Wisconsin Public Service history

In 1885 the company received a franchise to sell electricity in Oshkosh, putting it into direct competition with Oshkosh Electric Light and Power.

Byellsby immediately turned over control of Wisconsin Public Service to Standard Gas and Electric, a public utility holding company that he had founded in 1910.

In 1911 a Milwaukee engineer named Clement Smith joined with his brother-in-law, utility lawyer George Miller, to found Wisconsin Securities Company with the purpose of operating it as a utilities holding company.

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.

Wisconsin Securities had also founded Peninsula Service Company to supply electricity to Door County in 1920, and it, too, was merged into Wisconsin Public Service.

It was incorporated as Wisconsin Public Service in 1922.

In 1924 the company bought small electric companies operating in the towns of Brillion, Mishicot, and DePere.

In 1927 Standard Gas and Electric acquired another large electrical utility, Wisconsin Valley Electric Company.

In 1933 Standard Gas and Electric decided to merge its two main subsidiaries, so that Wisconsin Public Service's steam turbine plants could pick up Wisconsin Valley Electric's wintertime slack.

Located on the Wisconsin River, this plant has a capacity of 2,600 KW. 1943 Pulliam unit 3, a 30,000 KW unit, was built.

1947 Wisconsin Public Service began machine billing with IBM equipment.

Sep 1949 Pulliam unit 5, at 50,000 KW, went into service.

The company had been selling natural gas to its customers since 1950, just after the first pipeline from the Hugoton Field in the Oil Patch of Oklahoma and Texas to the Upper Midwest was built.

In 1951 Wisconsin Public Service divested its bus lines in Wausau and Merrill, and they began independent operation under the name Wausau Transit Lines.

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

1958 Pulliam unit 7, at 75.000 KW, went into service.

In 1961 it made a move to control the means of distribution when it acquired two natural gas franchises, Merrill Gas Company and Oneida Gas Company.

In 1967 Wisconsin Public Service acquired the electrical distribution system for the municipality of Kewaunee, which had been owned by the city.

With approval of the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, in 1969 the company began constructing a seven-story office building on the banks of the Fox River.

In 1970 the company consolidated its corporate offices.

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.

The Kewaunee nuclear plant, which did not begin operation until 1974 (once safety and environmental concerns had been assuaged), was built and operated by Wisconsin Public Service, but was, in fact a joint venture between three Wisconsin utility companies.

In 1975 it posted revenues of $219.9 million, its best sales year ever.

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.

In 1992 Wisconsin Public Service's contacts with the paper industry resulted in a joint venture seeking to find an efficient, ecologically sound way to generate electricity.

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

1994 Wisconsin Public Service formed a holding company, named WPS Resources Corporation.

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

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

Oct 2000 Wisconsin Public Service announced the company had joined the American Transmission Company (ATC), a state-based electric transmission company formed as a result of the Reliability Act 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.

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.

Jul 2005 Wisconsin Public Service and Wisconsin Power and Light Company transferred ownership of the Kewaunee nuclear power plant to Dominion Energy Kewaunee, a subsidiary of Dominion Resources.

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

The photo to the right is from the PSC's 100th anniversary celebration on July 24, 2007.

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.