Electric Transmission of Water Power

At the turn of the twentieth century, engineers were solving one of the most ambitious problems in technological history: how to transmit electricity from remote waterfalls to distant cities. Alton D. Adams, writing in 1906, documents this pivotal moment when hydroelectric power began its transformation of urban life. This is not a textbook but a firsthand account of a technological revolution in progress, detailing the engineering challenges, economic calculations, and competitive pressures that shaped the early electrical industry. Adams examines specific water-power stations and their capabilities, analyzing how utilities successfully transmitted power over extensive distances while competing with coal and gas. The book reveals a world where every mile of transmission line represented a hard-won engineering victory, where the economics of power were measured against the cost of hauling coal, and where the groundwork for modern electrical infrastructure was being laid. For anyone curious about the origins of the grid that still powers our world, this text offers an invaluable window into the minds of the engineers who built it.