PA Consulting Group names us best in nation for keeping the lights on

Award recognizes most reliable electric utilities nationwide

We received the 2013 ReliabilityOne™ national award recently for superior reliability of our electric system.

The national award is based on our performance for the year 2012, and is given annually by PA Consulting Group to utilities that have excelled in delivering the most reliable electric service to their customers.

"We’re honored to be named the most reliable utility in America. This national award is a testament to the skill and professionalism of our employees who dedicate themselves to outstanding customer care every day,” said Gale Klappa, chairman, president and chief executive officer of We Energies.

All utilities operating electric delivery networks in North America are eligible for the ReliabilityOne Award. The selection is based primarily on statistics that measure the frequency and duration of customer outages. After initial recipients are identified, each potential winner undergoes an on-site certification -- an independent review of the processes and systems used to collect, analyze and report a company's reliability results.

We also received – for the ninth time in the past 12 years -- the ReliabilityOne Award for outstanding electric reliability performance in the Midwest. There are five regional awards -- Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Plains and West.

We have made significant investments in recent years to strengthen the reliability of our network by rebuilding hundreds of miles of distribution lines, and building and upgrading substations and other infrastructure. Our forestry management also has been recognized for responsible tree trimming practices to keep branches from coming into contact with power lines.

“ReliabilityOne Award winners are characterized by their total commitment to service quality,” said Jeff Lewis, PA Consulting Group’s ReliabilityOne program director. “We Energies demonstrates its commitment to electric reliability every day from the senior leadership to the field crews and customer service representatives. To be the best in this industry, the entire organization must focus, align and motivate around reliability.”

About PA Consulting Group
PA Consulting Group is a firm of more than 2,000 people, specializing in management and IT consulting, technology and innovation. Independent and employee-owned, they operate globally from offices across Europe and the Nordics, the United States, the Gulf and Asia Pacific. PA Consulting works with businesses and governments to anticipate, understand and meet the challenges they face. They have outstanding technology-development capability and a unique breadth of skills, from strategy to performance improvement, from HR to IT. PA Consulting’s expertise covers energy, financial services, life sciences and healthcare, government and public services, defense and security, transport and logistics, telecommunications, consumer goods and automotive. PA Consulting Group has partnered with energy clients for over 25 years to help them understand the challenges they face and define and implement an effective strategic response. PA Consulting Group’s 2012 ReliabilityOne study, based on standard industry reliability statistics that measure the frequency and duration of electric power outages, has been analyzing electric utility performance since 1987. For more information about PA Consulting Group, visit www.paconsulting.com/energy.

Our Rothschild Biomass Cogeneration Plant begins commercial operation

Our biomass-fueled power plant on the site of Domtar Corporation's Rothschild, Wis., paper mill was placed into commercial operation Friday, Nov. 8, after testing and commissioning activities were successfully completed.

Wood, waste wood and sawdust are being used to produce up to 50 megawatts (MW) of electricity; steam provided by the plant is also supporting Domtar's sustainable papermaking operations.

This new biomass plant adds another technology to our renewable energy portfolio.

"The addition of the biomass plant enables us to produce renewable energy on demand," said Gale Klappa, our chairman, president and chief executive officer. "That benefit is simply not available with solar or wind generation."

Our renewable energy portfolio includes the state's two largest wind developments -- the 145-MW Blue Sky Green Field Wind Energy Center in Fond du Lac County and the 162-MW Glacier Hills Wind Park in Columbia County. Together, these three projects are capable of delivering nearly 360 MW of renewable energy, enough to supply approximately 120,000 homes.

"These renewable energy projects -- fueled by Wisconsin resources -- were developed largely through the talents of Wisconsin companies and Wisconsin labor," added Klappa.

More than 400 workers contributed to the construction of the biomass plant, which also will support approximately 150 permanent jobs in the region, including independent wood suppliers and haulers from northern and central Wisconsin who will secure waste wood for the project.

Under Wisconsin law, utilities statewide must use renewable energy to meet 10 percent of the electricity needs of their retail customers by the year 2015. With the commercial operation of the Rothschild biomass plant, we estimate that we now have secured enough renewable energy to remain in compliance with the state mandate through 2022.

In addition, Domtar's use of the steam produced by the plant will help improve the paper mill's energy efficiency and reduce overall emissions at the site by more than 30 percent.