The Evolution of High Tension Power Distribution

More Power, Longer Lines, Higher Voltage

By Carver Mead and Barbara Smith

Presented July 8 - 10, 2005 at the 36th Annual National Insulator Association Convention in San Jose, California

Table of contents:

• Introduction - The Evolution of High Tension
• 1889 - America’s First High-Voltage Transmission
• 1892 - Southern California Takes the Lead
• 1893 - First Three-Phase Transmission Plant in America
• 1895 - Big Power at Folsom, CA
• 1895 - Niagara Falls: The Electrical Wonder of the World
• 1897 - High Power in Italy
• 1898 - Trouble in Utah
• 1899 - Distance Record
• 1899 - More Big Generators in Canada
• 1901 - The Longest Transmission Line in the World
• 1902 - World Voltage Record in Montana
• 1903 - Shawinigan Falls, Canada
• 1903 - Steel Towers in Mexico
• 1904 - Southern CA Reaches North
• 1905 - 60kV in Fog
• 1906 - Guanajuato Upgrade
• 1906 - Niagara, Lockport & Ontario
• 1907 - 75kV from Kern River
• 1908 - The Turning Point
• 1909 - The Power Grid is Born

Return to the Research Articles page

Written July 8, 2005