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Kasumi Almeida
HIST 386: Technology in American History
Professor Elizabeth Petrick
Research Paper
The History of Electrical power in the United States
Would it possible to imagine life without electric power? Wouldnt our lives be simply
mundane and unproductive without it? How would Frankenstein be brought to life if there
wasnt a notion nor clear understanding of the properties of electricity? For as far as we know,
electricity has taken part of every aspect of our lives. Accordingly, the idea of technological
modernization would have not been established if electric power was not readily available.The
goal of this paper is to analyze and understand the process of how generating electric power led
to the emergence of electrical utilities in America. Additionally, well evaluate how generating
and expanding electric power has changed the American society, marking the beginning of
modernized technology such as electrical appliances through scientific discovery. On the same
hand, one may observe the importance of proper infrastructure and regulation in the process of
expansion of electric technology. Noticeably, the emergence of electrical utilities impacts the
everyday life of the American people in accordance to how people come to view technology in
general.
The notion in which electricity is classified as a form of technology would most likely
spark ambiguity since most of us would acknowledge that its existence is a natural phenomenon.
It is believed that the existence of such phenomenon dates back around 600 BCE, when the
Greeks generated a spark by rubbing amber with fur and called it electricity (Greek word for
amber)( Nersesian 22). For clarity purposes, the scientific definitions for electricity, electrical
energy, and electrical power are very different. Firstly, the unit that refers to the measurement of
electricity is coulombs.Meanwhile, the measuring unit for electrical energy is joules, and for

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electrical power, which is the flow of energy over time, is watts (one joule per second).
Certainly, it is important to know how to distinguish its difference to understand better the
process of generating electricity. Subsequently, electrical energy is defined as an electromagnetic
energy that consists of magnetic and electrostatic fields that move in the vicinity of wires near
the speed of light in response to the movement or vibration electrons 22.The simplified version of
the process of generating electricity consists of the following steps; first the generator works in
the formation of electrical charge. Consecutively, the electrical charge surrounds the wire and
creates a magnetic field which is the resulting electrical energy. The resulting electrical energy is
the energy used to power motors, heaters, etc 24. Soon, this method of generating electricity
becomes the very first means of advancements in electrical technology. We will come to observe
that the basic understanding regarding electricity is established in the beginning of the 13th
century. However, is later brought into many scientist's interest during the 18th century.
The process of development of electric power is entirely collective. Numerous scientists
around the globe played a significant role in demystifying the nature and properties of electricity.
For instance, Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the United States, is marked as
one of the scientists during the 18th century whom had innate interest in understanding the
composition and existence of electricity. In means of clarity, he performed a dangerous
experiment with the purpose of demonstrating that lightning is a form of electricity. He used a
kite which would be connected to a key on the other end which would fly during a lightning
storm. When lightning hit the kite, a small current would travel through the string and once it
reached the key it would create a spark. After performing such a life-threatening experiment,
Franklin was able to ascertain that the resulting spark resembled the spark that would result
from rubbing amber with fur (Lynch 2). Soon, Franklin had been the first to understand the

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concept of positive and negative charge and its relation to the directional flow of electricity
23.Briefly,

early records show that Franklin worked along with Jan Ingenhousz since they had

shown interest towards the studies of medical electricity, hoping that it would aid in the cure of
certain paralytic disorders and depression (Lynch 3).
The process of development in the field of electricity wouldn't have been possible to
achieve without the ongoing contribution of the most respected and ingenious inventors of all
times, also holding the title of genius of electricity in his own right, is Thomas Edison (18471931). Edison is widely known for the invention of the electric light bulb, an electromagnetic
phenomenon,which is one of the inventions that had a strong impact in the american history and
the world. Moreover, Edison was not only an inventor but also an intelligent and sharp
businessman who successfully founded the first investor-owned utility in 1882 24. According to
the author of Edisons bibliography, Keith Ellis, many of his accomplishments such as the
telegraph, phonograph, and electric light systems had gone through nearly 500 improvements in
order to be fully functional.Certainly, all of these inventions come to shape the american society
to what is today.Furthermore, we see how electricity plays an important role on Edisons
inventions as he placed great efforts in ameliorating the first telegraph instrument by using
electric current to send messages through long distances to his experiments with electric light.
Clearly, his contributions had aided greatly in fields of communication. However, when he
initiated the idea of subdividing power, it was certainly one the most prominent to the time
since electric power was not readily available for the use in house and business lighting. Surely,
making the light bulb an invention that would be high in demand. Below is an image of a
Edisons early incandescent electric lamp patent (National Archives).

