purchase those debt securities will be subject to certain conditions precedent, and the underwriters will be obligated to purchase all the debt securities of the series offered by us and described in the applicable prospectus supplement if any of those securities are purchased. Any initial public offering price and any discounts or concessions allowed or reallowed or paid to dealers may be changed from time to time.
Debt securities may also be offered and sold, if so indicated in the prospectus supplement, in connection with a remarketing upon their purchase, in accordance with a redemption or repayment pursuant to their terms, by one or more firms (“remarketing firms”) acting as principals for their own accounts or as agents for us. Any remarketing firm will be identified and the terms of its agreement, if any, with us and its compensation will be described in the prospectus supplement. Remarketing firms may be deemed to be underwriters in connection with the debt securities remarketed thereby.
Debt securities may also be sold directly by us or through agents designated by us from time to time. Any agent involved in the offering and sale of the debt securities in respect of which this prospectus is delivered will be named, and any commissions payable by us to such agent will be set forth, in the prospectus supplement. Unless otherwise indicated in the prospectus supplement, any such agent will be acting on a best efforts basis for the period of its appointment.
If so indicated in the prospectus supplement, we will authorize agents, underwriters or dealers to solicit offers by certain institutional investors to purchase debt securities providing for payment and delivery on a future date specified in the prospectus supplement. There may be limitations on the minimum amount which may be purchased by any such institutional investor or on the portion of the aggregate principal amount of the particular debt securities which may be sold pursuant to such arrangements. Institutional investors to which such offers may be made, when authorized, include commercial and savings banks, insurance companies, pension funds, investment companies, educational and charitable institutions and such other institutions as may be approved by us. The obligations of any such purchasers pursuant to such delayed delivery and payment arrangements will not be subject to any conditions except (a) the purchase by an institution of the particular debt securities shall not at the time of delivery be prohibited under the laws of any jurisdiction in the United States to which such institution is subject, and (b) if the particular debt securities are being sold to underwriters, we shall have sold to such underwriters all of those debt securities other than the debt securities covered by such arrangements. Underwriters will not have any responsibility in respect of the validity of such arrangements or the performance by us or such institutional investors thereunder.
If any underwriter or any selling group member intends to engage in stabilizing, syndicate short covering transactions, penalty bids or any other transaction in connection with the offering of debt securities that may stabilize, maintain or otherwise affect the price of those securities, such intention and a description of such transactions will be described in the prospectus supplement.
Agents and underwriters may be entitled under agreements entered into with us to indemnification by us against certain civil liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, or to contribution with respect to payments which the agents or underwriters may be required to make in respect thereof. Agents and underwriters may engage in transactions with, or perform services for, us and our subsidiaries in the ordinary course of business.
LEGAL MATTERS
Unless otherwise indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement, various legal matters in connection with the debt securities will be passed upon (a) for us by Mercer Thompson LLC, Atlanta, Georgia and (b) for any underwriters by Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP, New York, New York. Unless otherwise indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement, Sally R. Bentley, Assistant Vice President — Legal Services of Wisconsin Electric, or Joshua M. Erickson, Counsel of Wisconsin Electric, will pass upon the validity of the debt securities, as well as certain other legal matters, on our behalf. Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone, P.L.C., Lansing, Michigan, will opine as to matters of Michigan law relating to authority to do business and other regulatory matters in Michigan.
As of December 31, 2010, Ms. Bentley and Mr. Erickson owned beneficially approximately 438 shares and 1,245 shares of Wisconsin Energy common stock, respectively, and held options to acquire 56,569 shares (38,584 of which were exercisable) and 8,475 shares (2,645 of which were exercisable) of Wisconsin Energy common stock, respectively.
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EXPERTS
The consolidated financial statements and the related financial statement schedule incorporated in this prospectus by reference from Wisconsin Electric’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010, have been audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report, which is incorporated herein by reference and has been so incorporated in reliance upon the report of such firm given upon their authority as experts in accounting and auditing.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
We file annual, quarterly and special reports, as well as registration and information statements and other information, with the SEC. These documents may be read and copied at the Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. You can get further information about the SEC’s Public Reference Room by calling 1-800-SEC-0330. The SEC also maintains a website at www.sec.gov that contains reports, registration statements and other information regarding registrants like us that file electronically with the SEC.
The SEC allows us to “incorporate by reference” into this prospectus the information we file with it. This means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to those documents. The information we incorporate by reference is considered a part of this prospectus, and later information we file with the SEC (File No. 001-01245) will automatically update and supersede this information. We incorporate by reference the documents listed below and any future filings we make with the SEC under Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 until this offering is completed:
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| • | Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010. |
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| • | Current Reports on Form 8-K filed January 12, 2011 and February 16, 2011. |
No information furnished under Items 2.02 or 7.01 of any Current Report on Form 8-K will be incorporated by reference in this prospectus unless specifically stated otherwise. You may request a copy of these documents at no cost by calling or writing to us at the following address:
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| Wisconsin Electric Power Company |
| 231 West Michigan Street |
| P. O. Box 2046 |
| Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201 |
| Attn: Ms. Susan H. Martin, Vice President, Corporate Secretary and Associate General Counsel |
| Telephone: (414) 221-2345 |
You should rely only on the information provided in or incorporated by reference (and not later changed) in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement. We have not authorized anyone else to provide you with additional or different information. We are not making an offer of any securities in any state where the offer is not permitted. You should not assume that the information in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front of those documents.
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$300,000,000
WISCONSIN ELECTRIC POWER COMPANY
2.95% Debentures due September 15, 2021
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PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT |
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September 7, 2011 |
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Joint Book-Running Managers
Barclays Capital | BNP PARIBAS | Deutsche Bank Securities |
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Loop Capital Markets | Ramirez & Co., Inc. |