In 1898, William Foote, with the help of his engineer brother, James, undertook construction of the first large-scale dam in Michigan along the Kalamazoo River. These needs could be met by local hydro- or coal-powered generators, but as electric trolley cars became more and more popular the demand for plentiful and (even more important) consistent electric power began to exceed the output of small local power plants. Like all electric companies at that time, Foote ’s first plants in the towns of Adrian and Jackson were small in scale and were intended only to generate enough electricity to power street lights and some residential and business lighting. In 1885, Foote sold his mill and entered the electric utility business. When a local entrepreneur asked him if he could set up a small electric dynamo in his flour mill, Foote became intrigued by the potential of this new way of exploiting water power. Foote, a miller by trade, had been accustomed to harnessing water to run his flour mill. By the late 1800s, however, both the customers for wood products and the supply of timber had dried up, and the rivers, surrounded by decimated forest land, had lost their commercial value. They had been crucial in the earlier development of the state, providing transportation for the logging industry that had opened up western Michigan.
The primary source of power for these pioneering electric utilities was the swift-flowing rivers of Michigan. The merger of the properties of these entrepreneurs into the Consumers Power Company created the largest utility company in Michigan and formed the basis for what was to become, for a brief period, one of the most important utility conglomerates in the United States. The Hodenpyl and Walbridge interests also extended into New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Indiana, where the partners had been consolidating gas, electric, and tram lines into multiutility “railway and light ” companies. The long-time partners Hodenpyl and Walbridge, in turn, controlled most of the gas companies in eastern Michigan, along with some electric power facilities and traction lines. Foote also had interests in a number of “traction lines, ” the electric trolley systems that were one of the most important customers for his electric power.
Through the Commonwealth Power holding company, Foote controlled almost all the electric utilities in western Michigan including the Jackson, Albion, Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, Plainswell, and Grand Rapids electric companies. The Consumers Power Company was formed in 1910 through the merger of the properties of the two largest Michigan power company owners, W.
since 1987, is the largest utility company in Michigan and the fourth largest in the United States it has provided electricity and gas to Michigan homes throughout the 20th century and services six million people across the state. SICs: 4939 Combination Utility Not Elsewhere ClassifiedĬonsumers Power Co., a subsidiary of CMS Energy Corp. Wholly Owned Subsidiary of CMS Energy Corp.