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Edisons light bulb has proven to be one of his well accomplished inventions that had a strong
impact in the early days of the american people and even today.The following passage by
Edison, At the time, I was more or less at leisure, because I had just finished working on
the carbon button telephone, and this electric-light idea took possession of me. It was easy to
see what the thing needed: it wanted to be sub-divided. The light was too bright and too big.

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What we wished for was the little lights, and a distribution of them in peoples houses in a
manner similar to gas 44, was a proposal that impacted the american people, especially those
located in larger cities, since it introduced a new way of living. Back then, Edisons idea of
providing electric power to both residents and businesses in large cities required a system of
electric lighting consisted of central power station, a generating plant, branch lines to distribute
electricity, safety fuses and electric bulbs and meters to measure the usage in terms of the
amount of current all 42. In other words, the system required proper infrastructure in order to
function and since cities were highly densely and closely populated, it was easier to spread the
means of electric power. Edisons idea was responsible for the construction of the first central
power plant in 1882, at Pearl Street, New York City. Consecutively, Edison was the first to take
part in the emergence of electrical utilities in the U.S. Soon, the electric power system starts
reaching the outskirts of larger cities, thus marking the beginning of the commercialization of
electric power production.
Despite the numerous endeavors to understanding the nature and properties of electricity,
it becomes crucial to understand that there is more to just generating electricity.Therefore, the
idea that it takes energy to make energy is strongly applied to the process of generating electric
power (Nersesian 16). Roy Nersesians Energy for the 21st Century states that the primary
source of energy in the beginning of the 19th century was through the use of biomass since
people were highly dependent on wood as natural resource for cooking and heating purposes.
Nersesian also emphasizes how back then, the population was smaller and the environment less
modified by civilization, so wood was an abundant fuel source. Moreover, the carbon dioxide
released by burning wood was absorbed by the plant growth therefore having very little impact
to the environment 47. However, medical science acknowledges the downside of burning wood.

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Clearly, the smoke produced by it was becoming a health hazard since it would affect ones
respiratory system. Nersesian makes a thorough evaluation of the after effects of the constant
burning of biomass in addition to industrial pollutants being the cause of brown clouds especially
at southern asia and India47 . During the 20th century, there is a noticeable shift in resources
where biomass and fossil fuels becoming the principal resource for producing energy especially
in the beginning of industrialization.At some point, we see that coal ends up replacing other
sources of biomass. First, coal replaced charcoal in steel production and then wood for fueling
railroad locomotives and heating homes 48. As a matter of fact, most natural gas fed into
homes and businesses was actually a resulting product of coal 49. Seemingly, coal becomes the
main source of fuel especially during the Industrial Revolution since there was a demand for
greater production and efficiency. Soon, having a strong impact in the U.S. economy through
due to the fast development of manufacturing systems through the use of fossil fuels to power
machinery.
The development of electric utilities was of positive outcome to the american
society since it was an innovative technology. However, certain factors concerning regulation
and the need of recovering U.S.s electricity markets have shown that there was a lot more to do
but generate electricity. Firstly, the lack of regulation have caused immense confusion amongst
many independent utility providers(Electric Utilities: Deregulation and Restructuring of the
U.S. Electricity Markets). One of the issues many of those utility providers faced involved in
the process of pinpointing their potential customers. The result of that was the ongoing
competition amongst utility providers. Providing utility services in suburbs proved to be easier
and cheaper due to being densely populated and most of the people who could afford utility
services were concentrated in those areas (Electric Utilities: Deregulation and Restructuring of

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the U.S. Electricity Markets). In addition, there were technological constraints in terms of
electrical distribution. In other words, electric power could only be delivered to those located in
within certain radius of a power plant. However, since there was a growing demand for electric
utilities, more power plants were being built and would generate power with greater efficiency.
Soon, there was a growing market for electric utilities which proved to be very lucrative
especially to the investment companies.Soon, electric utility ushered in an era of promising
technology that would be available to all. As result, we may see the enormous impact it has on
the american economy through the growing distribution of electric utilities as electric power was
being commercialized.
Since there was a growing market for electric utilities, investors such as Samuel Insull,
the president of Chicago Edison Company (1892),who initially worked under Thomas Edisons
as his secretary,wanted to expand the utility system so that it would generate more profit. In
detail, initial powers plants were only producing energy at very low voltages (approximately 110
volts), which was sufficient for house and business lighting which was mostly used during the
evening for lighting. However, Insull wanted to take advantages of such technology to increase
profit by increasing the load factor. In detail, the load factor means the ratio of average daily
or annual power use to the maximum load sustained during the same period(Emergence of
Electrical Utilities in America). The stakes were high to have power generating machines
stopped for a certain amount of time during the day mostly because it would not generate
revenues. Basically, Insulls load factor consisted of taking advantage of the off-peak hours of
power usages by selling electric utility services for a lower cost (Emergence of Electrical
Utilities in America). It was a win-win deal for both electric utility company and other
businesses such as railway companies since lower cost utilities increased profit due to its

