MILWAUKEE, Oct. 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Allen L. Leverett, Chief Executive Officer of WEC Energy Group, is currently hospitalized and receiving medical treatment as he recovers from an apparent stroke.  On Oct. 12, the Board of Directors of the company appointed Gale E. Klappa to serve as CEO on an interim basis, until Mr. Leverett can return to his normal duties.

Mr. Klappa has been serving as Non-Executive Chairman of the company's Board since his retirement as CEO in 2016. He also will continue to serve as Chairman of the Board.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE: WEC), based in Milwaukee, is one of the nation's premier energy companies, serving 4.4 million customers in Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota.

The company's principal utilities are We Energies, Wisconsin Public Service, Peoples Gas, North Shore Gas, Michigan Gas Utilities, Minnesota Energy Resources and Upper Michigan Energy Resources. The company's other major subsidiary, We Power, designs, builds and owns electric generating plants.

WEC Energy Group (wecenergygroup.com), a component of the S&P 500, has approximately $30 billion of assets, 8,500 employees and 55,000 stockholders of record.

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SOURCE WEC Energy Group

Barry McNulty (news media), 414-221-4444, barry.mcnulty@we-energies.com or Beth Straka, investment community), 414-221-4639, beth.straka@wecenergygroup.com