Remarks by ALLETE Chairman, President & CEO Don Shippar
Minnesota Power Centennial Kick-Off, Feb. 9

Welcome, all of you, and thanks for coming. We’re here today to observe and to celebrate a milestone in the course of our region’s history. One hundred years ago, Minnesota Power was incorporated as an electric utility in the state of Minnesota. To be precise, the date was January 29, 1906 and the name of the company back then was Duluth Edison Electric Company. Seven men – six from Duluth and one from St. Paul – formed the corporation, authorizing $2 million in stock divided into 20,000 shares at $100 each.
 
According to the incorporation papers, the nature of the business would be, and I quote, “to improve, develop and use water power for heat, light and power purposes, and to develop, generate and use electric energy and currents for heat, light, and power purposes, otherwise than by water power. “ End of quote.
 
That last phrase was truly a forward-looking statement. Although water power was the primary source of electricity 100 years ago, it represents only a small fraction of the electric industry’s generation today. Today, that “otherwise” covers a wide assortment of power generation sources, from fossil fuels to nuclear, solar -- and the modern day wind turbine.
 
To put things into chronological perspective, 100 years ago today, shortly after seven men had formed a new electric utility, the Thomson Hyrdroelectric plant was under construction on the St. Louis River west of Duluth. Only 25 years before that, Thomas Alva Edison had perfected his carbon filament light bulb. The chain of events leading to the light bulb’s invention is about as complicated a story as the origins of the company that today provides your electric service. Well, the light bulb is still with us today, and so is Minnesota Power’s Thomson Hydroelectric Station. Its turbines continue to produce electricity for light bulbs – and a whole host of electric devices undreamed of early in the 20th century. We’ve been depending upon renewable energy around here for quite awhile.
 
Today we mark the centennial of the incorporation date of the predecessor company of Minnesota Power. Our company began operating by the name Minnesota Power & Light Company in 1923. We began doing business as Minnesota Power in 1980 and changed the corporate name to Minnesota Power, Inc. in 1998. In 2000, we began operating under the name ALLETE, and officially changed to that name the following year. Our electric utility remained Minnesota Power. I hope you’re still with me.
We did not invite you to this event in order to pat ourselves on the back. Minnesota Power’s longevity, its success as a company, has a lot to do with its location and everything to do with the people who’ve settled in this 26,000 square mile territory. We live in a climate that can sometimes be harsh. We’ve had a little sleet and snow fall upon our region, and occasionally, over the past 100 years, a gentle breeze has tested the strength of our power poles. The people of northern and central Minnesota have taken everything that nature has dished out. They’ve distinguished themselves by their hardiness, their generosity during difficult times, and by their entrepreneurial spirit. Generations of Minnesota Power employees have formed lasting partnerships with the people in this region to solve energy problems.
 
Together we built dams and dug trenches, erected power plants, strung lines and raised transmission towers for the electricity we needed. With the help of ratepayers and investors we provided power to crush rock and refine ore and build the ships and armaments that won two World Wars. Without the energy of this region and its people we could not have milled the lumber it took to construct houses for millions of Americans. It took enormous energy to power the huge paper mills and manufacturing plants – energy from the power company and from the people who lived here.
 
So it is a hundred-year partnership, not a corporate birthday party, which we celebrate today. It’s a partnership between a company and the communities it has served, but it’s also a partnership between a company and its own employees. Back in 1924 they started keeping a book listing all MP&L workers with the date of their hiring and an employee number. When that book was started, employees were listed in order of company hierarchy, and so employee number one was Mr. M.L Hibbard, the former company president and namesake of the steam electric plant still operating on St. Louis Bay. Soon afterwards, the employee numbers were issued chronologically according to date of hiring. Two weeks ago, a new Minnesota Power employee was assigned number six thousand, four hundred and six.
 
Throughout our history, Minnesota Power and its employees have taken a special interest in the environment. We treasure the thousands of acres of national forests in our midst, the crisp, clear air and the plentiful water all around us. Environmental stewardship is a core value of our company. It’s why we’ve always taken pride in significantly exceeding regulatory standards for air and water emissions. It’s why we are now developing an initiative we call AREA, which stands for Arrowhead Regional Emission Abatement. We plan to spend $60 million on retrofits and improvements to two of our fossil fuel generating plants that we expect to produce significant reductions in nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide and mercury. This is a proactive air pollution initiative; Minnesota Power is currently 70 percent below existing air emissions permit requirements.
 
Today it’s my pleasure to announce Minnesota Power’s sponsorship of Project Green Fleet, a partnership of Minnesota businesses, government agencies and nonprofit organizations aimed at reducing the pollution emitted by school buses. Minnesota Power will donate $25,000 per year for the next three years to this effort, which is a part of the Minnesota Environmental Initiative. Eventually, school buses throughout Minnesota will undergo retrofits that will result in emission reductions of particulate matter, hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide. These retrofits will also reduce pollution inside school buses, dramatically reducing children’s exposure to pollutants. Minnesota Power is proud to be on board with this effort.
Now we’d like to present the premiere of a short video. It’s about 10 minutes long, and it touches on some of the history from Minnesota Power’s first 100 years. Can we roll the video, please?
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At this time I’d like to introduce a man who’s exhibited a keen interest in our area and an appreciation for how business gets done Up North. We are very proud that he could join us today. Please welcome the governor of the great state of Minnesota – the Honorable Tim Pawlenty.
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Thank you, governor, for your kind words and for making the time to be with us.
As you have seen, our century of history at Minnesota Power is really a look back at the impressive progress of a very special region. Today, as we look back, we also want to give back. I am pleased and proud to announce our intent to establish the Minnesota Power Foundation. In spite of our relatively small size, Minnesota Power has a long history of being a leading corporate citizen in the communities we serve.
 
The formation of this foundation will affirm our conviction that good corporate citizenship is as much a part of our mission as is providing reliable energy. The foundation will establish a vehicle for corporate giving that is generally protected from the ups and downs of business cycles. This will provide a more stable funding base to support organizations working to address needs in the communities we serve. It’s important to direct our limited resources toward areas that matter most to those we serve. The foundation will focus its giving on grants that strengthen the community and enhance the quality of life for people served by Minnesota Power.
 
. . . Throughout the century just passed, Minnesota Power has often worked anonymously, providing an “invisible” service you could always depend on. Maybe that’s why people still mispronounce our name as MP&L. That’s okay with us. All we really want to do is keep the lights on. We will try our best to keep on keeping them on for another century. Thank you.