Wisconsin Electric Power Company history

By 1900 TMER&L and MLH&T had a combined total of 1,511 customers and more than 41.5 million paying traction passengers.

1910 The first true long-distance transmission in what would become Wisconsin Public Service territory was a 69.000-volt line strung on steel towers between the High Falls hydro plant and Green Bay.

In 1911, the board replaced Beggs with a young former Electric Bond and Share executive named James D. Mortimer.

1913 Manufactured natural gas service had been expanded from Green Bay through Allouez and into De Pere.

1917 The first really large steam generating plant was built in Wisconsin Public Service's territory.

He introduced easy-to-deliver, efficiently burning pulverized coal, and in 1918 he merged the facilities of MLH&T and TMER&L.

After the war the situation grew worse; by 1920 it reached a crisis.

It was incorporated as Wisconsin Public Service in 1922.

In the state's northern region, North American purchased Begg's Wisconsin Traction, Light, Heat and Power Company in 1923.

The two companies were merged in 1925 and jointly became the Wisconsin-Michigan Power Company.

1927 Wisconsin Public Service built a two-unit coal-fired plant on the Fox River in Green Bay.

By 1929 Wisconsin-Michigan had 26,000 customers and assets of $21 million.

To make matters worse, in 1934 TMER&L was hit with violent strikes after Way tried to avoid recognizing an American Federation of Labor union by firing 13 workers.

1935: Company builds a new power plant at Port Washington.

Wisconsin's first electricity cooperative named Richland Electric Cooperative opened on May 7, 1937.

In 1938 it merged WEPCo into TMER&L, which in turn adopted the Wisconsin Electric Power Company name.

Finally, in 1941 it transferred the common stocks of Wisconsin Michigan Power Company and Wisconsin Gas and Electric to WEPCo.

In 1947 North American spun off WEPCo to its stockholders.

1949 Wisconsin Public Service became the first public utility to join in sponsorship of Trees for Tomorrow.

In June of 1950, Van Derzee integrated Wisconsin Gas and Electric's electrical properties into WEPCo and incorporated its natural gas properties as Wisconsin Natural Gas, which became a WEPCo subsidiary.

1951: A new power plant is built at Oak Creek.

And it was first listed on the New York and Midwest stock exchanges in 1953.

1961 Wisconsin Public Service joined Madison Gas and Electric and Wisconsin Power and Light to form the Wisconsin Power Pool (WPP). The objective was to coordinate planning of future generating capacity.

In 1962, Alfred Gruhl succeeded Seybold as president.

In 1964 WEPCo joined the power-pooling Mid-America Interpool Network.

The same year, it installed customer billing and power dispatching computer systems, and in 1965, Wisconsin Natural Gas put the nation's first commercial liquefied natural gas storage plant into operation.

The company had long been interested in nuclear energy, and in 1967 it and subsidiary Wisconsin Michigan Power began construction of the two-unit Point Beach nuclear plant at Two Rivers, Wisconsin.

In 1969 the company bowed to environmental pressures and installed pollution controlling electrostatic precipitators at its Oak Creek plant.

In December of 1970, Unit 1 of WEPCo's Point Beach nuclear facility went on-line.

In October 1972, Wisconsin Public Service asked the state Public Service Commission for permission to sell the bus service in Green Bay, the only remaining bus system it was operating.

Unfortunately, depleted natural gas wells, difficulty developing new sources of natural gas, and the Arab Oil Embargo of 1973 led to restricted gas supplies across the nation.

Despite changes in consumption patterns, Quale continued to plan for six percent annual growth, and in 1974 announced plans to build a large nuclear facility at Koshkonong.

In 1975, Quale was replaced by Charles S. McNeer.

1976 Wisconsin Public Service ended an era of selling appliances in all of its office locations.

1978 Columbia unit 2, jointly owned by Wisconsin Public Service and Wisconsin Power and Light, went online.

1982 Wisconsin Public Service introduced a new bill, with more information to help customers concerned with energy conservation.

On August 31, 1983, the company announced plans to organize a new holding company and establish three non-utility subsidiaries intended to stimulate economic growth in Wisconsin, increase job opportunities, and help state businesses thrive.

McNeer's conservation efforts were so successful that in 1985 the company announced it would not build any new power plants for the remainder of the century but would instead invest $600 million in a refurbishment plan for its Port Washington and Oak Creek plants.

In December of 1987, the company paid what some consider the bargain price of $283.6 million for the Presque Isle Power Plant, a 592 megawatt, nine unit, coal-fired installation previously owned by the Cleveland Cliffs Iron Company and the Upper Peninsula Power Company.

In March of 1992, Wispark announced joint plans with Wisconsin Energy to invest a total of $3.9 million in another Milwaukee low-income housing project.

1993 Wisconsin Public Service was the first utility in the state to hire Customer Assistance Advisors.

In 1994, Wisconsin Energy acquired the Lake Geneva-based Wisconsin Southern Gas Co., merging it into its Wisconsin Natural Gas subsidiary.

In 1995, the state Public Service Commission proposed a 32-step process for deregulating and restructuring the electric industry.

1996 Wisconsin Public Service began preparing for Y2K. 1996 Wisconsin Public Service introduced its SolarWise® for Schools program.

In 1998, Wisconsin Energy acquired ESELCO, the parent company of Sault Ste.

Feb 1999 Wisconsin Public Service and other utilities in Minnesota and Wisconsin announced the formation of Nuclear Management Company.

Meanwhile, Wisconsin's electric industry had begun to struggle with power shortages and reliability issues similar to, but on a smaller scale than, those that were to plague California in 2000.

The official merger date would be April 1, 2001.

Sep 2002 To help meet growing electric demand, Wisconsin Public Service announced intentions to add a 500-megawatt coal-fired electric generator at the Weston Power Plant site.

The company planned to begin construction late in the first quarter of 2003.

Dec 2004 WPS Resources Corporation (presented Wisconsin Governor James Doyle with a deed for approximately 12,000 acres of land donated and sold to the state by Wisconsin Public Service.

Apr 2006 WPS Resources completed the purchase of the Michigan gas operations of Aquila, Inc.

Feb 2007 WPS Resources Corporation completed its merger with Peoples Energy Corporation.

The plant won the 2008 Plant of the Year Award from POWER magazine and Power Engineering's 2008 Best Coal-Fired Project award.

2013 Wisconsin Public Service purchased Fox Energy Center, a natural gas fueled electric generating unit.