Public Service Corporation

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The Public Service Corporation (PSC) was an energy and transportation company in New Jersey. It was formed to shore up financing and development of New Jersey's streetcar and power companies at a time when they were growing but exhausting capital. It did this by leasing their operations or buying them outright, and using the size and integration of the systems to get favorable financing for improvements.

Contents

Its energy utility became the Public Service Electric and Gas Company. Its transportation business became the nucleus of New Jersey Transit's bus network, along with the Newark subway system. [1]

History

Formation

In the 1890s, gas lighting was a mature business with small technological advancing growth, but new competition from electricity. Streetcar companies were also well established, but the disjointed network limited the operators, reduced profits, and made it difficult to finance improvements. Some were losing money. Similarly, the electrification of the state had proceeded rapidly, but in a disjointed, local fashion, that sometimes caused financing difficulties for the operators. especially as technological improvements required constant capital. [2]

In the 1880s and 1890s, United Gas Improvement of Pennsylvania had developed a model of operating or owning local gas providers. It decided to expand the model to New Jersey, and made a deal in 1899 with several power utilities there to merge into a holding company it formed, United Electric Company of New Jersey. [3] UGI's consolidation strategy served as prototype for large consolidation efforts, which would cover broad portions of New Jersey utility operations, as well as streetcar operation (whose own power generation needs or operations were a natural fit for the electric company consolidation, aside from the pressing need to improve the financial stability of streetcar companies). [2]

PSC was formed May 6, 1903. It was initially a merger of four trolley companies and a power company [4] serving Passaic, Hudson, Bergen and Essex counties. It quickly continued consolidating gas, electric and trolley companies throughout much of New Jersey, eventually over 400 being combined. [1] [2] [5] [6] [7]

Initially, PSC did not necessarily buy its consolidation target companies (whether transportation or power) outright. Instead, it often obtained very long term lease agreements (typically 900 years) with them for their plants, and often bought large stakes in the companies and took over their boards of directors. [2] By 1928, this arrangement was deemed to be cumbersome and complicated for financing efforts. PSC would use its influence via shared boards of directors to merge the other utilities outright into one of its holding companies, exchanging third parties' shares for PSC preferred stock. [8]

Organization

In its early years, the company had five primary operating subsidiaries:

All of these were holding companies, except for the bus company. United Electric was a special case. As mentioned above, it had predated Public Service, having been formed in 1899 to consolidate local electric companies in Essex, Hudson, Passaic, Bergen, Morris, Union, and Middlesex [11] [12] [13] counties (some accounts leave out some of the counties [14] [15] ). PSC leased United's operations in 1907, but did not consolidate it into Public Service Electric Company, keeping it as a direct subsidiary of Public Service [9] [16]

By 1928, the five were merged into two:

Operations

Within a few years of formation of PSE, with the consolidation of dozens of component companies, rates were significantly reduced for utilities across most service areas, and trolley transportation became less expensive per trip, especially with free transfers across PSE's nine purchased lines. [19]

The transportation division originally operated only streetcars. The electric transmission network powering the streetcars was a natural fit for the energy operations when the company was formed. In 1917, Public Service began adding bus routes. The streetcar division was called Public Service Railway Company (Public Service Railways), while the bus division was called Public Service Transportation Company. [20] The two divisions were merged in 1928 to create Public Service Coordinated Transport.

In 1935, Public Service began experimenting with All Service Vehicles, trolleys that were adaptable to both rail and road use, using electric service or gas engines. [21] This began the demise of streetcars, with buses taking over their routes. By 1948, Public Service had stopped using the All Service Vehicles in favor of standard buses.

In 1948, Public Service Corporation dissolved. PSE&G went from being a subsidiary to an independent public company. This helped resolve federal and state antitrust concerns.

In 1971, Public Service Coordinated Transport was renamed to Transport of New Jersey (TNJ).

In the late 1970s, the state began to assess gaps in its commuter network, partly as many large rail companies had failed and been taken over by Conrail. The department of transportation formed a new company, New Jersey Transit, in 1979. It began to buy up bus companies, and purchased Transport of New Jersey in 1980. This ended PSE&G's role as a transportation provider, and it became exclusively an energy utility.

