☐ Definitive Additional Materials

☐ Soliciting Materials under §240.14a-12

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BLACK HILLS CORPORATION

Notice of 2023

Annual Meeting of Shareholders

and Proxy Statement

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BLACK HILLS CORPORATION

NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS

We are pleased to invite you to attend the annual meeting of shareholders of Black Hills Corporation.

In the event it is not possible to attend our annual meeting in person, we encourage you to listen to the meeting by calling in: 605-782-9484, Conference ID: 744 233 731#. The presentation for this meeting can be located at www.blackhillscorp.com by clicking on "Events and Presentations" in the "Investor Relations" section. The presentation will be posted on the website before the call. Please note, if you attend by calling in, you will not be able to vote your shares or submit questions. Accordingly, it is important that you vote your shares as instructed below.

Proposals:

Record Date:

The Board set March 6, 2023 as the record date for the meeting. This means that our shareholders as of the close of business on that date are entitled to receive this notice of the meeting and vote at the meeting and any adjournments or postponements of the meeting.

How to Vote:

Your vote is very important. You may vote your shares by telephone, by the Internet or by returning the enclosed proxy. If you own shares of common stock other than the shares shown on the enclosed proxy, you will receive a proxy in a separate envelope for each such holding. Please vote each proxy received. To make sure that your vote is counted if voting by mail, you should allow enough time for the postal service to deliver your proxy before the meeting.

PROXY SUMMARY

BLACK HILLS CORPORATION OVERVIEW

We are a customer-focused energy solution provider that invests in our communities’ safety, sustainability and growth with a mission of Improving Life with Energy and a vision to be the Energy Partner of Choice. The Company’s core mission – and our primary focus – is to provide safe, reliable and cost-effective electric and natural gas service to 1.3 million utility customers in over 800 communities in eight states, including Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming.

Items of Business to be Considered at the Annual Meeting

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Director Nominees

Our Board of Directors ("Board") is committed to oversight that promotes the long-term interests of our shareholders and other stakeholders. We believe this is best achieved with directors who bring a diverse and relevant set of skills, expertise, experiences and perspectives. Our Board is nominating three individuals for election at this annual meeting. The following table provides summary information about the nominees:

Proxy Summary ‖ 1

Director Skills and Demographics

OUR COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABILITY

Our mission of Improving Life with Energy means we must be ready to make tomorrow even better than today. That is why we are committed to creating a cleaner energy future which builds upon our responsibility to provide the safe, reliable and cost-effective energy that improves our customers’ lives. By investing in the success of our employees, continually innovating, thoughtfully utilizing resources and keeping people at the core of our decision-making, we are dedicated to the sustainability of our Company, communities and planet.

Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Strategy and Oversight

We are excited to announce significant advancements in our decarbonization journey. We are building upon our success of delivering cost-effective energy for customers and strong returns for investors by seeking renewable energy growth opportunities, minimizing risk and responding to stakeholders’ evolving expectations. ESG and sustainability are inherently connected throughout our business and our ESG management is structured accordingly. Our Board oversees ESG, with management leadership from our CEO and executive steering committee, our dedicated department and our cross functional sustainability working group.

Proxy Summary ‖ 2

Responsibly Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions

In November 2020, we announced clean energy goals to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensity for our Electric Utilities of 40% by 2030 and 70% by 2040 and achieve GHG reductions of 50% by 2035 for our Gas Utilities. In August 2022, we announced a new "Net Zero by 2035" target for our Gas Utilities, which doubles the previous target of a 50% reduction by 2035. Net Zero will be achieved through pipeline material and main replacements, advanced leak detection, third-party damage reduction, expanding the use of renewable natural gas (RNG) and hydrogen, and utilizing carbon credit offsets.

We are proud of our sustainability efforts and continue to pursue initiatives to enable the transition to a cleaner energy future, including:

We will continue executing our strategy of investing in cost-effective renewables and new technologies to further reduce our environmental impact across all states in which we operate, while continuing to deliver safe, reliable and cost effective energy to customers.

For additional information on our commitment to sustainability, you can review the following 2021 ESG reports on our website at www.blackhillsenergy.com/our-company/commitment-sustainability/sustainability-and-esg-reports:

Proxy Summary ‖ 3

EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

We have an Executive Compensation Philosophy that establishes the framework our Compensation Committee applies in structuring compensation for our executive officers ("Named Executive Officers" or "NEOs"). The components of our executive pay program consist of a base salary, a short-term incentive plan, and long-term incentives. Our executive pay program aligns the interest of our Named Executive Officers with our stakeholders by tying incentive pay to achievement of performance metrics.

