Public Service Corporation

It was formed to shore up financing and development of New Jersey's streetcar and power companies at a time when they were growing but exhausting capital.

Streetcar companies were also well established, but the disjointed network limited the operators, reduced profits, and made it difficult to finance improvements.

Similarly, the electrification of the state had proceeded rapidly, but in a disjointed, local fashion, that sometimes caused financing difficulties for the operators.

It quickly continued consolidating gas, electric and trolley companies throughout much of New Jersey, eventually over 400 being combined.

[1][2][5][6][7] Initially, PSC did not necessarily buy its consolidation target companies (whether transportation or power) outright.

Instead, it often obtained very long term lease agreements (typically 900 years) with them for their plants, and often bought large stakes in the companies and took over their boards of directors.

The electric transmission network powering the streetcars was a natural fit for the energy operations when the company was formed.

In the late 1970s, the state began to assess gaps in its commuter network, partly as many large rail companies had failed and been taken over by Conrail.