Early Electrical Developments

The story starts with the arc light in the late 1870's. Charles F. Brush was America's most important promoter of the primitive, inefficient direct-current system. Experiments in direct power generation and arc lighting took place in San Francisco in 1789, and at George Chaffey's Etiwanda ranch in San Bernardino Valley. Visalia and Santa Barbara followed in the mid-1880's. It was soon learned that this glaring bright light was dangerous for indoor use. Meanwhile Thomas Edison had been working on, and perfecting the incandescent light bulb. To historians the light bulb is the defining moment for commercial electric power, but while it provided economical and safer lighting, it was the electric motor that really changed industry and increased productivity. Edison's light bulb could be run using A.C. (Alternating Current) or D.C. (Direct Current), but running efficient motors that could power industry still had many obstacles.

Light Bulb

While the light bulb would change our behavior by night, the electric motor would revolutionize factories and pumping. The problem was that Edison and Brush had relied on DC power, and DC power could not be transmitted over three miles from the generating source. This meant that generation would have to be local, and the cost would remain very high as small inefficient power stations would be required every 6 miles in a city.