*Percentages may differ from above due to rounding.

The performance measures for our incentive compensation plans are discussed in greater detail on page 28 of the Proxy Statement. We also require our executive officers to hold a significant amount of our common stock (between 3 and 6 times the base salary) to further align their performance with the interest of our stakeholders.

Our compensation practices and policies demonstrate the alignment between executive compensation and the interests of our stakeholders. Our shareholders share our confidence in our compensation philosophy as reflected by the support of shareholders owning 95 percent of the shares who voted to approve our 2021 executive compensation at last year's annual meeting.

The following table summarizes our 2022 performance metrics and results for incentive plans that ended in 2022.

Proxy Summary ‖ 4

Proxy Summary ‖ 5

BLACK HILLS CORPORATION

7001 Mount Rushmore Road

Rapid City, South Dakota 57702

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT THE ANNUAL MEETING PROCESS

Who is soliciting my proxy?

The Board of Directors of Black Hills Corporation is soliciting your proxy.

Where and when is the annual meeting?

The annual meeting is at 9:30 a.m., local time, April 25, 2023 at Horizon Point, the Company’s corporate headquarters, 7001 Mount Rushmore Road, Rapid City, South Dakota.

Who can vote?

Holders of our common stock as of the close of business on the record date, March 6, 2023, can vote at our annual meeting. Each share of our common stock has one vote for Proposals 2, 3, and 4. Related to Proposal 1, Election of Directors, cumulative voting is permitted in the election of directors in the same class.

How do I vote?

There are three ways to vote by proxy:

You may be able to vote by telephone or over the Internet if your shares are held in the name of a bank or broker. If this is the case, you will need to follow their instructions.

What constitutes a quorum?

Shareholders representing at least 50 percent of our common stock issued and outstanding as of the record date must be present at the annual meeting, either in person or by proxy, for there to be a quorum. Abstentions and broker non-votes are counted as present for establishing a quorum. A broker non-vote occurs when a broker or other nominee holding shares for a beneficial owner does not vote on a particular proposal because the broker or nominee does not have discretionary voting power and has not received instructions from the beneficial owner.

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What am I voting on and what is the required vote for the proposals to be adopted?

The required vote and method of counting votes for the various business matters to be considered at the annual meeting are described in the table below. If you sign and return your proxy card without indicating your vote, your shares will be voted in accordance with the Board recommendations as set forth below.

Is cumulative voting permitted for the election of directors?

In the election of directors, you may cumulate your vote. Cumulative voting allows you to allocate among the director nominees in the same class, as you see fit, the total number of votes equal to the number of director positions to be filled multiplied by the number of shares you hold. For example, if you own 100 shares of stock, and there are three directors to be elected in a class at the annual meeting, you could allocate 300 “For” votes (three times 100) among as few or as many of the three nominees to be voted on at the annual meeting as you choose.

If you choose to cumulate your votes, you will need to submit a proxy card or a ballot and make an explicit statement of your intent to cumulate your votes, either by indicating in writing on the proxy card or by indicating in writing on your ballot when voting at the annual meeting. If you hold shares beneficially in street name and wish to cumulate votes, you should contact your broker, trustee or nominee.

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How will my shares be voted if they are held in a broker’s name?

If you hold your shares through an account with a bank or broker, the bank or broker may vote your shares on some matters even if you do not provide voting instructions. Brokerage firms have the authority under the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") rules to vote shares on certain matters (such as the ratification of auditors) when their customers do not provide voting instructions. However, on most other matters when the brokerage firm has not received voting instructions from its customers, the brokerage firm cannot vote the shares on that matter and a “broker non-vote” occurs. This means that brokers may not vote your shares on the election of directors, the “say on pay” advisory vote and the "say on frequency" advisory vote if you have not given your broker specific instructions as to how to vote. Please be sure to give specific voting instructions to your broker so that your vote can be counted.

What should I do now?

You should vote your shares by telephone, over the Internet or by returning your signed and dated proxy card in the enclosed envelope as soon as possible so that your shares will be represented at the annual meeting.

Who will count the vote?

Representatives of our transfer agent, Equiniti Trust Company, will count the votes and serve as judges of the election.

