Klappa Cites Customer Satisfaction, Shareholder Return and Stronger Earnings in Annual Meeting Review of 2009 Highlights

MILWAUKEE, May 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- At Wisconsin Energy's (NYSE: WEC) annual meeting of stockholders held today at Concordia University Wisconsin, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Gale Klappa updated attendees on the progress of the company's Power the Future plan, highlighted the company's financial performance and outlined future investment plans.

During the meeting, stockholders approved re-election of the following directors to terms expiring at the 2011 annual meeting: John F. Bergstrom, Barbara L. Bowles, Patricia W. Chadwick, Robert A. Cornog, Curt S. Culver, Thomas J. Fischer, Gale E. Klappa, Ulice Payne, Jr. and Frederick P. Stratton, Jr. Stockholders also ratified Deloitte & Touche LLP as independent auditors for 2010.

Klappa explained that the recession-rocked economy slashed industrial demand for electricity in Wisconsin last year by 11 percent, and reduced total retail use of electricity across the company's utility network by 8 percent – the largest one-year decline since 1932. Klappa said the company responded by reducing operation and maintenance expenses by $40 million from 2008 levels and by taking advantage of lower prices in the wholesale energy market to cut the company's fuel and purchased power costs and to lower retail electric rates. The result was record net income and earnings per share.

Klappa cited the following 2009 highlights:

Earnings

• Earnings from continuing operations of $3.20 per share – a 5.6 percent increase over the $3.03 per share recorded in 2008.
• The highest net income from continuing operations in company history – $377 million.

Shareholder Return

• Klappa cited statistics that showed Wisconsin Energy's total shareholder return has significantly outperformed the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500, NASDAQ, the S&P 500 Electric Utility Index and the Philadelphia Utility Index over the past 10 years. Wisconsin Energy's total shareholder return, assuming reinvested dividends, was 13 percent over three years, 67 percent over five years, 136 percent over seven years and 253 percent over 10 years.

Dividend Increase

• Raising the dividend by more than 18 percent in January 2010, to an annual rate of $1.60 per share. "Our dividend rate is now 100 percent higher than it was at the beginning of 2004 and has been restored to a level just above where it stood 10 years ago," said Klappa. With the company's major construction projects nearing completion, Klappa explained that the company's goal is to target a dividend payout between 40 and 45 percent of earnings through 2011 and then increase the payout ratio to a range of 45 to 50 percent after 2011.

Customer Satisfaction

• Achieving "the highest levels of customer satisfaction since the merger of Wisconsin Electric and Wisconsin Gas" in 2000, and perhaps the highest in company history. Klappa noted that the company "consistently performed in the top quartile of the utility industry based on independent surveys of customer satisfaction during 2009."
• We Energies, the company's principal utility, was named the most reliable utility in the Midwest for the sixth time in the past eight years by an independent consulting firm.  
• We Energies recorded 18 percent fewer customer outages in 2009 than in 2008 – the company's best reliability in the modern era.
• Completing 2009 with retail electric rates approximately 4 percent below the national average, according to the Department of Energy Information Administration.

Company Performance

• Earning recognition for the third year in a row as one of the nation's best corporate citizens by Corporate Responsibility magazine. The publication evaluates approximately 1,000 publicly held companies on the basis of environmental performance, employee relations, philanthropy, finance and governance practices.
• Receiving a perfect 10 rating for the 21st consecutive time for its corporate governance practices. Wisconsin Energy is one of only two companies worldwide to consistently earn this distinction from GovernanceMetrics International, an independent rating agency.

Power the Future

• The first 615-megawatt unit at the company's Oak Creek expansion achieved commercial operation on Feb. 2, 2010. The second unit is scheduled to be online later this year.
• Klappa estimated the direct impact to the Wisconsin economy of the company's Power the Future construction plan at $1.32 billion for labor and suppliers.

Looking Ahead

• Klappa projected 2011 earnings for Wisconsin Energy at $4.00 per share.
• Moving ahead with what he termed "Son of Power the Future," Klappa explained the company is investing $950 million to upgrade the air quality controls at the existing Oak Creek Power Plant. The upgrade should be completed in 2012.
• Klappa also emphasized the company's ongoing investment in renewable energy. He cited the company's $367 million investment in the Glacier Hills Wind Park in Columbia County, which was recently approved by the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin. He noted that construction at Glacier Hills is expected to begin later this year. He also discussed the proposed biomass-fueled power plant at the Domtar paper mill in Rothschild, Wis. If approved, the 50-megawatt plant is expected to be in service in 2013 at a cost of approximately $255 million.
• Finally, Klappa said the company plans to invest more $400 million a year to renew and expand the company's natural gas and electricity networks.

Earnings per share listed in this news release are on a fully diluted basis.

A replay of the 2010 Annual Meeting of Stockholders is available on the Wisconsin Energy Web site – www.wisconsinenergy.com.

Wisconsin Energy Corporation (NYSE: WEC), based in Milwaukee, is one of the nation's premier energy companies, serving more than 1.1 million electric customers in Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula and more than 1 million natural gas customers in Wisconsin. The company's principal utility is We Energies. The company's other major subsidiary, We Power, designs, builds and owns electric generating plants.

Wisconsin Energy Corporation (www.wisconsinenergy.com), a component of the S&P 500, has more than $12 billion of assets, approximately 4,700 employees and 46,000 stockholders of record.

Forward-looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this press release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements are based upon management's current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in the statements.  Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these statements.  Forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements concerning management's expectations and projections regarding earnings, dividend payout ratios, construction costs and capital expenditures, project completion dates and other matters.  In some cases, forward-looking statements may be identified by reference to a future period or periods or by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "forecasts," "guidance," "intends," "may," "objectives," "plans," "possible," "potential," "projects," "should" or similar terms or variations of these terms.

Actual results may differ materially from those set forth in forward-looking statements.  In addition to the assumptions and other factors referred to specifically in connection with these statements, factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in any forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: unusual weather conditions; catastrophic weather-related or terrorism-related damage; availability of electric generating facilities; changes in purchased power costs; changes in coal or natural gas prices and supply and transportation availability; the ability to recover fuel and purchased power costs; nonperformance by purchased power or natural gas suppliers under existing contracts; environmental incidents; key personnel changes; general economic conditions; business, competitive and regulatory conditions in the deregulating and consolidating energy industry, in general, and, in particular, in the company's service territories; timing, resolution and impact of pending and future rate cases and other regulatory decisions; construction risks; adverse interpretation or enforcement of permit conditions by permitting agencies; equity and bond market fluctuations and events in the global credit markets that may affect the availability and cost of capital; the impact of recent and future federal, state and local legislative and regulatory changes; foreign, governmental, economic, political and currency risks; and other factors described under the heading "Factors Affecting Results, Liquidity and Capital Resources" in Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and under the headings "Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information" and "Risk Factors" contained in the company's Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2009 and in subsequent reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company expressly disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE Wisconsin Energy Corporation