Company History

Michigan Gas Utilities (MGU) serves a territory that is rich in Michigan historical drama. The company is headquartered in Monroe County, which was settled by the French in 1784 and is the second-oldest settlement in Michigan. The first American flag raised in the area now comprising the state of Michigan was in Monroe.

MGU's roots date back to pre-Civil War days, when gas was manufactured from coal and was used for street lighting and for lighting in private homes and commercial businesses.

How We Grew

The company got its start on December 10, 1859, when I. R. Grosvenor, B. F. Fifield, J. R. Rauch, C. K. Green and E. A. Lansing incorporated the Monroe Gas Light Company. At the end of the first year, 662,000 cubic feet of gas had been manufactured and sold through approximately 4,500 feet of wooden gas main. This company is the oldest gas property in the group of many small gas companies which merged together over a period of almost 70 years.

• In 1907, W. E. Moss Associates of Detroit purchased the gas properties in Monroe, Hillsdale, Coldwater, and Grand Haven.
• In December 1924, these four gas properties became part of Central States Utilities Company. Four years later, Central States Utilities Company was acquired by the National Utilities Company of Michigan, a subsidiary of the National Gas and Electric Corporation, and was incorporated in Michigan under that name.
• Otsego-Allegan County Gas Company, South Haven Gas Company, Benton Harbor St. Joe Gas and Fuel Company, and Sturgis Gas Company were merged into the Michigan Fuel and Light Company in 1925.
• In 1927, Cadillac Gas Company became part of the Michigan Fuel and Light Company, and the Traverse City Gas Company was acquired in 1929.
• On February 1, 1942, these two separate entities were united as the National Utilities Company of Michigan.
• On December 31, 1949, the National Utilities Company of Michigan became an independent operating utility company under the plan of integration and simplification of the former parent, the National Gas and Electric Corporation.
• The name Michigan Gas Utilities Company was adopted on September 1, 1951.

Natural Gas Supports Expansion

The complete system conversion to natural gas in the early 1950's was the key to MGU's phenomenal growth during the next twenty years. Throughout the 1950's, MGU established itself as an integral part of the growing Southern Michigan Region.

• The 1960's proved to be an explosive period of customer growth and new main construction. Approximately 30,000 customers were added to MGU's system during this period. For example, in 1960 more than 400 miles of mains were built to add 30 communities in the franchised area.
• In 1964, MGU purchased the production facilities at the Partello Gas Field near Marshall in Calhoun County, Michigan, to reduce the volume of demand gas required from the interstate pipeline suppliers during the winter months. When the gas in this field was depleted in 1971, it was converted to underground gas storage.

A Subsidiary of Integrys Energy Group

Michigan Gas Utilities changed its name to Aquila Michigan on March 14, 2002. The MGU name was restored on April 1, 2006, when Aquila sold the company and it became a subsidiary of WPS Resources Corporation (now Integrys Energy Group).

The strength of MGU's gas supply and storage has enabled the company to provide reliable, affordable and stable service to its customers throughout the years.