History of the Electric Power Indusrty
How We Built the Most Complex Machine in the World
Thomas Edison and Electric Service
Thomas Edison built the first power station designed to serve customers. The Pearl Street Station was built around 1880 in Manhattan. It provided service to 59 customers. From that humble beginning, an industry grew that transformed, powered, and lit the world.
Samuel Insull, Chicago Edison, and the Economies of Scale
Samuel Insull revolutionized the electric industry by deploying two new technologies together. Insull invested in new steam turbines that could produce a lot more power at lower costs and alternating current transformers that could efficiently move electricity greater distances. With these new technologies, Insull consolidated 20 different electric companies in Chicago, forming Commonwealth Edison in 1907. From the beginning, ComEd was recognized as one of the most progressive and lowest-cost utilities in the world.
State Regulation Creates the First Electric Public Utilities
As electric technology developed, it became clear that the economies of scale and large capital requirements made the industry a natural monopoly. Wisconsin and New York were the first to provide a regulatory compact for electric companies. Companies were offered monopoly status in exchange for an obligation to serve all customers at just and reasonable rates.
Moving Beyond the Traditional Grid
Over the last 100 years the electric power industry has built the interconnected transmission grid into the most complicated machine in the world. The electric power industry is investing in Smart Grid, transportation electrification, renewable energy, and energy efficiency to move the industry forward for another century.
