Consolidation
PSNH Is Born

In 1901, Manchester Electric Light merged into a new concern, the Manchester Traction, Light and Power Company, a consolidation of several small electric companies in the city and on the nearby Merrimack River. "Traction" preceded "Light and Power" in the title because at the time-and for about the first quarter of the 20th century-trolleys and inter-urban railways were the largest users of electric power. For Manchester Traction, the period was also marked by construction of transmission lines as the company reached outward from its urban hub into the countryside.

In 1925, Samuel Insull's Middle West Utilities, a Chicago holding and operating company, acquired Manchester Traction. The Insull interests organized its extensive Northeast holdings into the New England Public Service Company. NEPSCO's subsidiaries served 286 communities and wholesaled power for 80 others. It had 47 hydro and 9 steam stations.

PSNH was organized on August 16, 1926, to combine the Insull New Hampshire holdings into one company. The new company had sufficient properties in the southern and western parts of the state to form a framework for efficient service to the area. Through NEPSCO, PSNH had enough contacts to the east and north to create a statewide system.

During its first year, PSNH acquired five electric companies and began pushing the construction of transmission lines to tie its various parts together, sending, for example, a high-voltage line across the southern part of the state from Keene to Dover.

Avery R. Schiller started work at a PSNH predecessor company in 1924, eventually rising to Chairman of the Board at PSNH. He retired in 1970.

Vice president for Operations was Avery R. Schiller, a dominant figure in the company's management for decades. He became president in 1942 and served for 23 years until 1965, when he became chairman of the board. He held that post until his retirement in 1970.

Upon Schiller's elevation to chairman, the presidency was filled by William C. Tallman, who later succeeded Schiller in the chairman's position in 1980.