COMPANY·HISTORIES
NAIC 221210

Natural Gas Distribution

How the companies in this industry began, and the forces that shaped them.

60companies1858–2000founding years54still active6no longer operating
§ 01

The industry over time

Companies foundedEconomyTechnologyEnvironment
FoundedSuez Lyonnaise des Eaux
1858
FoundedTokyo Gas Co., Ltd.
1885
FoundedElectrabel N.V.
1892
FoundedOsaka Gas Company, Ltd.
1897
1903
TechnologyThe Wright brothers achieve powered flight.
1908
TechnologyThe Ford Model T brings the automobile to the middle class.
FoundedDominion Resources, Inc.
1909
1913
EconomyThe Federal Reserve is created.
1914
EconomyWorld War I begins; global trade reorders.
FoundedAmeren Corporation
1922
FoundedFlorida Public Utilities Company
1924
FoundedAquila, Inc.
1926
FoundedKinder Morgan, Inc.
1927
1929
EconomyThe stock market crashes; the Great Depression begins.
1933
EconomyNew Deal reforms reshape banking and industry.
1939
EconomyWorld War II begins; wartime production surges.
1945
EconomyThe war ends; a long postwar expansion begins.
FoundedChesapeake Utilities CorporationFoundedPetrobras Energia Participaciones S.A.
1947
TechnologyThe transistor is invented at Bell Labs.
1956
EconomyThe Interstate Highway program remakes commerce.
1958
TechnologyThe integrated circuit is demonstrated.
FoundedSideco Americana S.A.
1961
1962
EnvironmentSilent Spring launches the modern environmental movement.
1970
EnvironmentThe EPA is founded; environmental regulation expands.
1971
EconomyThe dollar leaves the gold standard; Nasdaq opens.
1973
EconomyThe OPEC oil embargo triggers a global shock.
1975
TechnologyThe personal-computer era begins with the Altair.
FoundedSuncor Energy Inc.
1979
EconomyA second oil crisis drives inflation higher.
1981
TechnologyThe IBM PC launches and sets a standard.
FoundedUnión Fenosa, S.A.
1982
FoundedSCANA Corporation
1984
TechnologyApple ships the Macintosh; the GUI era begins.
1987
EconomyBlack Monday: markets fall 22% in a single day.
FoundedPowergen PLC
1989
EnvironmentThe Exxon Valdez spill reshapes energy and shipping rules.
1991
TechnologyThe World Wide Web is released to the public.
FoundedGas Natural SDG S.A.FoundedWestar Energy, Inc.
1992
1993
TechnologyThe Mosaic browser brings the web to everyone.
1995
TechnologyWindows 95 launches; the internet goes mainstream.
1997
EconomyThe Asian financial crisis rattles global markets.
EnvironmentThe Kyoto Protocol sets the first climate targets.
2000
EconomyThe dot-com bubble bursts.
2001
EconomyThe September 11 attacks; a recession follows.
2004
TechnologySocial media and Web 2.0 begin to take hold.
2007
TechnologyThe iPhone launches the smartphone era.
2008
EconomyThe global financial crisis freezes credit.
2010
EnvironmentThe Deepwater Horizon spill triggers sweeping energy rules.
TechnologyCloud computing goes mainstream for business.
2015
EnvironmentThe Paris Agreement sets global climate targets.
2020
EconomyThe COVID-19 pandemic upends the global economy.
2022
EconomyInflation spikes; central banks raise rates sharply.
2023
TechnologyGenerative AI reaches mainstream business use.
§ 02

