WEC Energy Group
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WEC Energy Group is an American company based in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...
that provides electricity and natural gas to 4.4 million customers across four states.


Subsidiaries


Wisconsin

* We Energies, the umbrella name for Wisconsin Electric Power and Wisconsin Gas, provides electricity and natural gas to customers in Wisconsin *
Wisconsin Public Service Corporation Wisconsin Public Service Corporation (WPS) is a utility company headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The company serves more than 450,000 electric customers and more than 333,000 natural gas customers in 27 counties in eastern, northeastern no ...
provides electricity and natural gas to customers in northeastern and northcentral Wisconsin * Bluewater Gas Storage provides natural gas storage and hub services for We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service * WEC Infrastructure designs, builds and owns electric generating plants * Wispark develops and invests in real estate, industrial/office buildings and urban redevelopment projects * Wisconsin River Power Company, WEC Energy Group owns 50% while
Alliant Energy Alliant Energy is a public utility holding company headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, providing power in Iowa and Wisconsin. History Interstate Power and Light Company (IPL) expanded greatly in the late 1920s to include operations in Iowa, ...
owns the other 50%


Illinois

*
Peoples Energy Peoples Gas (short for The Peoples Gas Light and Coke Company) is a gas utility subsidiary of WEC Energy Group servicing the city of Chicago, Illinois and its northern suburbs. History Established in 1849, in Chicago, Illinois, The Peoples Gas ...
provides
natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...
to customers in the city of Chicago * North Shore Gas provides natural gas to customers in Chicago's northern suburbs


Minnesota

* Minnesota Energy Resources Corporation provides natural gas to customers in Minnesota


Michigan

* Michigan Gas Utilities Corporation provides natural gas to customers in lower Michigan * Upper Michigan Energy Resources provides electric and natural gas to customers in Michigan's Upper Peninsula


History

*1896 The Milwaukee Electric Railway and Light Company was formed as a subsidiary of the North American Company to provide interurban rail service in a area of southeastern Wisconsin. In time, the company began selling electricity not needed to power the interurban trains to individuals and businesses. *1919 Experiments at the company's East Wells Power Plant (then called
Oneida Street Station Oneida Street Station, also known as the East Wells Power Plant, was a power plant operated by The Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Company. Constructed from 1898 to 1900, it was designed by architect Herman Esser in neoclassical revival style. ...
) in downtown Milwaukee, proved that use of pulverized coal reduced the cost of producing electric power and conserved fuel. *1921 Wisconsin Electric Power Company is formed by the North American Company to build and operate the Lakeside Power Plant in St. Francis, Wisconsin. Lakeside was the world's first power plant to burn pulverized coal exclusively. *1935 The first of five 80-megawatt units at Port Washington Power Plant was brought on line. From 1935 to 1948, Port Washington was the most efficient coal-fueled power plant in the world. *1938 Milwaukee Electric Railway and Light was merged into Wisconsin Electric. *1941 Wisconsin Electric purchased Wisconsin Gas & Electric Company and Wisconsin Michigan Power Company, which also had been under the North American Company. *1946 Wisconsin Electric becomes an independent company, no longer part of the North American Company. FindLaw.com *1953 Wisconsin Electric placed into service the first 120-megawatt unit at Oak Creek Power Plant. Seven additional units were completed through 1968. *1970 Wisconsin Electric's 908-megawatt Point Beach Nuclear Plant began operation and gained a worldwide reputation for efficiency. *1980 Wisconsin Electric placed the first 580-megawatt unit at Pleasant Prairie into service. A second unit was added in 1985. *1987 Wisconsin Electric reorganized as a holding company, Wisconsin Energy Corporation, with Wisconsin Electric, Wispark, Wisvest and Witech as subsidiaries. *1994 Wisconsin Energy purchased Lake Geneva-based Wisconsin Southern Gas Co. and merged it into Wisconsin Natural, which subsequently merged with Wisconsin Electric in 1995. *1998 Wisconsin Energy bought ESELCO, parent company of the Edison Sault Electric Company, based in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. *2000 WICOR, holding company of Wisconsin Gas, became part of Wisconsin Energy, creating the largest electric and natural gas provider in Wisconsin. The corporation also announced a 10-year plant to invest US$7.0 billion to build five new power plants, to upgrade existing plants and to improve its electric distribution system. *2001 American Transmission Company, the first multi-state all-transmission utility in the United States, was formed by Wisconsin's major utilities, and Wisconsin Electric transferred ownership of its transmission lines to American Transmission in exchange for shares in the new company. *2002 Wisconsin Electric and Wisconsin Gas began doing business as We Energies. *2004 Wisconsin Energy sold the non-energy assets of WICOR for US$850 million as part of its strategy to divest its non-core businesses. *2005 Construction of two 615-megawatt coal-fired units began at the Oak Creek Power Plant site. The same year, the first of two 545-megawatt natural-gas-fueled units began commercial operation at Port Washington Generating Station. *2007 Wisconsin Energy sold Point Beach Nuclear Plant to FPL Energy for approximately US$924 million, with We Energies entitled to the output for the life of the plant. *2008 The
Blue Sky Green Field Wind Farm Blue Sky Green Field Wind Energy Center is a wind farm in northeast Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin. The facility is located in the towns of Calumet and Marshfield. Owned by We Energies, it became the largest operating installation using win ...
began operation on a site with 88 turbines (145-megawatt capacity) in Wisconsin's Fond du Lac County. *2009 We Energies received approval to construct and operate the Glacier Hills Wind Park in Wisconsin's Columbia County. The company also announced plans to build a biomass generating facility at the Domtar paper mill in Rothschild, Wisconsin. *2010 The first of two 615-megawatt coal-fueled units at the company's Oak Creek expansion site attains commercial operation on Feb. 2. Wisconsin Energy completed the sale of Edison Sault Electric Company to Cloverland Electric Cooperative. In May, construction began on the Glacier Hills Wind Park in Columbia County. *2011 The second of two 615-megawatt coal-fueled units at the company's Oak Creek expansion site attains commercial operation on Jan. 12. Glacier Hills Wind Park began operating 90 turbines in the towns of Randolph and Scott in Wisconsin. *2013 A 50-megawatt, biomass-based, cogeneration facility in Rothschild, Wisconsin, began commercial operation to provide base-load power for the electric system and steam to the Domtar paper mill. *2014 Wisconsin Energy announced that it was purchasing
Integrys Energy Group Integrys Energy Group, Inc. was an American energy company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It was formed by the merger of WPS Resources Corp. and Peoples Energy Corp. on February 21, 2007. The Chairman, President, and chief executive offic ...
, parent company of Peoples Gas, North Shore Gas and Wisconsin Public Service, for $9.1 billion. *2015 The company completed its acquisition of
Integrys Energy Group Integrys Energy Group, Inc. was an American energy company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It was formed by the merger of WPS Resources Corp. and Peoples Energy Corp. on February 21, 2007. The Chairman, President, and chief executive offic ...
in a deal worth $9.1 billion.
WEC Energy Group, July 29
*2017 WEC Energy Group acquired Bluewater Gas Storage, a Michigan-based company, to provide about one-third of storage needs for WEC Energy Group's natural gas distribution companies in Wisconsin.


