UGI Corporation (formerly United Gas Improvement Corp.) is a natural gas and

electric power distribution Electric power distribution is the final stage in the Power delivery, delivery of electricity. Electricity is carried from the Electric power transmission, transmission system to individual consumers. Distribution Electrical substation, substatio ...

company headquartered in

King of Prussia, Pennsylvania King of Prussia (nicknamed K.O.P.) is a census-designated place in Upper Merion Township, Pennsylvania, Upper Merion Township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The community took its unusual name in the 18th century from a loca ...

, with extensive operations in the

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and

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. UGI owns AmeriGas, the largest

propane Propane () is a three-carbon chain alkane with the molecular formula . It is a gas at standard temperature and pressure, but becomes liquid when compressed for transportation and storage. A by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum ref ...

marketer in the United States. UGI also owns AvantiGas, Antargaz and Flaga in Europe. UGI also operates interstate and intrastate transmission and natural gas storage assets in the Marcellus Shale.

History

UGI was incorporated in 1882 as United Gas Improvement Co. In 1903, the company owned the majority of the stock of the Equitable Illuminating Gas Light Company, which operated the Philadelphia Gas Works. The company formed the United Electric Company of

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

in 1899. United Electric consolidated several electric and lighting utilities into a single

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the Security (finance), securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own Share ...

. Public Service Corporation of New Jersey took over United Electric in 1907. United Electric was ultimately merged into Public Service Enterprise Group. In October 1964, Industrial Gases, Inc., of

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, filed an

antitrust Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust l ...

suit in

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charging the company with attempting to eliminate competition in sales of bottled

gas in Pittsburgh. The Philadelphia Gas Works division of UGI challenged a ruling of the Federal Power Commission. The FPC lowered the maximum price that natural gas producers could charge to $0.16 per of gas. This mandate was upheld by the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...

in May 1968. In February 1968, the company changed its name to UGI Corporation. In 1993, through its AmeriGas subsidiary, the company acquired Petrolane, which was in

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

. In 1999, the company offered to acquire Unisource Worldwide, a distributor of office paper, but it was outbid by

Georgia-Pacific Georgia-Pacific LLC is an American pulp and paper company based in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, and is one of the world's largest manufacturers and distributors of Tissue paper, tissue, Pulp (paper), pulp, paper, toilet and paper towe ...

. On April 1, 2013, John Walsh succeeded Lon Greenberg as president and

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

. In May 2015, the company acquired Totalgaz S.A.'s

liquefied petroleum gas Liquefied petroleum gas, also referred to as liquid petroleum gas (LPG or LP gas), is a fuel gas which contains a flammable mixture of hydrocarbon gases, specifically propane, Butane, ''n''-butane and isobutane. It can also contain some ...

distribution operations in France for €423 million. In October 2017, the company acquired Totalgaz Italia, a liquefied petroleum gas distribution business, and renamed it UniverGas Italia. In December 2018, the company acquired South Jersey Industries’s retail natural gas business. On August 1, 2019, the company acquired Columbia Midstream Group for approximately $1.275 billion. On August 21, 2019, the company acquired the portion of AmeriGas that it did not already own. On July 10, 2020, the company acquired GHI Energy LLC, a Houston-based renewable natural gas company. On January 5, 2020, the company acquired ''Mountaineer Gas Company'' of West Virginia for $540 million.

Notable people

* A. O. Granger, UGI president

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ugi Corporation Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Electric power companies of the United States Natural gas companies of the United States Companies based in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania History of Philadelphia 1964 in American law American companies established in 1882 1882 establishments in Pennsylvania Companies in the S&P 400