Editing Electricity generation (section)

== History ==
[[File:Edison Central Station Dynamos and Engine.jpg|thumb|Dynamos and engine installed at [[Edison General Electric Company]], New York, 1895]]

The fundamental principles of electricity generation were discovered in the 1820s and early 1830s by British scientist [[Michael Faraday]]. His method, still used today, is for electricity to be generated by the movement of a loop of wire, or [[Faraday disc]], between the poles of a [[magnet]]. Central power stations became economically practical with the development of [[alternating current]] (AC) power transmission, using power [[transformer]]s to transmit power at high voltage and with low loss.

Commercial electricity production started with the coupling of the dynamo to the hydraulic turbine. The mechanical production of electric power began the [[Second Industrial Revolution]] and made possible several inventions using electricity, with the major contributors being [[Thomas Alva Edison]] and [[Nikola Tesla]]. Previously the only way to produce electricity was by chemical reactions or using battery cells, and the only practical use of electricity was for the [[telegraph]].

Electricity generation at central power stations started in 1882, when a [[steam engine]] driving a dynamo at [[Pearl Street Station]] produced a [[DC current]] that powered public lighting on [[Pearl Street (Manhattan)|Pearl Street]], [[New York City|New York]]. The new technology was quickly adopted by many cities around the world, which adapted their gas-fueled street lights to electric power. Soon after electric lights would be used in public buildings, in businesses, and to power public transport, such as trams and trains.

The first power plants used water power or coal.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ethw.org/Pearl_Street_Station|title=Pearl Street Station - Engineering and Technology History Wiki|website=ethw.org|access-date=2016-08-14|archive-date=2016-08-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826031218/http://ethw.org/Pearl_Street_Station|url-status=live}}</ref> Today a variety of energy sources are used, such as [[coal]], [[nuclear power|nuclear]], [[natural gas]], [[hydroelectricity|hydroelectric]], [[Wind power|wind]], and [[Petroleum|oil]], as well as [[solar energy]], [[tidal power]], and [[Geothermal power|geothermal]] sources.

In the 1880s the popularity of electricity grew massively with the introduction of the [[Incandescent light bulb]]. Although there are 22 recognised inventors of the light bulb prior to [[Joseph Swan]] and [[Thomas Edison]], Edison and Swan's invention became by far the most successful and popular of all. During the early years of the 19th century, massive jumps in [[Electromagnetism|electrical sciences]] were made. And by the later 19th century the advancement of electrical technology and engineering led to electricity being part of everyday life. With the introduction of many electrical inventions and their implementation into everyday life, the demand for electricity within homes grew dramatically. With this increase in demand, the potential for profit was seen by many entrepreneurs who began investing into electrical systems to eventually create the first electricity public utilities. This process in history is often described as electrification.<ref>{{Cite web|title=History of Electrification Sites|url=https://edisontechcenter.org/HistElectPowTrans.html|access-date=2019-06-08 |website=edisontechcenter.org|archive-date=2019-05-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190525012849/http://edisontechcenter.org/HistElectPowTrans.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The earliest distribution of electricity came from companies operating independently of one another. A consumer would purchase electricity from a producer, and the producer would distribute it through their own power grid. As technology improved so did the productivity and efficiency of its generation. Inventions such as the [[steam turbine]] had a massive impact on the efficiency of electrical generation but also the economics of generation as well. This conversion of heat energy into mechanical work was similar to that of [[steam engine]]s, however at a significantly larger scale and far more productively. The improvements of these large-scale generation plants were critical to the process of centralised generation as they would become vital to the entire power system that we now use today. 

Throughout the middle of the 20th century many utilities began merging their [[Electric power distribution|distribution networks]] due to economic and efficiency benefits. Along with the invention of long-distance [[power transmission]], the coordination of power plants began to form. This system was then secured by regional system operators to ensure stability and reliability. The electrification of homes began in Northern Europe and in the Northern America in the 1920s in large cities and urban areas. It was not until the 1930s that rural areas saw the large-scale establishment of electrification.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Power Grid History|url=https://www.itc-holdings.com/a-modern-power-grid/power-grid-history|access-date=2019-06-08 |website=www.itc-holdings.com|archive-date=2019-06-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608053530/https://www.itc-holdings.com/a-modern-power-grid/power-grid-history|url-status=live}}</ref>