# [TECH] Electric Power Grid

**The Electric Power Grid** is the system of generation, transmission, and distribution of electrical energy, pioneered by Edison (DC, 1882), Tesla and Westinghouse (AC, 1890s), and now the foundational infrastructure of modern civilisation.

## Overview

Thomas Edison's Pearl Street Station (1882, New York) was the first commercial power grid, using DC. Nikola Tesla's polyphase AC system (1888) and the Westinghouse AC grid at Niagara Falls (1895) proved AC's superiority for long-distance transmission (the "War of Currents"). By 1920 most of the developed world had electrical power.

The grid enables all modern manufacturing, computing, communications, and transportation. The International Energy Agency estimates that electricity is now the energy carrier for ~25% of global final energy consumption, with that share rising rapidly.

## Key Actors

- **Companies**: Edison Electric (now GE, 1892), Westinghouse Electric (1886), Siemens (1847), ABB (1988)
- **Inventors**: Thomas Edison (1847–1931), Nikola Tesla (1856–1943), George Westinghouse (1846–1914)

## Key Patents

- Tesla, N. US Patent 381,968 (1888) — AC electric motor
- Edison, T.A. US Patent 223,898 (1880) — incandescent lamp

## Economic Value

Global electricity generation revenue: **\$USD 3.5 trillion/year** (IEA 2023). Industries enabled by electric power represent ~70% of global GDP (~\$USD 70T). Electric motors alone drive 45% of global electricity consumption, enabling manufacturing worth >\$USD 15T/year.

## Notes

IEA *World Energy Outlook* 2023 for generation figures. McKinsey *The Future of Electricity* (2018) for enabled GDP estimate.

## What This Enables

- **[TECH] Vacuum Tube Electronics** — Mains AC power allowsenables stationary vacuum tube equipment to be stationary, enabling (radio transmitters and, early computers) without batteries.
- **[TECH] Transistor** — Reliable electrical infrastructure is a prerequisite for semiconductor device fabrication and testing.
- **[TECH] Digital Computing** — Large-scale computing requires megawatts of reliable electrical power.

# Parents

* [SCI] Classical Electromagnetism
* [SCI] Classical Electromagnetism