“In order to have a successful luau, you have to go whole hog!”
Edison Electric Light Co.In 1878, Thomas Edison established the Edison Electric Light Company in N.Y. City with a syndicate of leading financiers, including J.P. Morgan and the Vanderbilts, who advanced him $30,000 for research and development. Edison proposed to connect his lights in a parallel circuit by subdividing the current, so that, unlike arc lights, which were connected in a series circuit, the failure of one light bulb would not cause a whole circuit to fail. He patented his electricity distribution system in 1880. The first investor-owned electric utility, Pearl Street Station, New York City, (1882) provided service for the 400 lamps of 85 customers. This company and its technological heritage became a part of General Electric in 1892. |