In 1985, a new holding company, Public Service Enterprise Group, Inc. formed. The new holding company absorbed PSE&G and formed a second, non-utility subsidiary not subject to utility regulations, Enterprise Diversified Holdings, Inc. [17]

Related Research Articles

The notion of a General Motors streetcar conspiracy emerged after General Motors (GM) and other companies were convicted of monopolizing the sale of buses and supplies to National City Lines (NCL) and its subsidiaries. In the same case, the defendants were accused of conspiring to own or control transit systems, in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust act. The suit created lingering suspicions that the defendants had in fact plotted to dismantle streetcar systems in many cities in the United States as an attempt to monopolize surface transportation.

The Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) is a publicly traded diversified energy company headquartered in Newark, New Jersey and was established in 1985 with a legacy dating back to 1903.

Newark Public Service Terminal

The Public Service Terminal was a three-level streetcar station in Newark, New Jersey, owned and operated by the Public Service Corporation, adjacent to the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad's Park Place station. It served as the terminus for streetcar lines from as far as Trenton. Public Service was both a transportation company and a utility, providing electric and gas service to much of northern New Jersey. The six office stories above the terminal served as company headquarters.

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Boston and Worcester Electric Companies (B&W) was a holding company for several streetcar companies between Boston and Worcester, Massachusetts. The main line, built by the Boston and Worcester Street Railway, was an interurban streetcar line partly on the old Boston and Worcester Turnpike and partly on private right-of-way. Long after the line was converted to buses, Boston and Worcester Lines took over operations, and sold the franchises to various other bus companies.

Streetcars in Washington, D.C.

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UGI Corporation is a natural gas and electric power distribution company headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, with extensive operations in the United States and Europe.

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NJ Transit Bus Operations

NJ Transit Bus Operations is the bus division of NJ Transit, providing bus service throughout New Jersey along with service along one light rail line, with many routes going to New York City and Philadelphia.

Streetcars in North America

Streetcars or trolley(car)s were once the chief mode of public transit in hundreds of North American cities and towns. Most of the original urban streetcar systems were either dismantled in the mid-20th century or converted to other modes of operation, such as light rail. Today, only Toronto still operates a streetcar network essentially unchanged in layout and mode of operation.

Connecticut Company

The Connecticut Company was the primary electric street railway company in the U.S. state of Connecticut, operating both city and rural trolleys and freight service. It was controlled by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, which also controlled most steam railroads in the state. After 1936, when one of its major leases was dissolved, it continued operating streetcars and, increasingly, buses in certain Connecticut cities until 1976, when its assets were purchased by the state government.

Transport of New Jersey

Transport of New Jersey (TNJ), earlier Public Service Transportation and then Public Service Coordinated Transport, was a street railway and bus company in the U.S. state of New Jersey from 1917 to 1980, when NJ Transit took over their operations. It was owned by the Public Service Corporation, now the Public Service Electric and Gas Company.

Streetcars in St. Louis

Streetcars in St. Louis, Missouri operated as part of the transportation network of St. Louis from the middle of the 19th century through the early 1960s. During the first forty years of the streetcar in the city, a variety of private companies operated several dozen lines; from the start of the 20th century, most of these companies consolidated into the St. Louis Public Service Company, which served both the city of St. Louis and neighboring St. Louis County, Missouri. Other private companies, such as those serving the Metro East region or St. Charles, Missouri, continued separate operations. Starting in the 1930s and continuing through the 1960s, St. Louis Public Service ended all streetcar service, while other regional operators also ended their services.

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Peekskill Lighting and Railroad Company

The Peekskill Lighting and Railroad Company was a streetcar transit line operating in northern Westchester County and southern Putnam County, New York. The earliest segment was constructed by the Peekskill Traction Company in 1899, running 5.5 miles (8.9 km) from the New York Central Railroad train station at Peekskill to Lake Mohegan. The company was unable to meet payments for construction of the line, so the contractor operated the railroad until it was sold to the Peekskill Lighting and Railroad Company in 1900. The associated Westchester and Putnam Traction Company built extensions beyond Lake Mohegan, though the two companies were operated as one. In 1902, an extension was constructed through Buchannan to Verplanck. Another extension was opened in 1907 to Cortlandville, and Varian's Mills in 1908. The final extension to Oregon opened in 1909. President of the company was F.A. Stratton, who was also president of the Hudson River and Eastern Traction company, operators of the Ossining Electric Railway.

