A prompt penetration electric field (PPEF) usually manifests itself in the form of an equatorial ionospheric electric field being in correlation with a solar wind electric field. Due to the strong Cowling conductivity, a PPEF on the dayside can be inferred from Delta H (ΔH), which is the difference in the magnitudes of the horizontal (H) component between a magnetometer at the magnetic equator and one off the equator. This paper aims to investigate the performance of ΔH in response to a PPEF on the nightside, where the Cowling conductivity is not significant. We first examine the strongest geomagnetically active time during the 20 November 2003 superstorm when the Dst drops to −473 nT and show that the nightside ΔH can indeed manifest a PPEF but with local time dependence and longitude dependence. We then examine a moderately active time by taking advantage of the multiple‐penet...