Overview

The first commercial power plant was opened in San Francisco in 1879. It was followed in 1882 by the opening of Thomas Edison s Pearl Street station in New York City, which delivered direct current (DC) electric power. In 1893 alternating current (AC) generation and transmission were displayed at the Chicago Worlds Fair. By 1896 an AC transmission line had delivered power generated by a Niagara Falls hydroelectric plant some 20 miles to Buffalo, New York. After a contentious battle between Thomas Edison and other proponents of DC power, the advocates of AC power such as Nikola Tesla and George Westinghouse prevailed. Alternating current became the accepted national power standard. Demonstrations had proven that AC transmitted over long distances sustained lower power losses than DC transmitted over the same distances.

Over the next hundred years a North American power grid, a major development in power generation and transmission, evolved from the consolidation of separate AC power generation and distribution networks. This grid now stretches across the country from New York to California, with parts extending into Canada and Mexico. More recently, computer-controlled switching systems with advanced software have been introduced into the power grid.

Meanwhile, electric power generating capacity has fallen behind the ever-increasing demand for electricity in North America. The power shortage has been traced to the complications brought on by deregulation, a shortfall in the construction of new power plants, and strong environmental activism that has inhibited new plant construction.

The deregulation of the electric power industry...