The End of Coal-Fired Power Generation in Chicago [History]

The war of the currents between Thomas Edison and George West inghouse didn't end in 1893 at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, when Westinghouse received the contract for producing the electricity to illuminate the entire exposition using his doublestopper light bulbs powered by ac. Edison, being a strong advocate and main promoter for the generation and transmission of power using dc, continued to develop and expand its use in large cities with steam powered, coalfired, central powergenerating stations. These stations initially utilized dc generators driven by reciprocating steam engines. On 17 December 1880, he established the Edison Illuminating Company to build his generating stations, beginning with projects in New York City. To provide support for his business interests, he hired a young, businessminded gentleman from England as his personal secretary. This gentleman was Samuel Insull, who would become directly involved in all matters related to Edison's power companies [2], [3].