Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania history

Later renamed Columbia Gas & Electric Company, it doubled in size with the acquisition of Ohio Fuel Corporation in 1926.

In 1930 the acquisition of a 50 percent interest in Panhandle Eastern Pipe Line Company allowed Columbia to connect its eastern lines with natural gas fields in Texas.

The connection helped Columbia reach new heights in sales and earnings for 1936.

In 1946 the company was forced to sell off the last of its electrical subsidiaries, a process that had been underway for several years.

The company changed its name to the Columbia Gas System, Inc., in 1948 to reflect this change.

In 1956 the company began a corporate simplification process aimed at reducing the number of subsidiaries subject to both federal and state regulation.

By 1967 Columbia was the largest integrated natural gas system in the United States.

Columbia's gas sales reached a new peak in 1972.

In April 1974 Columbia began producing synthetic natural gas from oil at high cost.

1981 – Columbia acquires Commonwealth Gas Services (now known as Columbia Gas of Virginia)

In 1982 Columbia's largest single industrial customer, the Sohio Chemical anhydrous-ammonia plant in Lima, Ohio, quit Columbia altogether.

In 1985 Columbia faced possible bankruptcy.

Columbia suspended its dividend payment in June 1991, and Columbia and a subsidiary, Columbia Gas Transmission, filed for protection from creditors under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in July.

The company's income began to rise with these moves, and by 1994 Columbia's net income had reached more than $240 million.

The bankruptcy proceedings remained deadlocked until early 1995.

The company anticipated strong earnings in 1996, when it could begin to put its era of bankruptcy behind it.