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1752
Benjamin Franklin attaches a metal wire and key to a kite and flies the contraption during a thunderstorm in order to successfully prove that lightning is a form of electricity. -
1877
Thomas Edison successfully demonstrates the electric light bulb and generator. Newspapers declare the era of electricity has begun. -
1882
Edison launches the first iteration of the modern electricity industry with the Pearl Street station, the first modern electricity generating station. The utility serves 59 customers. -
1953
President Dwight D. Eisenhower makes his “Atoms for Peace” speech before the United Nations, advocating for the peaceful use of nuclear power. -
1962
Publication of Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring” forces Americans to think about the environmental and health consequences of modern industrial society, including utilities. -
1970
Congress enacts the Clean Air Act, which requires utilities to invest in costly anti-pollution technology. -
1978
Skyrocketing oil prices lead President Jimmy Carter to call for a national energy plan. The Carter plan eventually becomes the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act ( PURPA). A small section of PURPA, added in at the legislative last minute, creates incentives to build and operate small, more fuel-efficient electricity generators and creates limited market competition. Utilities sue to stop the law from going into effect. -
2003
2003: The largest blackout in North American history leaves nearly 50 million people without power in the northeastern United States and eastern Canada, some for as long as four days. A government report estimates the cost of the outage at between $4 billion and $10 billion in the United States alone. -
2005
Congress passes the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The act includes repeal of PUHCA, which supporters claim will lead to greater investment in utilities. The act also creates a mandatory reliability organization with the power to impose fines on utilities. In July 2006 the government appoints the industry’s existing self-regulatory body, NERC, to be the new, higher-powered reliability watchdog under the ultimate authority of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). -
2006
Line losses increase to 10 percent, compared to 5 percent in 1980, because overloaded power lines cannot handle today’s demand. These line losses cost electricity consumers approximately $12 billion a year. Thousands of electricity consumers in New York, California, St. Louis and Chicago lose power as the system struggles and ultimately fails to keep up with demand triggered by summer heat.