Who conducts the proxy solicitation and how much will it cost?

We are asking for your proxy for the annual meeting and will pay all the costs of asking for shareholder proxies. We have hired Georgeson LLC to help us send out the proxy materials and ask for proxies. Georgeson LLC’s fee for these services is anticipated to be $12,250 plus out-of-pocket expenses. We can ask for proxies through the mail, by telephone or in person. We can use our directors, officers and employees to ask for proxies. These people do not receive additional compensation for these services. We will reimburse brokers and other custodians, nominees and fiduciaries for their reasonable out-of-pocket expenses for forwarding solicitation material to the beneficial owners of our common stock.

Can I revoke my proxy?

Yes. You can change your vote in one of four ways at any time before your proxy is used. First, you can enter a new vote by telephone or Internet. Second, you can revoke your proxy by written notice. Third, you can send a later dated proxy changing your vote. Fourth, you can attend the meeting and vote in person.

Who should I call with questions?

If you have questions about the annual meeting, you should call Amy K. Koenig, Vice President - Governance, Corporate Secretary and Deputy General Counsel, at (605) 721-1700.

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Our Board is nominating three individuals for election as directors at this annual meeting. All of the nominees are currently serving as our directors. In accordance with our Bylaws and Article VI of our Articles of Incorporation, members of our Board are elected to three classes of staggered terms consisting of three years each, and until their successors are duly elected and qualified. At this annual meeting, three directors will be elected to Class II for a term of three years until our annual meeting in 2026.

Nominees for director at the annual meeting are Scott M. Prochazka, Rebecca B. Roberts, and Teresa A. Taylor. Our Bylaws require a minimum of nine directors. Currently, the Board has set the size of the Board at 10 directors.

Pursuant to our Bylaws, directors must resign from the Board at the annual meeting after attaining 72 years of age. Accordingly, Ms. Roberts, who will turn 72 prior to our 2025 annual meeting, is required to resign effective at our 2025 annual meeting and therefore will serve only two years of her term.

If, at the time of the annual meeting, any nominees are unable to stand for election, the Board may designate a substitute or reduce the number of directors to no less than nine. In that case, shares represented by proxies may be voted for a substitute director nominated by the Board. We do not expect that any nominee will be unavailable or unable to serve.

The Board and the Governance Committee believe that the combination of the various qualifications, skills and experiences of the directors contribute to an effective and well-functioning Board, and that, individually and as a whole, the directors possess the necessary qualifications to provide effective oversight of the business and quality advice to the Company’s management. Included in each director’s biography below is an assessment of the specific qualifications, attributes, skills and experience that have led to the conclusion that each individual should serve as a director in light of our current business and structure.

The Board recommends a vote FOR the election of the following nominees:

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DIRECTOR SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

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CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Corporate Governance Guidelines

Our Board has adopted “Corporate Governance Guidelines of the Board,” which guide the operation of our Board and assist the Board in fulfilling its obligations to shareholders and other constituencies. The guidelines lay the foundation for the Board’s responsibilities, operations, leadership, organization and committee matters. The Governance Committee reviews the guidelines annually, and the guidelines may be amended at any time, upon recommendation by the Governance Committee and approval of the Board. These guidelines can be found in the “Governance” section of our website (www.blackhillscorp.com/investor-relations/corporate-governance).

Board Leadership Structure

On May 1, 2020, Steven R. Mills, an independent director, was appointed Chairman of the Board. As Chairman, Mr. Mills leads our Board in the performance of its duties by working with the CEO to establish meeting agendas, facilitating board meetings and executive sessions, and collaborating with the Board to annually evaluate the performance of the CEO.

As provided in our Corporate Governance Guidelines, the Board does not have a policy on whether or not the roles of Chairman and CEO should be separate or combined. The Governance Committee annually reviews the appropriate leadership structure for the Company and recommends a Chairman for Board approval. While our Bylaws and Corporate Governance Guidelines do not require that our Chairman and CEO positions be held by separate individuals, the Board believes that having separate positions and having an independent director serve as Chairman is the appropriate leadership structure for the Company at this time because it allows our CEO to focus on business operations and our Chairman to focus on Board governance.

