The Public Service Corporation was formed in 1903, by amalgamating more than 400 gas, electric and transportation companies in New Jersey. Thomas McCarter was named the Corporation's first president and held the position until 1939.
Internally, Public Service consolidated its gas and electric interests into Public Service Electric and Gas, and its transportation interests into Public Service Coordinated Transport (later Transport of New Jersey). Concerns about the concentration of economic power resulted in federal and state actions requiring the breakup of utilities. In 1943, Public Service once again became a stand-alone company, and was renamed Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G) in 1948.
Transportation was a major component of Public Service's early offerings, and at its inception, included ferry and trolley services, as well as elevators for transporting horse carts up the Palisades. In 1916, Public Service provided more than 451 million passenger trips on its trolleys alone. In 1928, Public Service Railway Company and Public Service Transportation Company merged to form Public Service Coordinated Transport, which dominated trolley, and, later, bus travel in New Jersey.
In 1934, Public Service engineers designed the first diesel-electric bus, and in 1937 went on to operate the first diesel-electric bus fleet (of 27 vehicles) in the world. The Company's involvement in transportation ended in 1980, when PSE&G sold its transportation system to the State of New Jersey.
In 1985, The Board of Directors created Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) as a holding company. In connection with the restructuring of the industry in New Jersey, in 2000, the generation assets of PSE&G were transferred to PSEG Power, an electric generation and wholesale energy trading company.
Today, PSEG is a publicly traded diversified energy company (NYSE: PEG), with 2015 annual revenues of $10.4 billion. PSEG was ranked 272 on the Fortune 500 list for 2016.
