Business of the Week: Xcel Energy

​While Xcel Energy didn’t get its current name until 2000, customers in the Eau Claire area have been relying on the company for more than a century to provide safe, reliable electricity and natural gas to fuel growth in the Chippewa Valley.

Xcel Energy’s Wisconsin and Michigan operating company, Northern States Power-Wisconsin, can trace its predecessor companies back to the Chippewa River Improvement and Log Driving Company, incorporated in 1872. However, the history truly begins when Northern States Power Co. of Minnesota purchased the Wisconsin-Minnesota Light and Power Company in 1923 to capitalize on hydroelectric power available in Wisconsin, and renamed the newly-acquired company NSP-Wisconsin in 1924. In Eau Claire, NSPW and its forbearers established electricity generating facilities in 1877 and 1902, and did business on Barstow Street from 1923-1958. Employees also worked at the Farmers Store Building until 1993.

Xcel Energy operates 19 hydro facilities on eight Wisconsin rivers. Hydro is a clean, renewable energy source, and collectively these plants avoid carbon dioxide emissions equal to the output of more than 83,000 cars.

Xcel Energy is a recognized industry leader in delivering renewable energy and in reducing carbon and other emissions, efforts that have put us on a path to a more sustainable energy future. Through a growing range of innovative solutions, we continue to empower our customers with industry-leading options and energy alternatives to support their goals and objectives.

Dr. Kirk Dahl (right), one of the first Solar*Connect Community subscribers, tours the Eau Claire solar garden with Mark Stoering, president of Xcel Energy-Wisconsin and Michigan. 

​In a rapidly changing industry, we are taking a smart and thoughtful approach to how we produce and deliver energy, looking for better ways to serve our customers and ensure we are Leading the Energy Future. 

​Today, Xcel Energy powers millions of homes and businesses across eight Western and Midwestern States – including 250,000 electricity and 109,000 natural gas customers in Wisconsin.
 
Our commitment starts with the basics — customers can count on us 24/7 to be there with safe, reliable and affordable energy. But, what we provide goes much deeper than that.
From our annual Day of Service to volunteering at food banks and schools, our employees, retirees and their families have a strong commitment to volunteer work. 

Xcel Energy 2017 United Way Day of Caring volunteers. Our employees contribute well over 1,100 hours of volunteer time every year. 

Xcel Energy National Recognition

• One of 37 companies named to Military Times' Best for Vets Index
• Recognized for two consecutive years by the Human Rights Campaign as a Best Place to Work for LGBT Equality, achieving 100 points on the Corporate Equality Index
• Among Corporate Responsibility Magazine's 100 Best Corporate Citizens
• Honored on the Forbes' Global 2000 list of Top Regarded Companies
• Recognized with the Edison Electric Institute's Emergency Recovery Award for outstanding storm restoration efforts
  
  

For more information, visit our website at xcelenergy.com or check out our blog.