Risk Oversight

Our Board oversees an enterprise risk management ("ERM") approach to risk management that supports our operational and strategic objectives. It fulfills its oversight responsibilities through receipt of quarterly reports from management regarding material risks involving strategic planning and execution, operations, physical and cybersecurity, environmental, social and governance ("ESG"), financial, legal, safety, regulatory, and human resources risks. While our full Board retains responsibility for risk oversight, it delegates oversight of certain risk considerations to its committees within each of their respective areas of responsibility as defined in the charter for each committee.

Our management is responsible for day-to-day risk management and operates under our ERM program that addresses enterprise risks. The ERM program includes practices to identify risks, assess the impact and likelihood of occurrence, and develop action plans to prevent the occurrence or mitigate the impact of the risk. The ERM program includes regular reporting to our senior management team, quarterly reporting to our Board, and monitoring and testing by the Risk Management, Compliance and Internal Audit groups.

Sustainability Oversight

We are committed to creating a cleaner energy future that builds upon our responsibility to provide the safe, reliable and economic energy that improves our customers' lives. The Board oversees management's execution of our sustainability objectives and receives quarterly updates from management regarding sustainability matters. Under the oversight of the Board, we published our 2021 Corporate Sustainability Report in the third quarter of 2022. In addition to announcing significant advancements in our decarbonization journey, the Report announced a goal for our natural gas distribution system to achieve net zero emissions by 2035 and shared our progress towards our goal to reduce electric utility emission intensity 40 percent by 2030 and 70 percent by 2040. Also in the third quarter of 2022, we issued updated Edison Electric Institute and American Gas Association ESG disclosures, Natural Gas Sustainability Initiative (NGSI) disclosures, Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) disclosures, and new disclosures under the Task Force on Climate Related Financial Disclosure Index.

Cyber and Physical Security Oversight

Our Board retains oversight of cyber and physical security. Our Chief Information Officer provides the Board quarterly reports that summarize material security risks and the measures that have been put in place to mitigate the associated risks. These reports address a variety of topics including updates on strategic initiatives, industry trends, threat vulnerability assessments, and efforts to prevent, detect and respond to internal and external critical threats.

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Human Capital Management Oversight

Primary responsibility for oversight of human capital management rests with our Compensation Committee. As part of its oversight, the Committee reviews regular reports from management regarding diversity and inclusion, pay equity, strategic workforce planning, talent retention, employee benefits programs, employee engagement, human rights, and company culture.

Succession Planning Oversight

Our Board is actively engaged in succession planning for our key executive positions to ensure a strong bench of future leaders. To assist the Board, our CEO and our Senior Vice President - Chief Human Resources Officer perform talent reviews and discuss succession planning and leadership development. Semi-annually, their assessment of senior executive talent, including potential of such talent to succeed our CEO or other executive officers, readiness for succession and development opportunities are presented to our Board.

Director Nominees

The Governance Committee uses a variety of methods for identifying and evaluating nominees for director. The Governance Committee regularly assesses the appropriate size of the Board and whether any vacancies on the Board are expected due to retirement or otherwise. In the event vacancies are anticipated, or otherwise arise, the Governance Committee considers various potential candidates for director. Board candidates are considered based upon various criteria, including diversity of gender, race and ethnicity; business, administrative and professional skills or experiences; an understanding of relevant industries, technologies and markets; financial literacy; independence status; the ability and willingness to contribute time and special competence to Board activities; personal integrity and independent judgment; and a commitment to enhancing shareholder value. The Governance Committee considers these and other factors as it deems appropriate, given the needs of the Board. Our goal is a diverse, talented, and highly engaged Board, with members whose skills, background and experience are complementary and, together, cover the spectrum of areas that impact our business currently and in the future. The Governance Committee considers candidates for Board membership suggested by a variety of sources, including current or past Board members, the use of third-party executive search firms, members of management, and shareholders. Any shareholder may make recommendations for consideration by the Governance Committee for membership on the Board by sending a written statement of the qualifications of the recommended individual to the Corporate Secretary. The Committee evaluates all director candidates in the same manner using the same criteria regardless of who recommends them.

Shareholders who intend to nominate persons for election to the Board must provide timely written notice of the nomination in accordance with Article I, Section 9 of our Bylaws. Generally, our Corporate Secretary must receive the written notice at our executive offices at 7001 Mount Rushmore Road, P.O. Box 1400, Rapid City, South Dakota 57709, not less than 90 days nor more than 120 days prior to the anniversary date of the immediately preceding annual meeting of shareholders. For the 2024 shareholder meeting, those dates are January 26, 2024 and December 27, 2023. The notice must include at a minimum the information set forth in Article I, Section 9 of our Bylaws, including the shareholder’s identity, contingent ownership interests, description of any agreement made with others acting in concert with respect to the nomination, specific information about the nominee and certain representations by the nominee to us.

