MILWAUKEE (WTAQ) – Last year’s mega-merger of utilities in Wisconsin and three other states has created higher earnings for the new parent company.
WEC Energy Group of Milwaukee reports a 48 percent jump in its quarterly earnings from a year ago, and a 50 percent rise in electric and natural gas sales.
Profits for the full year went up by 8.5 percent, and total sales rose 19 percent to almost $6 billion.
WEC is the former Wisconsin Energy, which operates We Energies plus the newly acquired Wisconsin Public Service utility and natural gas outlets in Illinois, Minnesota, and Michigan.
For We Energies alone, electric and gas sales dropped 13 percent in the fourth quarter of last year, due to warmer temperatures that were 24 percent higher than last year — but in spite of that, investor earnings still rose 7 cents per share to 63 cents.
(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)
