PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY OF COLORADO RECORDS

The Public Service Company of Colorado (PSCo) Collection contains materials created or used by the company and its predecessor companies from 1869 into 2015 and beyond. A few items predating the 1869 formation of the Denver Gas Company are included, most pertaining to individuals - especially James Archer. The formation of the Denver Gas Company in late 1869 resulted in a flurry of activity the following year as construction began to create a gas line system for the town of Denver. Early invoices from a wide range of companies in Denver and elsewhere are a substantial portion of these early records. Of particular note are the contracts for the delivery of coal with the newest trains serving Denver in 1870 and later. Much of the collection details activities in the early 1900s following the formation of the Denver Gas and Electric Company. Long time employee Roy Munroe (1883-1980) worked in the gas sales and marketing departments beginning in 1900 and kept numerous items which are included in this collection including personal remembrances, notes, photographs, pamphlets and brochures. Many of the materials date from the mid 1950s through the 1996 merger with Southwestern Public Service Company to become New Century Energies and the subsequent merger with Northern States Power Company which in 1999 resulted in the creation of Xcel Energy Inc., headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The bulk of this collection stems from the activities of what was first called the Publicity Department, then Public Affairs, and finally Corporate Communications. As such there is heavy emphasis on communication with the employees and the public. Substantial marketing materials are included in this collection as are the brochures for power plants and other company facilities. In addition a great deal of historical information about predecessor companies and the communities in which they provided gas and electric service is included. Franchise election brochures and clippings are well represented, especially for the Denver franchise elections conducted approximately every 20 years beginning in 1906. Information about various subsidiary companies is included too.

Photographs are the heart of this collection. They were donated to the Denver Public Library for safekeeping. Many of the other materials were donated later in order to give context to those photographs, and show how they were used in company publications. Photographs of individuals have been preserved and have been indexed as much as possible although some of the more than 250,000 images remain unidentified.

Marketing methods, referred to as “new business” and “load building,” in the 1910s and 1920s, are well documented, as are the more concentrated efforts at marketing services and goods from the 1960s through the 1990s. Energy conservation melded with environmental concerns beginning in the 1970s, and their emphasis shifted from the "homemaker" type programs that featured recipes, and summer cooking programs for students to a focus on the wise use of energy and effective conservation techniques.

Financial information in the form of statistical comparisons with other communities and companies form part of the collection. Rate case filings are noted, some with summaries of the potential impact, but the actual documents filed with the Public Utilities Commission are not contained in this collection, with the exception of rate case testimony filed in an emergency rate case in 1980. Shareholder reports and communication with employees about the financial condition of the company comprise a portion of the collection, including several ten-year financial summaries. Henry L. Doherty was responsible for much of the growth of the Denver Gas and Electric Company and subsequent company entities including Public Service Company of Colorado. Many references to Denver and his experiences are included in the 1923 compilation of his speeches and writings for the Doherty Men's Fraternity. Doherty arrived in Denver before the turn of the century and became president of the Denver Gas and Electric Company upon the death of George T. Thompson in 1900. He was at the same time president or general manager of nearly a dozen utility companies across the country. Jerome Smiley wrote in his 1901 History of Denver, "While his headquarters are in New York City, and his legal residence in Madison, Wis., he spends much the larger part of his time here in Denver..." Several scrapbooks with extensive collections of newspaper articles are included tracing company activities and those of competitors as well as franchise elections and reports on various individual officers and employees.

The structure of the company is documented in organization charts that date from the 1920s until 2000. Executive speeches and biographical information is contained, as are board affiliations and directorships. Geographical divisions, which existed as administrative segments of the overall operations of the company, are noted within the organization of the company. Yearly fiscal planning documents are also included.

The operating departments of the company are represented by a limited amount of material, typically these consist of the history of a department or power plant written by an individual. Details about the day-to-day operations of the electric, gas and steam departments are lacking with the exception of a few gas operations and utilization manuals from the late 1980s and a few manuals of safe practices.

Histories of the various power plants, particularly the early ones, are well documented with emphasis on their construction progress. Most notable are the two hydroelectric plants constructed early in the 20th century; Boulder Hydro and Shoshone Hydro. Each of these plants, and their water handling systems, were photographed frequently and those photographs are available in the photo series. Progress reports by the Colorado Power Company, which constructed the plants, and numerous documents recounting their construction and operation are contained here too. The Pawnee power plant, near Fort Morgan, is particularly well represented including the environmental and other concerns expressed before construction actually began in 1976.

