Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submitsuch files). YesNo Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non- accelerated filer, a smaller reportingcompany, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer”, “smaller reporting company”, and Large Accelerated Filer☒Accelerated Filer☐Non-accelerated Filer☐Smaller Reporting Company☐ If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying withany new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS On one or more occasions, we may make statements in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q regarding our assumptions, projections,expectations, targets, intentions or beliefs about future events. All statements other than statements of historical facts, included orincorporated by reference in this Quarterly Report, relating to our current expectations of future financial performance, continued growth,changes in economic conditions or capital markets, changes in customer usage patterns and preferences, and statements relating to our Words or phrases such as “anticipates," “may," “will," “should," “believes," “estimates," “expects," “intends," “plans," “predicts,"“projects," “targets," “will likely result," “will continue" or similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. Forward-lookingstatements involve risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed. Wecaution that while we make such statements in good faith and believe such statements are based on reasonable assumptions, including •risks relating to the pending merger transaction pursuant to that certain Agreement and Plan of Merger dated August 18, 2025(Merger Agreement) between NorthWestern and Black Hills Corporation (Black Hills), including, among others, (1) the risk ofdelays in consummating the pending merger transaction, including as a result of required regulatory approvals, which may not beobtained on the expected timeline, or at all, (2) the risk of any event, change or other circumstance that could give rise to thetermination of the Merger Agreement, (3) the risk that required regulatory approvals are subject to conditions not anticipated byNorthWestern and Black Hills, (4) the possibility that the anticipated benefits and projected value creation of the pending mergertransaction will not be realized or will not be realized within the expected time period, (5) disruption to the parties’ businesses as aresult of the announcement and pendency of the merger transaction, including potential distraction of management from currentplans and operations of NorthWestern or Black Hills and the ability of NorthWestern or Black Hills to retain and hire keypersonnel, (6) reputational risk and the reaction of each company’s customers, suppliers, employees or other business partners tothe pending merger transaction, (7) the possibility that the pending merger transaction may be more expensive to complete than adverse determinations by regulators, such as adverse outcomes from the denial of interim rates, final rates not consistent with areasonable ability to earn our allowed returns, failure to timely approve our requests associated with recovering the operatingcosts for the additional interests in Colstrip Units 3 and 4, as well as potential adverse federal, state, or local legislation or •our ability to attract and serve large new load customers, including data centers and other energy-intensive operations, depends onregulatory and legislative actions supportive of a framework for review and approval of these large new load customer contracts. •the impact of extraordinary external events and natural disasters, such as a wide-spread or global pandemic, geopolitical events,earthquake, flood, drought, lightning, weather, wind, and fire, could have a material effect on our liquidity, results of operationsand financial condition;•acts of terrorism, cybersecurity attacks, data security breaches, or other malicious acts that cause damage to our generation,transmission, or distribution facilities, information technology systems, or result in the release of confidential customer,employee, or Company information;•supply chain constraints, tariffs on certain imported products, recent high levels of inflation for products, services and labor costs,and their impact on capital expenditures, operating activities, and/or our ability to safely and reliably serve