4 Safe Utility Stocks For Strong Retirement Income

With 10 year treasury yields hovering a bit below 2%, a compelling case can be made for electric and combined cycle utilities offering dividend yields twice or more as that treasury yield. And if a case can be made for some capital growth, all the better. I am going to look at four utility stocks today. Now is not the friendliest of times for many utilities, given the Environmental Protection Agency's pending issues with Mercury pollution and re-expansion of the Clean Water and Clean Air Acts, along with general trends of energy conservation. But quality utilities, including some of ones I cover today, will adapt.

Black Hills Corp. (BKH)

Black Hills is a smaller, combined cycle utility and energy company serving much of South Dakota, and parts of adjacent states in both regulated and non regulated areas. Its stock was trading recently at about its 52 week high of $34.85.