Of particular note is the extensive documentation of the planning, construction, operation, and ultimate decommissioning of the nuclear generating plant, Fort St. Vrain, located near Platteville, Colorado. The unique high temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR), although safer than conventional nuclear reactors, was burdened by its one-of-a-kind design and became the first commercial reactor to be successfully decommissioned in 1997 and received the Edison Electric Award for the company. It was the second time the esteemed honor had been won by PSCo, the first was received in 1968 for the pumped-storage hydroelectric plant, Cabin Creek, near Georgetown. The Leyden Gas Storage Facility in the foothills near Arvada is of particular interest for its unique use of an abandoned coal mine. The mine entrances and air shafts were plugged and the enormous space was filled with pressurized natural gas for use on high demand winter days. The addition of this storage capability made it possible to eliminate the large gas holders that were scattered across the Denver Metropolitan area to provide adequate gas for particularly cold periods. Due to encroachment of residential development on the site the company closed the storage facility about 2002.

The history of the Company and its predecessor companies are included in this short series, as are the companies which resulted from mergers. Periodically the company would produce a history of its activities which were often reworked previous histories updated with the latest activities, acquisitions, and corporate focus.

This series is arranged chronologically by the predecessor company activity and alphabetically by the name of the community. Gas and electric companies frequently served more than one community so not all information will be found in the file folder for a specific community. Information about the community itself is included as well as details about company and any franchise elections that were held. Cheyenne, Wyoming is listed after all Colorado communities.

Henry Doherty's holding company Cities Service Company took control of hundreds of troubled utility companies across the U.S. He was instrumental in the growth of the Denver Gas and Electric Company and collaborated with Denver Mayor Robert Speer in many activities in Denver and Colorado. Articles and directories associated with Cities Service and the Doherty Men's Fraternity and other Doherty organizations comprise this series, along with the acquisition of companies and papers related to mergers. The series documents the acquisition of part of the assets of Colorado-Ute Electric Association, and the creation of New Century Energies when Public Service Company of Colorado merged with Southwestern Public Service headquartered in Amarillo, Texas. The records documenting the short-lived New Century Energies merger with Northern States Power Company in 1999 to become Xcel Energy Inc. comprise a portion of this series, and are arranged chronologically.

Buildings which housed the company are the final subseries. Specifically the Gas and Electric Company Building (G and E Building) and the Headquarters Office Building (HOB) at 550 15th Street were constructed by the company to house their corporate offices. The move of corporate headquarters to leased space in the 17th Street Plaza are included as well as the 990 Bannock building constructed by the subsidiary Bannock Center Corporation. The Headquarters Office Building was emptied and placed on the market. Failing to find a buyer the company removed all asbestos in the structure and renovated it to consolidate service departments from around the Denver Metropolitan area, it was subsequently renamed the Technical Services Building (TSB). In 2010 space was leased in a newly constructed building at 1800 Larimer where the offices formerly housed in the 17th Street Plaza and Technical Services Building were consolidated along with departments which had previously been officed in buildings throughout the Denver Metropolitan area.

Organization charts and announcements of executive changes are part of this series. A 1994 restructuring resulted in widespread early retirements and job changes. These changes are reflected in this series by lists of those selected for jobs and numerous flyers and memos about retirement parties. Corporate planning programs are also well represented as these were the basis for year to year budget requests.

Department activities include customer sales and marketing, the electric department, employment - including various benefits offered, financial records and rates, gas operations includes gas construction, and gas holders and the development of Leyden Mine as a gas storage facility. Public relations includes company publications, and communications efforts aimed at employees and the general public. Radio program scripts and brochures focusing on the history of Colorado and the communities served within the state form a large portion of this series, but internal memos and planning documents are also well represented. Of particular interest are the earliest financial records of the Denver Gas Company and its subsequent entities. Invoices and vouchers for everything that was purchased in the early years demonstrate the costs and sources of the various products necessary to build a company from scratch. This series includes customer statistics, shareholder information that includes meeting announcements, financial forecasts, and documents regarding the overall business climate in various Colorado communities. The series also contains rate information and fact sheets for employees along with clippings and articles.

The bulk of the sales and marketing portion of this series stems from the early days of the company and efforts to build electric load. Economy of scale was a guiding concept during this period, when the cost of power dropped as more kilowatts were produced.

Power plants are a subdivision of the electric operations and within this subdivision are further subseries: coal fired plants, hydroelectric plants, and the Fort St. Vrain nuclear plant.

The employment department contains some unique records of employment practices no longer used. A handful of personnel files include a detailed assessment of the habits, personality, and performance of the employees during a whole host of training situations. Also included are benefits programs, incentives, education programs, policies, rewards and recognition for performance and safety achievements.

Steam has usually been the forgotten child in this company, and there is little documentation to fill this subseries. Steam, while used to generate electricity within a power plant is also a commodity that heats downtown Denver office and apartment buildings.