Board Independence

In accordance with NYSE rules, the Board through its Governance Committee, affirmatively determines the independence of each director and director nominee in accordance with guidelines it has adopted, which include all elements of independence set forth in the NYSE listing standards. These guidelines are contained in our Policy for Director Independence, which can be found in the "Governance" section of our website (www.blackhillscorp.com/investor-relations/corporate-governance). Based on these standards, the Governance Committee determined that each of the following non-employee directors is independent and has no relationship with us, except as a director and shareholder: Barry M. Granger, Tony A. Jensen, Kathleen S. McAllister, Steven R. Mills, Robert P. Otto, Scott M. Prochazka, Rebecca B. Roberts, Mark A. Schober, and Teresa A. Taylor. In addition, based upon these standards, the Governance Committee determined that Mr. Evans is not independent because he is an officer of the Company.

Director Resignation Policies

The Corporate Governance Guidelines require members of the Board to submit a letter of resignation for consideration by the Board in certain circumstances. The Corporate Governance Guidelines include a plurality plus voting policy. Pursuant to the policy, any nominee for election as a director in an uncontested election who receives a greater number of votes “Withheld” from his or her election than votes “For” his or her election will promptly tender his or her resignation as a director to the Chairman of the Board following certification of the election results. Broker non-votes will not be deemed to be votes “For” or “Withheld” from a director’s election for purposes of the policy. The Governance Committee (without the participation of the affected director) will consider each resignation tendered under the policy and recommend to the Board whether to accept or reject it. The Board will then take the appropriate action on each tendered resignation, taking into account the Governance Committee’s recommendation. The Governance Committee in making its recommendation, and the Board in making its decision, may consider any factors or other information that it considers appropriate, including the reasons why the

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Governance Committee believes shareholders “Withheld” votes for election from such director and any other circumstances surrounding the “Withheld” votes, any alternatives for curing the underlying cause of the “Withheld” votes, the qualifications of the tendering director, his or her past and expected future contributions to us and the Board, and the overall composition of the Board, including whether accepting the resignation would cause us to fail to meet any applicable SEC or NYSE requirements. The Board will publicly disclose its decision and rationale by filing a Form 8-K with the SEC within 90 days after receipt of the tendered resignation.

The Corporate Governance Guidelines also require members of the Board to tender a letter of resignation in the event of a change in professional responsibilities that may directly or indirectly impact that Board member’s ability to fulfill directorship obligations. The Board is not obligated to accept that resignation. The Governance Committee will review the affected member’s service and qualifications and recommend to the Board the continued appropriateness of Board membership under the circumstances.

Codes of Business Conduct and Ethics

The Code of Business Conduct and the Code of Ethics that apply to our Chief Executive Officer and Senior Financial Officers can be found in the “Corporate Governance” section of our website (www.blackhillscorp.com/investor-relations/corporate-governance). We intend to disclose any amendments to, or waivers of, the Code of Ethics on our website. Please note that none of the information contained on our website is incorporated by reference in this proxy statement.

Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions

We recognize related party transactions can present potential or actual conflicts of interest and create the appearance that decisions are based on considerations other than the best interests of us and our shareholders. Accordingly, as a general matter, it is our preference to avoid related party transactions. Nevertheless, we recognize that there are situations where related party transactions may be in, or may not be inconsistent with, the best interests of us and our shareholders, including but not limited to situations where we may obtain products or services of a nature, quantity or quality, or on other terms, that are not readily available from alternative sources or when we provide products or services to related parties on an arm’s length basis on terms comparable to those provided to unrelated third parties or on terms comparable to those provided to employees generally.

Therefore, our Board has adopted a policy for the review of related party transactions. This policy requires directors and officers to promptly report to our Vice President - Governance all proposed or existing transactions in which the Company and they, or persons related to them, are parties or participants. Our Vice President - Governance presents those transactions to our Governance Committee. Our Governance Committee reviews the material facts presented and either approves or disapproves entry into the transaction. In reviewing the transaction, the Governance Committee considers the following factors, among other factors it deems appropriate: (i) whether the transaction is on terms no less favorable than terms generally available to an unaffiliated third party under the same or similar circumstances; (ii) the extent of the related party’s interest in the transaction; and (iii) the impact on a director’s independence in the event the related party is a director, an immediate family member of a director or an entity in which a director is a partner, shareholder or executive officer. There were no reportable related party transactions in 2022.

