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Jersey Gas history
Jersey Gas company history timeline
The businessmen had many interests in Atlantic City and, in fact, helped to found and promote the city, incorporated in 1855.
In 1873 a group of Philadelphia businessmen formed the Atlantic City Gas & Water Company.
As the city grew, so did the company, and in 1882, electric light service was added to the company's product offerings.
Although the company was supplying electric service as well, the board of directors decided to eliminate that portion of the business in 1900 and sold the electric plant to the Electric Company of America for $80,000.
That agreement, however, did not stop another competitor from moving into town—the Consumers Gas & Fuel Company, formed in 1905, with a product offering identical to that of Atlantic City Gas.
The two companies were fierce competitors until 1910 when they were purchased by the same investor and merged into a new company.
Thomas N. Carter was the president of Public Service, which also was incorporated in 1910.
Geist purchased the property, razed the hotel that was on it, and constructed the building, which was completed in May 1912.
In 1920 Atlantic City's transition to electric lights was complete, and it did not renew its contract with Atlantic City Gas.
Forming County Gas in 1922
The history of NJR started with a small utility called County Gas Company, located in Highlands, New Jersey, founded in 1922.
In 1922, C.H. Geist decided to expand his New Jersey utility holdings and purchased New Jersey Gas Company, which provided gas and utilities to the towns of Elmer, Vineland, East Greenwich, Pitman, Swedesboro, Penns Grove, and Bridgeport.
Carlton Geist, general manager and C.H. Geist's brother, resigned from the company in 1925 and was replaced by Chester Grey.
More growth occurred in 1926 when C.H. Geist acquired Pleasantville Gas Company and merged it with Atlantic City Gas.
The Great Depression, however, which began in October 1929, took the wind out of the economy's sails.
Despite the economic challenges, Public Service Corporation of New Jersey became the new owners of the company, with the sale completed in April 1930.
In 1930 Atlantic City Gas became a subsidiary of the largest utility in New Jersey, Public Service Corporation of New Jersey.
In 1933, after only three years as president, Chester Grey resigned due to ill health and was replaced by Robert Wiederwax.
By 1936, however, the employees had their wages restored to the pre-Depression amounts, and it seemed the worst of the downturn was behind the country and Atlantic City Gas.
New appliance sales (and gas hookups) increased in 1937.
In December 1944, company President Robert Wiederwax committed suicide in his office.
The cold winter of 1944–45 combined with a nationwide coal shortage created a record sales year for the company.
In April 1947, the transaction was complete, and Atlantic City Gas Company became South Jersey Gas Company.
The stock traded on the "over-the-counter" market and opened at $3 on July 1, 1948.
The four men then contributed $10,000 each and borrowed $160,000 to purchase County Gas from Public Service for $200,000, the deal closing in 1948.
In 1948, the company reorganized as a publicly owned company.
Revenues for 1948 were $3.6 million with a net income of $210,000.
Also in 1950 the company acquired Bridgeton Gas Light Company, adding 3,300 customers.
In 1950, the pipeline of natural gas was complete, and the South Jersey Gas contract with Transco was signed for a 20-year period.
1951: County Gas acquires gas assets of Jersey Central Power & Light.
Atlantic City Gas continued to grow when, in 1952, it purchased the Cumberland County Gas Company and added 11,000 customers.
By the end of 1953 NJNG completed the conversion to natural gas and the manufacturing facilities of the "town gas" era were closed down.
In 1956 NJNG topped $1 million in net income for the first time.
Changes were occurring for South Jersey Gas as well, and in 1956, the company listed its stock on the Philadelphia-Baltimore Stock Exchange.
Just a few years later, in 1958, the company began trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
By 1962, with nearly 150,000 customers, it reached the $2 million mark.
By 1968, the company had outgrown its Atlantic City headquarters.
Nonetheless, the natural gas shortage grew so severe that in 1971 the company ceased to take on new residential customers and eliminated its sales department.
In 1973, the company opened the Liquefied Natural Gas storage facility at McKee City, New Jersey.
On the supply side, the company invested in new LP plants, then in 1975 established an exploration and production subsidiary, New Jersey Natural Resources Company, to find new supplies of natural gas.
1977: Energy & Minerals Inc. becomes a subsidiary.
Williams was replaced as president by James T. Dolan in January 1978, the same year that NJNG was able for the first time in seven years to add new customers and reinstate its marketing operation.
Williams was replaced as president by James T. Dolan in January 1978, the same year that NJNG was able for the first time in seven years to add new customers and reinstate its marketing operation. Its exploration activities also were beginning to succeed when in 1978 its subsidiary discovered natural gas.
In 1981, Bill Gemmel retired, and Bill Ryan became president and CEO of the company.
Involved in a variety of ventures, NJNG reorganized in early 1982.
1982: A holding company, New Jersey Resources Corporation, is formed.
SJG purchased its Cape May county division in 1983 from New Jersey Natural Gas.
The first deliveries of Canadian gas through the Boundary agreement arrived in November 1984.
Downes had been with the company since 1985 and risen to the rank of chief financial officer.
Able to support strong growth, the company added 14,675 new customers in 1986 and now boasted 250,000 total customers.
Retirement of Longtime Chairman in 1987
The company acquired five New Jersey utility construction and contracting firms in 1989.
In 1991 Abrams passed away at the age of 81, and in that same year another founder, Irving Koerner, died at the age of 84.
1995: Laurence M. Downes is named CEO.
The success of Downes's strategy was also reflected in the price of NJR's stock, which was valued at $22 when Downes took office but by the end of October 1997 was nearly $33.
A much slimmer company, NJR was able within two years to post record levels of revenues, in 1997 posting $697 million in sales, as well as $39.9 million in net income.
In the middle of this new focus, President and CEO Bill Ryan died suddenly in 1997 at the age of 63.
In 1998, it became the first New Jersey utility to voluntarily offer its customers a choice of their natural gas suppliers.
In 1999 NJR and a subsidiary of General Electric agreed to market fuel cell technology to NJR's residential and small business customers, becoming the exclusive distributor of GE's MicroGen unit.
In December 2000 it launched NJR Home Services to offer home-appliance repair, like many utilities around the country taking advantage of its relationship with customers and reputation for service to generate revenues in this nonregulated business.
In 2008, South Jersey Resources Group entered into a lease agreement with an exploration and production company to develop deep mineral rights on property in the Marcellus Shale.
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Jersey Gas competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Jersey Industries | 1910 | $2.0B | 650 | 61 |
| Westar Energy | 1924 | $5.8B | 3,000 | 36 |
| Cascade Natural Gas | 1953 | $32.0M | 50 | - |
| NIPSCO | - | $2.4B | 2,000 | - |
| PECO Energy | 1881 | $2.0B | 2,798 | - |
| STPNOC | 1971 | $550.0M | 10 | 3 |
| Guardian Systems | - | $160,000 | 5 | - |
| NV Energy | 1928 | $3.0B | 2,500 | 11 |
| 3SI Security Systems | 1971 | $40.0M | 10 | 2 |
| Madison Gas and Electric | 1855 | $676.9M | 731 | 5 |
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Jersey Gas may also be known as or be related to Jersey Gas, SOUTH JERSEY GAS CO, SOUTH JERSEY GAS Co, South Jersey Gas and South Jersey Gas Company.