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increasing demand.
Moreover, as electric utilities had proven to be extremely useful, Insull had
thought of other alternatives of taking advantage of such technology in order to increase its value
through massive production. He invested on a turbine generator, invented by Charles Parsons
(1884), hoping to produce power in a larger scale, soon he saw how the new turbines generated
up to 12 megawatts, which directly affected the costs of power due to its massive electric
production(Emergence of Electrical Utilities in America). The fast improvements in
technology introduced the creation of the alternating current transformers (AC transformers),
which changed the current systems because it could manage to transmit currents over long
distances (Emergence of Electrical Utilities in America). With increasing demand, there was
also increasing competition amongst electrical utility companies. One may observe that Insulls
company starts monopolizing the utility market since it had been taking full lead due to its fast
progression on electric production. Clearly, after he proposed the idea of Consolidation (1920),
where he makes a pact with smaller companies to wane competition, we see that that his
company starts to reign as major electric utility distributor(Emergence of Electrical Utilities in
America). This gave rise to several local subdivisions which were bought by Investor owned
utility companies. The main utility provider would supply those substations, and set the prices
for its services.The positive side to such reign, was that Insull had taken initiative to expand
electric utility throughout the United States. In the meantime, Insull had given rise to investor
owned utilities (IOU) companies.Often we will see how the initial process of monopolization of
electrical utilities called for regulative control which remained intact as far as contemporary
times.

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Due to the lack of regulation, IOU companies would take control over its
substations, giving rise to a monopolized industry. It became a greater issue when utility
companies would overcharge their subsidiaries for the supplied equipment and service. This
issue called for municipal ownership and state regulation and finally federal intervention through
the Federal Power Act and the Public Utility Holding Company Act(1935), which imposed new
regulations on the investor-owned utility industry. This act would prohibit holding companies
from exploiting its subsidiaries. The purpose of municipal ownership over electrical utilities was
to ensure that the cities were receiving the necessary services and commodities. The idea of
applying municipal ownership over utilities was initially perceived with uneasiness by the people
due to the distrusted government. The concern lied mainly on the notion that if utility costs
were lowered then there was no guarantee that there would be proper maintenance, or proper
equipment to maintain such commodity intact(Emergence of Electrical Utilities in America).
However, state regulation seemed to be an appealing option due to active fiscalization on the
state electric company's balance sheet to establish proper rates in utilities. Wisconsin was the
first state to initiate such regulation which was then later adopted by New Yorks governor,
Charles Evan Hughes. By 1914, forty three more states started to adopt such regulations over its
electric utilities (Emergence of electrical utilities in America). Henceforth, one may notice the
importance of active regulations since it stands as a politically necessary entity that serves as a
body that would enforce the responsibilities and rights of electric power companies and their
customers(Roles of Regulation). Hence, such regulative principle was seen as being
imperative since electricity was a necessary commodity to all. Moreover, the regulations played
an important role in driving utility companys business. Furthermore, we come to observe the
ongoing efforts of true regulation through Roosevelts Portland Speech during his campaign

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in which he addresses on public utilities and hydroelectric power:
True regulation is for the equal benefit of the consumer and the investor. The only man who will
suffer from true regulation is the speculator, or the unscrupulous promoter who levies tribute
equally from the man who buys the service and from the man who invests his savings in this
great industry.I seek to protect both the consumer and the investor. To that end I now propose and
advocate, as I have proposed and advocated heretofore, the following remedies on the part of the
Government for the regulation and control of public utilities engaged in the power business, and
companies and corporations relating thereto:
First: Full publicity as to all capital issues of stocks, bonds and other securities; liabilities and
indebtedness; capital investment; and frequent information as to gross and net earnings. In other
words, let us "turn on the light!"(The Portland Speech,Portland Ore.September 21,1932).