Communications with the Board

We value the views and input of our shareholders and believe that fostering productive dialogue with our shareholders contributes to our long-term success. Shareholders and others interested in communicating directly with the Chairman, with the independent directors as a group, or the Board may do so in writing to the Chairman, Black Hills Corporation, 7001 Mount Rushmore Road, P.O. Box 1400, Rapid City, South Dakota 57709.

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MEETINGS AND COMMITTEES OF THE BOARD

THE BOARD

Our Board held nine meetings during 2022. Each regularly scheduled meeting of the Board includes an executive session of only independent directors. We encourage our directors to attend the annual shareholders’ meeting. During 2022, each current director attended at least 75 percent of the combined total of Board meetings and Committee meetings on which the director served. In addition, all directors attended the 2022 annual meeting of shareholders either in person or virtually.

COMMITTEES OF THE BOARD

Our Board has three standing committees to facilitate and assist the Board in the execution of its responsibilities. Those standing committees are the Audit Committee, the Compensation Committee and the Governance Committee. Each committee operates under a charter, which is available on our website at www.blackhillscorp.com/investor-relations/corporate-governance and is also available in print to any shareholder who requests it. In addition, our Board creates special committees from time to time for specific purposes. Members of the committees are designated by our Board upon recommendation of the Governance Committee.

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Compensation Committee Interlocks. None of our executive officers serve as a member of a board of directors or compensation committee of any entity that has one or more executive officers who serve on our Board or on our Compensation Committee.

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DIRECTOR COMPENSATION

DIRECTOR FEES

Compensation to our non-employee directors consists of cash retainers for Board members, Committee members, the Board Chairman and Committee Chairs. Prior to January 1, 2022, the Board members received their equity compensation in the form of common stock equivalents that are deferred until after they leave the Board. Effective January 1, 2022, the Board adopted a new Non-Employee Director Equity Compensation Plan that provides equity compensation to our Board members in the form of restricted stock units and changed the date of the annual equity grant to May to better align with the timing of director elections. For the period of January 1, 2022 through April 30, 2022, the Board members received a pro rata amount of equity compensation in the form of restricted stock units. On May 1, 2022, Board members received an annual equity award of restricted stock units that will vest at the 2023 annual meeting. Dividend equivalents accrue on the common stock equivalents and restricted stock units. We do not pay meeting fees.

In setting non-employee director compensation, the Compensation Committee recommends the form and amount of compensation to the Board, which makes the final determination. In considering and recommending the compensation of non-employee directors, the Compensation Committee considers such factors as it deems appropriate, including historical compensation information, level of compensation necessary to attract and retain non-employee directors meeting our desired qualifications and market data. In the review of director compensation in 2022, Meridian completed a market compensation review of our peer companies' director fees. Based on this review, the cash retainer and equity pay were increased effective May 1, 2022, to more closely align with the median director compensation for our peer utility companies. The fee structure for director fees in 2022 is as follows:

The Committee did not recommend a change to director compensation for 2023.

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DIRECTOR COMPENSATION FOR 2022 AND COMMON STOCK EQUIVALENTS OUTSTANDING AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2022(1)

DIRECTOR STOCK OWNERSHIP GUIDELINES

Each member of our Board is required to hold shares of common stock, common stock equivalents, or restricted stock units equal to five times the annual cash Board retainer. Currently, all of our directors have met the stock ownership guideline except for Messrs. Granger and Prochazka, who have been on the Board for less than three years.

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SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF MANAGEMENT AND PRINCIPAL SHAREHOLDERS

The following table sets forth the beneficial ownership of our common stock as of February 24, 2023 for each director, each executive officer named in the Summary Compensation Table, all of our directors and executive officers as a group and each person known by us to beneficially own more than five percent of our outstanding shares of common stock. Beneficial ownership includes shares a director or executive officer has or shares the power to vote or transfer. There were no stock options outstanding for any of our directors or executive officers as of February 24, 2023.

Except as otherwise indicated by footnote below, we believe that each individual named has sole investment and voting power with respect to the shares of common stock indicated as beneficially owned by that individual.