The transportation department has been a key component of Public Service Company since its inception. Faced with transmission lines and service territory spanning the Rocky Mountains the challenge of moving people and material safely to and from work sites in the middle of a blizzard or a heat wave has always been a priority. Specially designed and equipped trucks have been a part of the transportation division's responsibility since the early 1900s. Early use of electric vehicles and other innovations and inventions are well represented especially in the photographs, and also in a company publication, Electric Vehicles, that debuted in January 1912.

This series comprises a multitude of projects that Public Service Company employees participated in. While there are extensive photographs of sports activities including bowling, square dancing, basketball, softball, etc. there was a group called Crystal Gazers which had fun with history and predicting financial milestones in the near future. The most accurate predictor and the least accurate headed the group for the following year.

This series comprises a multitude of projects that Public Service Company participated in or was impacted by. Notable among these projects is the Colorado River Storage Project, which was introduced in 1956 and debated for many years. It resulted in the Glen Canyon dam which forms Lake Powell along with other projects in Colorado, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Wyoming. In addition, PSCo took an active role with several industry groups including hosting several national conferences. Issues which were of importance to all utility companies are included here with municipal ownership of utilities and nuclear power comprising the bulk of the materials.

The oversize series contains newspapers, especially when special sections were published commemorating the dedication of a facility or an anniversary celebration. A large number of maps showing facilities, transmission lines and pipelines comprise a portion of the series. Charts of predecessor companies, newspaper coverage of franchise elections in many communities and some panoramic photos are in this series too. Diagrams and cutaways of the Leyden Gas Storage Facility and the Fort St. Vrain nuclear power station form part of this series.

Numerous scrapbooks included in this series cover home economics activities, franchise elections and new natural gas projects. Of some note are a number of prints by Ben Cooper, a PSCo staff artist. Cooper painted pictures that portray wildlife, sometimes in proximity to company facilities, but more often simply images of the West. They reproduced these original oils and offered the images to the public through advertisements in 140 Colorado newspapers. They distributed tens of thousands of prints free each year from 1964 to 1978.

Rate case testimony from 1980 comprises a portion of the series, along with a Public Utilities Commission Management Audit conducted in 1982. Ephemera commemorating company mileposts and numerous consumer information brochures explaining various environmental programs and other options offered by the Company constitute a portion of the series.

Several voucher distribution ledgers covering the period 1889-1909 provide documentation of expenditures and costs for general company expenses. Two ledgers from 1939 trace the expenditures for electric operations and details of the expenses incurred at each of the power plants.

This series comprises primarily audio recordings of shareholder meetings from 1964 to 1975. Also contained are audio recordings of the public meeting held in Platteville, Colorado in 1966 when discussion of the proposed nuclear generating station, Fort St. Vrain took place. A few oral history interviews are in this series, including two tapes of Roy Munroe. Several videotapes (in the now obsolete 1/2-inch reel to reel format) of lectures and meetings form part of this series.

Several CD-ROM discs, which must be played on a computer, are in this series. They contain the in-house video news magazine program called In View. Topics range widely and cover both the Northern States Power Company service territory, referred to as North, and the Public Service Company of Colorado and Southwestern Public Service service territories, referred to as Xcel South within the company.

Around 250,000 negatives and prints comprise the Public Service Company of Colorado collection.

A detailed finding aid for the photographs provides access by location, date, and many individuals that have been identified. The photos date from the early 1900s until the late 1990s and cover the entire service territory. The collection is divided into negatives and prints. Negatives are arranged according to the source of the images and then chronologically within that source, most were numbered at the time the photographs were taken and that order has been retained. Prints are arranged by subject, most have a number stamped on the back which relates to the negative number for the roll of film or project from which the print was made. Rarely were all images printed from a single roll of film. When larger format sheet film was used (4x5, 3x4) there was a greater likelihood that a print of each negative was made, usually a contact print. In later years 35mm and 120 roll film was used frequently and contact sheets showing each frame of a roll are common. Often negatives are marked for enlargements on these contact sheets. Contact sheets are filed with the prints by subject. Photos of individuals are filed alphabetically by last name and include studio portraits and other images of that person such as when they receive an award or were photographed for a feature article in Lines magazine or some other publication even if the photos were not used.

Negatives are arranged in several sub series. One large series comprises the work of photographers in the public information department, which later became the public affairs department and eventually corporate communications. This unit worked out of the corporate offices in downtown Denver. Their photos primarily dealt with public relations issues and safety and were often included in various company publications, though some support of operating areas of the company is reflected in the images too. These photos and negatives are marked with a numerical designation reflecting when they were taken (or at least when they were recorded in the photographers ledger). The entry 957-05 indicates the fifth assignment in September of 1957. The number 1265-23 translates to December 1965 assignment 23. The dash (-) is important in determining in which subseries the negative are stored. The dash indicates public affairs. The negatives and prints for most of the photos taken of various accidents at the request of the safety and claims department were turned over to that department. The whereabouts of those images are unknown. In mid 1967 the photographers stopped filing the contact sheets with the negatives so there are fewer prints of the various subjects after that period, especially individual photos of retirees.