Primergy merger

On May 3, 1995, Wisconsin Energy Corporation and
Northern States Power Company Northern States Power Company () was a publicly traded S&P 500 electric and natural gas utility holding company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, that is now a subsidiary of Xcel Energy (). History The company's founder, Henry Marison Byllesby, ha ...
( each filed a
Securities and Exchange Commission The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...
Form 8-K Form 8-K is a very broad form used to notify investors in United States public companies of specified events that may be important to shareholders or the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. This is one of the most common types of form ...
to combine in a merger-of-equals transaction to form Primergy Corporation. It would have been the 10th largest investor-owned electric and gas utility company in the United States, based on market capitalization at that time of about US$6.0 billion.Wisconsin Energy Corp. Form 8-K
SEC Info, Filed On 5/3/95, SEC File 1-09057, Accession Number 107815-95-8

Filed On 5/3/95, SEC File 1-03034, Accession Number 898822-95-46
NSP would have been the nominal survivor, and the merged company would be headquartered in
Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
(headquarters of the old NSP), but the merged company would have been registered in Wisconsin. On May 16, 1997, both CEOs announced that the boards of directors of both companies had terminated the merger plan because of approval delays by the U.S. Department of Justice, the SEC, and state regulators in Minnesota and Wisconsin.Wisconsin Energy Corp., Northern States Power Co. Agree to Terminate Merger Proceedings
PRNewswire, May 16
They also stated that regulatory agencies were changing their merger policies as they were considering the companies' filing and that further delay would reduce the benefits of the Primergy transaction. The delay already had put the merger five months behind schedule and had reduced earnings for both utilities by a total of US$58 million to that point. In addition, Wisconsin Energy's stock had fallen about 13% since early 1995 when the deal had been announced, while NSP's stock had risen by 6%. The case was considered to be a
bellwether A bellwether is a leader or an indicator of trends.bellwether
" ''Cambridge Dictionary''. Ret ...
in the utilities industry, putting an end to the rapid pace of mergers and acquisitions that had been ongoing up to then.Lee Bergquist.
Primergy too strong for regulators' taste
. ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'', May 18, 1997.
Lee Bergquist.

. ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'', June 23, 2014. Retrieved July 20, 2015.


References


External links


WEC Energy Group
{{Authority control Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Companies based in Milwaukee Electric power companies of the United States American companies established in 1896 Hydroelectric power companies of the United States Energy companies established in 1896 1896 establishments in Wisconsin