Tuesday, October 15, 2024
MARINETTE COUNTY – Wisconsin Public Service plans to transfer 50 employees from its Wausaukee and Menominee service centers to a new facility in Coleman, which is expected to be completed in November, the company said.
The Wausaukee and Menominee, Mich. centers are slated to close when the Coleman center opens on MacArthur Dr. near U.S. Business 141, said WPS Spokesman Matt Cullen. “Both facilities are more than 50 years old, and no longer meet the needs of our workforce. The Coleman Service Center also will enhance staffing plans for day-to-day operations as well as urgent incidents involving electricity and natural gas,” he said.
“The transition isn’t expected to result in any changes to the company’s workforce,” Cullen said.
“Most of the employees in Coleman will be lines workers and natural gas mechanics,” he said. “The facility won’t have an office that accepts payments from the public,” he continued.
Menominee, Mich. customers will continue to see WPS or WeEnergy trucks around town after storm damage or for service upgrades, Cullin said.
“Our focus is providing reliable electricity and natural gas to our customers in Northeast Wisconsin and Michigan before and after this transition takes place,” he said.
Cullen explained, “WPS, a unit of Milwaukee-based WEC Energy Group, serves 466,000 electric and 344,000 natural gas customers in northeast and north central Wisconsin.” Publicly traded WEC Energy Group also includes Upper Michigan Energy Resources Corp. and serves more than 4.7 million customers in the upper Midwest.
Separately, the Wisconsin Public Service Foundation has awarded technical college scholarships to the following students in Marinette and Menominee Counties: Ethan Anderson (Stephenson, Mich.), Matthew Molkentine (Marinette) and Aidan Powell (Marinette).
“The foundation is providing a total of $20,000 in technical college scholarships this year to 25 first-time college students selected for the program, with each awardee receiving up to $750. Students must enroll in a Wisconsin technical college and are selected based on academic achievement, leadership activities and financial need,” Cullen explained. “The students don’t have to enroll in a program related to energy.”
In a release, Cullen stated, “This fall, our technical college scholarship program is helping students continue their education in a variety of fields, including architectural technology, business management, electrical engineering, human resources, graphic design and information technology.”
A scholarship is not a ticket to a job at WPS. About 14 current WPS employees were scholarship recipients at one time, he said. Besides Northeast Wisconsin Technical College in Marinette and Sturgeon Bay, participating technical colleges include: Fox Valley Technical College, Lakeshore Technical College, Mid-State Technical College, Nicolet Technical College and Northcentral Technical College.
