[HN Gopher] How the world's first electric grid was built
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How the world's first electric grid was built
Author : zdw
Score : 35 points
Date : 2026-03-20 14:29 UTC (4 days ago)
(HTM) web link (worksinprogress.co)
(TXT) w3m dump (worksinprogress.co)
| detourdog wrote:
| I think Great Barrington, MA. might also be able to claim the
| title of first. It seems to predate this system by a year.
|
| https://www.edisontechcenter.org/GreatBarrington.html
| Carrok wrote:
| > Stanley's system was however an experimental system designed
| to be proof of concept. It was short lived as the weak points
| in the system in the system eventually shut the system down
| (Westinghouse's steam engine was unreliable and the Siemens
| generator was 'unsatisfactory').
| detourdog wrote:
| March 6th, 1886 Stanley lit the downtown and rejoiced along
| with the townspeople. The system lit both businesses and the
| street with 150, 50, and 16 candlepower incandescent lamps.
| Stanley remarked how people were happy however maintained
| some distance from the lights as they were afraid of them!
|
| They had growing pains but it was a grid system.
| floathub wrote:
| The power generated from Niagara river stations was traveling on
| an international "grid" between Canada and the US in the late
| 1890s.
| gotwaz wrote:
| Fragmentation is natural. The human body doesnt need all this
| infra and a grid operator/energy schedules to run. Cells dont
| bill each other if they over/under generate ATP molecules. There
| is no deviation settlement mech and no need for everything to
| sync to some arbit frequency. Watch how the grid changes post
| Ukraine drone wars where taking out generators, transmission
| lines and substations has become a fully automated process.
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(page generated 2026-03-24 23:00 UTC)