WPS Energy Services Completes Acquisition of Advantage Energy,
Inc.
BUFFALO, N.Y., July 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
WPS Energy Services, Inc., a
subsidiary of WPS Resources Corporation (NYSE:WPS), announced today that it
completed the acquisition of Advantage Energy, Inc. Prior to the sale,
Advantage Energy was a privately held nonregulated electric power marketer
based in Buffalo, New York. Advantage Energy Inc. serves 8,200 residential and
commercial customers, exclusively in the New York market, with a peak annual
load of 275 megawatts. Advantage Energy, Inc. will continue to operate as a
separate subsidiary of WPS Energy Services and maintain its own brand. WPS
Energy Services will operate out of Advantage offices in Buffalo and Westfield,
New York.
Mark A. Radtke, President of WPS Energy Services, said, "Throughout the
acquisition process, we were repeatedly impressed with the quality of service
that Advantage Energy provides to its customers. Customer service is critically
important to WPS Energy Services, and is a primary reason we have consistently
received some of the top customer satisfaction ratings in the annual,
independent Mastio & Company Customer Satisfaction and Value Study." Radtke
added, "We look forward to working with the Advantage Energy staff to grow its
New York customer base."
Kyle Storie, the founder of Advantage Energy, said, "We are happy to become
part of the WPS Energy Services team. We are already adding more service
options for our current electric customers, including fixed price offerings.
The New York generation assets, owned and operated by WPS Energy Service's
sister company, WPS Power Development, Inc., will enhance the reliability and
value we bring to our customers. In the near future, we expect to begin
offering natural gas services to our customers, as well." Storie added, "The
conservative nature and financial strength of our new organization will serve
our customers well."
Navigant Consulting, Inc. (NYSE:NCI) served as principal financial advisor to
WPS Energy Services in this transaction. More information about Navigant
Consulting can be found at http://www.navigantconsulting.com/ . For more
information on WPS Energy Services, visit http://www.wpsenergy.com/ .
DATASOURCE: WPS Energy Services, Inc.
CONTACT: Michael W. Welch, Media Relations, +1-920-617-6044, Jody M.
Spaeth, Vice President of Advantage Energy, Inc., +1-716-826-9778, ext. 11, or
Mark A. Radtke, President of WPS Energy Services, Inc., +1-920-617-6053
Web site: http://www.wpsr.com/
http://www.wpsenergy.com/
http://www.navigantconsulting.com/