The speech above worked as an incentive to expand and provide the public in rural settings with
federal utilities and ensuring that it would stay under federal regulations. Evidently, through the
establishment of the Tennessee Valley Authority and Bonneville Power Administration(1933)
and Rural Electrification Administration (1935) , projects on hydroelectric power have been
created during Roosevelts presidency .The high peak in utility expansion is evident during
the 1910s and 1920s, where there is an increase in electric power users as well as electric
production at lower costs. We see the commencement of public distribution of electric utility in
rural areas which was greatly enforced by Franklin D. Roosevelt during his presidency. Once
electricity was distributed throughout rurals areas it had shown to ameliorate the standard of
living as well being of great business to electric utility providers although it had proven to be
quite of a difficult task.
For instance, it was crucial that the utility providers followed the usual protocols of
supply and demand, in addition to offering fair rate in utility costs. Such regulations seemed

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to be even-handed since it had not impaired utility companies from growing capital. In the
meantime, state regulations would acknowledge that utility companies would stand better as
natural monopolies. In detail, the notion behind natural monopolies stands for businesses
that carry higher advantages in leading commerce through massive investments in advanced
technology to provide services, hence, eliminating any kind of competition (Emergence of
Electrical Utilities in America). Therefore, state regulations thought that it would be fair to have
a particular area where a single utility company would be responsible for providing its services.
As result, other utility providers would not be allowed to provide its services if that particular
area is already taken.
Even though utilities had to work under certain regulations such as obliging to
public priorities, it still was of great advantage since they were given the right of eminent
domain (History of Electric Utility Industry). In other words, Investor Owned Utilities were
given the right to acquire necessary properties to construct power plants in means of increasing
utility supply. Therefore, regulations proved to be overly favorable and profitable to utility
companies. For this reason, many forms of business schemes were induced by pro-capitalist
views of holding companies and as result they controlled nearly three-quarters of the IOUs by
1932(Emergence of Electrical Utilities in America).Again, even under regulation, IOU
companies were still able to take advantage of its subsidiaries through financial exploitation all
with the intent of building their own financial empires. Consequently, immediate federal
intervention took form as the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 was passed by
Congress which required severe fiscalization over major IOU companies financial reports and
required approval to issue stock and bond securities (Public Utility Holding Company Act of
1935). As we examine the process of expansion of electric utilities, it is apparent that there was

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a constant need of reform since its creation. First, it required proper infrastructure to build the
power plants, then finding methods of distributing power. Thereafter, regulations were applied to
electric utilities to remove bureaucratic domain of Investor Owned Utility companies which
proved to impair fair growth of other subsidiary utility businesses finally ensuring that
consumers received such utility services regardless of whether customers lived in metropolitan
or rural settings (History of Electric Utility). As of today, most of our electric utility providers
(about 61%) are publicly owned utilities as of 2012 (U.S. Electric Utility Industry Statistics).
In the meantime, electric power did not only bring light into the American houses but
also introduced society with numerous technologies derived from the expansion of electrical
utilities.An early example of such technology is seen through the growth in domestic appliances
then electronics as result to abundance in electrical utilities. By 1907, the first practical
domestic vacuum cleaner was introduced by James Spangler (National Academy of
Engineering). Spanglers electric suction sweeper functions as suction apparatus through an
electric fan (National Academy of Engineering). Unfortunately, it proved to be inconvenient
due to its heavy weight then later its patent was passed down to William Hoover who was able to
redesign and make it useful for domestic cleaning uses (National Academy of Engineering).
Clearly, we may come to perceive that many technological instruments come to depend highly
on electricity, and that has influenced in the commercialization of prospective household goods
and electronics. Noticeably, it has also affected our way of living since technology had taken
part of every aspect of our lives. Soon, it became an active part of our culture and building
blocks of our society.
Without electricity, all means of transportation such as cars, planes, trains, etc, would not
function, perhaps it could have possibly not even existed in the first place.

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On top of that, electricity has maintained society out of the darkness ever since Edison had
introduced the incandescent light bulb and held a strong will in distributing electric lighting
throughout the United States. Moreover, Thomas Edison was certainly one of many genius
pioneers that had taken full lead on the practical uses of electricity especially in the fields of
electricity.Not to mention also the historical impact in the American economy since the use of
such utility technology aided numerous manufacturing industries in terms of production and
efficiency. Interestingly, historical records by Benjamin Franklin show that electricity has also
been used for medical treatment purposes. Showing that electricity is present also an anatomical
level.Therefore, we can strongly affirm that in contemporary times, electrical energy becomes
the primary means of sustaining our society so that is fully functional. In other words, one may
say that electrical power is the catalytic intermediate that allowed todays society to flourish
since most of our technological devices comes to depend on it.

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