-
Benjamin Franklin prove that lightning is a form of electricity.
-
Thomas Edison successfully demonstrates the electric light bulb and generator.
-
Edison launches the first iteration of the modern electricity industry with the Pearl Street station, the first modern electricity generating station.
-
Development begins on the Niagara Falls hydroelectric project, a massive plant designed to transmit power to Buffalo, NY, more than 20 miles away
-
Insull suggests that the utility industry is a natural monopoly, meaning that it is an industry in which having a sole provider serves the common good.
-
Wisconsin enacts the first law designed to regulate power companies. The law creates a commission to set rates for private utilities.
-
PUHCA establishes an absolute obligation to serve all consumers as quid-pro-quo for a guaranteed rate of return to each utility monopoly.
-
These are the boom year of the electric power industry. Economies of scale make electric power affordable and a host of new household appliances make it indispensable.
-
Until now, the electric power industry has become increasingly efficient in fuel consumption
-
He makes his “Atoms for Peace” speech before the United Nations, advocating for the peaceful use of nuclear power.
-
OPEC launches an oil embargo to protest U.S. Middle East policy. This leads to a dramatic increase in not only the cost of oil but also of electricity-generating fuels, including coal.
-
Congress passes the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The act includes repeal of PUHCA, which supporters claim will lead to greater investment in utilities.
-
Thousands of electricity consumers in New York lose power as the system struggles and ultimately fails to keep up with demand triggered by summer heat.