The companies

Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux →
Active · founded 1858 · France
Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux has transformed itself into one of the world's leading multi-utility powerhouses, offering…
Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux →
Active · founded 1858 · France
Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux has transformed itself into one of the world's leading multi-utility powerhouses, offering…
Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd. →
Active · founded 1885 · Japan
With nearly nine million customers, Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd.
Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd. →
Active · founded 1885 · Japan
With nearly nine million customers, Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd.
Equitable Resources, Inc. →
Active · founded 1888
Equitable Resources, Inc.
Equitable Resources, Inc. →
Active · founded 1888
Equitable Resources, Inc.
Electrabel N.V. →
Active · founded 1892 · Belgium
Electrabel N.V.
Electrabel N.V. →
Active · founded 1892 · Belgium
Electrabel N.V.
Wisconsin Energy Corporation →
Active · founded 1896
1880s:Henry Villard consolidates Milwaukee's electric and streetcar companies to form the Milwaukee Street Railway…
Wisconsin Energy Corporation →
Active · founded 1896
1880s:Henry Villard consolidates Milwaukee's electric and streetcar companies to form the Milwaukee Street Railway…
Osaka Gas Company, Ltd. →
Active · founded 1897 · Japan
Osaka Gas Company, Ltd.
Osaka Gas Company, Ltd. →
Active · founded 1897 · Japan
Osaka Gas Company, Ltd.
Dominion Resources, Inc. →
Active · founded 1909
Dominion Resources, Inc.
Dominion Resources, Inc. →
Active · founded 1909
Dominion Resources, Inc.
PNM Resources Inc. →
Active · founded 1917
PNM Resources Inc.
PNM Resources Inc. →
Active · founded 1917
PNM Resources Inc.
Ameren Corporation →
Active · founded 1922
Ameren Corporation provides a variety of energy services to over 2.2 million customers in Missouri and Illinois with a…
Ameren Corporation →
Active · founded 1922
Ameren Corporation provides a variety of energy services to over 2.2 million customers in Missouri and Illinois with a…
New Jersey Resources Corporation →
Active · founded 1922
New Jersey Resources Corporation (NJR) is a holding company, whose primary subsidiary is New Jersey Natural Gas…
New Jersey Resources Corporation →
Active · founded 1922
New Jersey Resources Corporation (NJR) is a holding company, whose primary subsidiary is New Jersey Natural Gas…
Florida Public Utilities Company →
Active · founded 1924
Florida Public Utilities Company (FPU) is a small but growing publicly traded energy company, providing electricity,…
Florida Public Utilities Company →
Active · founded 1924
Florida Public Utilities Company (FPU) is a small but growing publicly traded energy company, providing electricity,…
Aquila, Inc. →
Active · founded 1926
Aquila, Inc.
Aquila, Inc. →
Active · founded 1926
Aquila, Inc.
Ruhrgas AG →
Defunct · founded 1926 · Germany
Ruhrgas AG is Germany's largest natural gas distribution company.
Ruhrgas AG →
Defunct · founded 1926 · Germany
Ruhrgas AG is Germany's largest natural gas distribution company.
Kinder Morgan, Inc. →
Active · founded 1927
Based in Houston, Texas, Kinder Morgan, Inc.
Kinder Morgan, Inc. →
Active · founded 1927
Based in Houston, Texas, Kinder Morgan, Inc.
Gaz de France →
Defunct · founded 1946 · France
Not content to be Europe's third largest provider of natural gas, Gaz de France (GDF) is gunning for that market's top…
Gaz de France →
Defunct · founded 1946 · France
Not content to be Europe's third largest provider of natural gas, Gaz de France (GDF) is gunning for that market's top…
Chesapeake Utilities Corporation →
Active · founded 1947
Chesapeake Utilities Corporation, based in Dover, Delaware, is a small, diversified utility company involved in four…
Chesapeake Utilities Corporation →
Active · founded 1947
Chesapeake Utilities Corporation, based in Dover, Delaware, is a small, diversified utility company involved in four…
Petrobras Energia Participaciones S.A. →
Active · founded 1947 · Argentina
Petrobras Energia Participaciones S.A.
Petrobras Energia Participaciones S.A. →
Active · founded 1947 · Argentina
Petrobras Energia Participaciones S.A.
ENI S.p.A. →
Active · founded 1953 · Italy
ENI S.p.A., the former Italian state-owned Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi, is one of the world's top ten oil and natural…
ENI S.p.A. →
Active · founded 1953 · Italy
ENI S.p.A., the former Italian state-owned Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi, is one of the world's top ten oil and natural…
Sideco Americana S.A. →
Active · founded 1961 · Argentina
Sideco Americana S.A.
Sideco Americana S.A. →
Active · founded 1961 · Argentina
Sideco Americana S.A.
Bay State Gas Company →
Active · founded 1974
Bay State Gas Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of NiSource, Inc., acquired in a 1999 merger that created the tenth…
Bay State Gas Company →
Active · founded 1974
Bay State Gas Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of NiSource, Inc., acquired in a 1999 merger that created the tenth…
Suncor Energy Inc. →
Active · founded 1979 · Canada
Suncor Energy Inc.
Suncor Energy Inc. →
Active · founded 1979 · Canada
Suncor Energy Inc.
Unión Fenosa, S.A. →
Defunct · founded 1982 · Spain
Unión Fenosa, S.A.
Unión Fenosa, S.A. →
Defunct · founded 1982 · Spain
Unión Fenosa, S.A.
Dynegy Inc. →
Active · founded 1984
Dynegy Inc.
Dynegy Inc. →
Active · founded 1984
Dynegy Inc.
SCANA Corporation →
Active · founded 1984
SCANA Corporation is a diversified holding company headquartered in Columbia, South Carolina.
SCANA Corporation →
Active · founded 1984
SCANA Corporation is a diversified holding company headquartered in Columbia, South Carolina.
Hyder plc →
Active · founded 1989 · United Kingdom
Many-headed Hyder (the Welsh word for confidence; rhymes with rudder) plc provides integrated water, electricity, and…
Hyder plc →
Active · founded 1989 · United Kingdom
Many-headed Hyder (the Welsh word for confidence; rhymes with rudder) plc provides integrated water, electricity, and…
Powergen PLC →
Active · founded 1989 · United Kingdom
Powergen PLC is a leading integrated gas and electric company created from the breakup of the nationalized electricity…
Powergen PLC →
Active · founded 1989 · United Kingdom
Powergen PLC is a leading integrated gas and electric company created from the breakup of the nationalized electricity…
Gas Natural SDG S.A. →
Active · founded 1992 · Spain
Spain's Gas Natural SDG S.A.
Gas Natural SDG S.A. →
Active · founded 1992 · Spain
Spain's Gas Natural SDG S.A.
MOL Rt →
Active · founded 1992 · Hungary
Hungary's largest company, MOL Rt (formerly MOL Magyar Olaj- es Gazipari Rt) is also the leading integrated oil company…
MOL Rt →
Active · founded 1992 · Hungary
Hungary's largest company, MOL Rt (formerly MOL Magyar Olaj- es Gazipari Rt) is also the leading integrated oil company…
Westar Energy, Inc. →
Active · founded 1992 · Topeka, Kansas 66601-0889
1930s:KPL acquires the United Power and Light Corporation.
Westar Energy, Inc. →
Active · founded 1992 · Topeka, Kansas 66601-0889
1930s:KPL acquires the United Power and Light Corporation.
E.On AG →
Active · founded 2000 · Germany
E.On AG is the largest listed power generation company in Europe.
E.On AG →
Active · founded 2000 · Germany
E.On AG is the largest listed power generation company in Europe.
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