Connecticut Railway and Lighting Company was a streetcar and bus transit operator serving the region around Bridgeport, Norwalk, Derby, New Britain and Waterbury, Connecticut. It was formed in 1901 by United Gas Improvement Company of Philadelphia to manage the streetcar operations of the Connecticut Light and Power Company, which at the time included Central Railway and Electric Company, Norwalk Street Railway, and the Waterbury Traction Company. The newly formed Connecticut Railway and Lighting acquired Bridgeport Traction Company, Derby Street Railway, Milford Street Railway, Shelton Street Railway, Meriden, Southington and Compounce Tramway Company, and the Cheshire Street Railway. Connecticut Railway and Lighting was leased to the Consolidated Railway and in turn the Connecticut Company between 1906 and 1936. Streetcar operations were discontinued in 1937 when all lines were converted to bus. Transit operations continued until 1972, when all remaining bus operations were suspended and taken over by Connecticut Transit, except in Bridgeport- by the Greater Bridgeport Transit District in 1975.

Milwaukee & Suburban Transport Corporation

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References

  1. 1 2 "Interesting New Provisions in Public Service Corporation's Charter". The Sun. 1903-05-07. p. 11. Retrieved 2017-05-14– via Newspapers.com Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg .
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 McCarter, Thomas N. (Thomas Nesbitt) (1911-01-01). The public service rate problem [microform]. [United States : s.n.] – via archive.org.
  3. ↑ "United Gas Improvement: Important Suit Involving United Electric". The Wall Street Journal. 1904-10-08. p. 5. Retrieved 2017-05-14– via Newspapers.com Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg .
  4. ↑ "Power Company Incorporated". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 1903-06-13. p. 21. Retrieved 2017-05-14.
  5. ↑ "Jersey Trolley Merger". The Wall Street Journal. 1903-05-13. p. 2. Retrieved 2017-05-14– via Newspapers.com Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg .
  6. ↑ "Jersey Trolley Merger". The Wall Street Journal. 1903-05-20. p. 2. Retrieved 2017-05-14– via Newspaper.com Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg .
  7. ↑ "Absorbing Gas Concerns". The New York Times. 1903-05-21. p. 2. Retrieved 2017-05-14– via Newspapers.com Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg .
  8. ↑ "OUTWATER V. PUBLIC SERVICE CORP. OF N.J". casetext.com. 1928. doi:10.2307/1116746. JSTOR   1116746 . Retrieved 2017-05-14.
  9. 1 2 "Gold Bonds offered by United Electric Company of New Jersey". The New York Times. 1910-01-01. p. 15. Retrieved 2017-05-15– via Newspapers.com Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg .
  10. ↑ "Leased By Public Service: United Electric Company to be Taken Over for a Term of 999 Years". The New York Times. 1907-06-30. p. 9. Retrieved 2017-05-15– via Newspapers.com Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg .
  11. ↑ "To Control Great Elements". The Evening Times. 1899-03-06. p. 4. Retrieved 2017-05-15.
  12. ↑ "New Jersey Electric Deal". The New York Times. 1899-03-05. p. 5. Retrieved 2017-05-15.
  13. ↑ "Big Electric Concern". The Morning News. 1899-03-07. p. 2. Retrieved 2017-05-15.
  14. ↑ "United Electric mortgage". The Times. 1899-06-08. p. 8. Retrieved 2017-05-15.
  15. ↑ "A Great Electric Company: Under the Control of the UGI of Philadelphia". The Times. 1899-03-05. p. 8. Retrieved 2017-05-15.
  16. ↑ "999-Year Lease Ratified". The New York Times. 1907-07-13. p. 11. Retrieved 2017-05-15.
  17. 1 2 "PUBLIC SERVICE ELECTRIC AND GAS COMPANY RESPONSE TO USEPA" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. 1996-08-13. pp. 7–9 of response (19–21 of file). Retrieved 2017-05-15.
  18. ↑ "Company History". www.pseg.com. Archived from the original on 2017-05-06. Retrieved 2017-05-15.
  19. ↑ "Important Announcement by Public Service". The Courier-News. 1906-10-24. p. 6. Retrieved 2017-05-15– via Newspapers.com Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg .
  20. ↑ "New Company Formed (Public Service Coordinated Transport)". The Chatham Press. 1928-02-11. p. 7. Retrieved 2017-05-14– via Newspapers.com Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg .
  21. ↑ "Many Kinds of Motor-Driven Vehicles Providing Transportation in New Jersey". The Madison Eagle. 1935-11-29. p. 7. Retrieved 2017-05-14– via Newspapers.com Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg .
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