A second subseries is referred to as the Danford files because virtually all of the photos were taken by Bill Danford, an employee in the engineering department located in the Holly Service Center east of downtown Denver in the Park Hill area. His photographs bear a similar numerical designation with the exception than an "x" is used in place of the dash. Thus 1257x03 is a photo (or series of photos) taken in December 1957 the third assignment of the month. The public affairs designation system was adopted almost from the outset of the hiring of in-house photographers. The Danford file numbers were added when the database was created, which resulted in a few anomalies in the numbered sequences.

Another subseries is loosely termed "historic" and it bears the distinctive designation of "xx" before the number. The image number xx-0373 is a number relating to the number written on the back of the photo. Many photos have such a number, but many do not. The xx and a lead zero were added to differentiated each photo or group and to be able to enter a unique number into the database. In some cases the image may be a copy negative of an old photo, thus the original and the copy negative might bear different numbers. Some of these photos were taken by contract individuals or companies. Mile High Photo Company and Rocky Mountain Photo Company were frequently hired and they had their own numbering system, which is noted in the database, but is not part of the primary numbering system. The same is true of L.C. McClure and Ed Tangen and other photographers who had their own numbering system. While the photographers number is noted in the database, chiefly to be able to identify identical images, the master number (xx-0000) is purely arbitrary for most of these photos.

There is also another subseries of negatives with a "P" designation. This was done to allow additional photographs and negatives to be linked that were added as the collection was being processed.

A relatively small subseries comprises the Greeley, Colorado based Home, Light and Power Company negatives and prints. The photos and negatives in this group are primarily numbered sequentially, most without any indication as to date taken. The prefix "H" was added to precede each number to identify its place of origin, and unnumbered images have been numbered in an arbitrary sequence beginning with H5000. The H prefix provides a unique number when searching in the consolidated database. Not all of the individual prints and negatives have the "H" physically added to number, but they are present in the database, and the boxes they are stored in provide sufficient separation.

An additional subseries with the prefix "P" comprises photos that were unnumbered but not associated with a particular location. Most of these photos appear to have been taken during or immediately after World War 2 and are a mixture of places, people and different film stocks, some are nitrate and are stored in the freezer, those that are not are stored in an arbitrarily numbered sequence where the negatives are filed by number and the prints are stored alphabetically with other employee photos or by subject or location. For some images the location might be known, typically the time the photos were taken is unknown, attire, vehicles and people within the picture sometimes allow approximately dating the images.

A small subseries with a single x before a number is the code for Newslines photos. In this group X88-140 indicates neither the year or month the photographs were taken, only a sequential number assigned to provide a unique identification. This numbering continued until film ceased to be used in the mid 1990s. Digital images are still held by the company.

Another subseries comprises photo albums. These cover a broad range of subjects, and several are oversize. Most have a theme associated with the album either documenting the activities of a department or a specific construction project.

Another subseries came about after various publication editors began shooting their own photos. They abandoned the established numbering system used since the 1950s. In order to maintain a system of identification of the negatives and prints an arbitrary number was assigned to these photographs and negatives and they were given a designation of x88-000. The negatives and prints were filed separately, but they share the same number. These photos span from 1983 to 1988. Any photos taken by the staff of Visual Services or Visual Communications during this period continued with the system (788-25) already in use.

Another subseries has been numbered by publication date. The editor of Xtra collected the materials when the duties of photographer and editor were consolidated. Negatives and contact sheets were combined with the selected prints from each assignment, and may or may not be identified further.

Numerous nitrate negatives are part of this collection and some have simply disintegrated. Some have degraded to the point of doubtful future use, but the majority are in remarkably good shape and have been frozen to prevent further deterioration. Many of these negatives have contact prints available which will allow easy access without handling the negatives. If nitrate negatives are to be viewed they require 24 hour notice to allow them to be removed from the freezer and attain room temperature before they are handled.

The donation of the photographs was accompanied by many of the publications in which they were used. This was done to allow a researcher to identify people, places, and, in some cases, the purpose of the photographs. A detailed index of Lines magazine has been prepared to help in such searches and many of the photos used are cross referenced with the publication date and page number. Most of these publications have been indexed and the photograph's number is referenced for easy retrieval. Prints have been organized by topic and by an individual's name if there are only one or two people in the photograph, the negatives are in numerical order in the subseries listed above.