**EXHIBIT 31.1  Certification Pursuant to Rule 13a-14 and 15d-14 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934**

I, Gary J. Wolter, certify that:

1.	I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of MGE Energy, Inc;

2.	Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state amaterial fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements weremade, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

3.	Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairlypresent in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, andfor, the periods presented in this report;

4.	The registrant's other certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls andprocedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting(as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:

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	a)	Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be    designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its    consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in    which this report is being prepared; 

	b)	Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to    be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting    and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted    accounting principles;

	c)	Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our    conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered    by this report based on such evaluation; and

	d)	Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting that occurred    during the registrant's most recent fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially    affect, the registrant's internal control over financial reporting; and

5.	The registrant's other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal controlover financial reporting, to the registrant's auditors and the audit committee of the registrant's board of directors (orpersons performing the equivalent functions);

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	a)	All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial    reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's ability to record, process, summarize and    report financial; and

	b)	Any fraud whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in    the registrant's internal control over financial reporting.

  /s/ Gary J. WolterChairman, President and Chief Executive OfficerDate: August 9, 2005