Editing Commonwealth Edison (section)

===The Samuel Insull Era===

By 1892, Chicago Edison's load had grown to 3,200 [[kilowatt]]s, the full capacity of its generating station. Its growth showed no sign of slowing, especially with plans in the works to host the 1893 [[Columbian Exposition]]. Its president, E. T. Watkins, had resigned the year before, and it was clear that new leadership was needed. In [[New York City]], meanwhile, Thomas Edison had been bought out of his company as it was being consolidated into the [[General Electric|General Electric Company]]. One of Edison's associates, [[Samuel Insull]], had however been retained as the second vice-president of General Electric, and was subsequently offered the presidency of the company. Instead, Insull agreed to stay on only long enough to oversee the consolidation of Edison's companies.<ref>Hogan, pp. 32–35.</ref>

The board of Chicago Edison wrote to Insull, asking for a recommendation for their president. In reply, Insull applied for the job, saying, "It is the best opportunity that I know of in the United States to develop the business of the production and distribution of electrical energy." The board accepted his application, and on May 26, 1892, Insull was elected president of Chicago Edison.<ref>Hogan, p. 36.</ref>

Upon his arrival, Insull found that Chicago Edison was one of nearly 30 electric companies operating in Chicago, all competing for business. While prevailing opinion at the time held that competition between the many companies was the best way to improve service and keep prices low, Insull believed that a regulated monopoly, giving exclusive operating rights in a specific territory to one company in exchange for state control over service terms and prices, would be most beneficial for both utilities and customers. While state regulation did not begin until 1914, Insull began forming a monopoly on electric service by acquiring many of his competitors. By 1895, he had acquired enough of them, and their rights to use the different manufacturers' equipment, that he had obtained a complete monopoly on electric service in Chicago Edison's territory.<ref>Hogan, pp. 36–38.</ref>

Insull also initiated construction of a much larger power plant on Harrison Street, west of the [[Chicago River]]. While its original capacity of 6,400 kilowatts, twice that of the Adams Street Station and the largest in the United States, seemed wildly optimistic when it opened in August, 1894, Insull believed that the [[economy of scale]] provided by such a large station would offset the initial cost. Aside from this point, the size of the station allowed it to replace the Adams Street Station, which had become both overloaded and obsolete. Insull's optimism was rapidly justified: the Harrison Street Station reached its original capacity within the first several years, and was expanded to 16,200 kilowatts by 1903, the year [[Fisk Generating Station]] put large steam turbines into service.<ref>Hogan, pp. 38–39.</ref>

In 1907, Chicago Edison combined with Commonwealth Electric to form Commonwealth Edison Company. Six years later, it absorbed the independent [[Cosmopolitan Electric Company]], and with that purchase effectively became the sole electric provider in Chicago.<ref>{{cite book |last=Fitzgerald |first=John J. |title=Burnham's Manual of Chicago Securities |year=1918 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8zQNAAAAYAAJ&q=cosmopolitan+electric+company |access-date=2008-08-18   |publisher=John Burnham and Company |location=Chicago |oclc=18036858 |chapter=Public Utility Corporations |page=173}}</ref>

Insull also founded [[Public Service Company of Northern Illinois]], which developed rural electrification in northern Illinois outside Chicago. Public Service and ComEd, along with many other companies, were subsidiaries of Insull's [[Middle West Utilities Company]] until Middle West's collapse during the [[Great Depression]]. According to at least one source<ref>[http://tdworld.com/mag/power_transmission_owners_face/ Transmission Owners Face Big Decisions] November 1, 2002</ref> Insull was also the earliest to develop transmission companies, in the 1920s, a concept that was undermined by the development of Public Utility Commissions, in general, and the Public Utilities Company Holding Act of 1935, in particular. Necessary regulation in that form has been overcome by recent deregulatory measures.

In 1994, ComEd reorganized as a holding company, [[Unicom Corp]]oration, with ComEd as its leading subsidiary. In 2000, UniCom merged with [[Philadelphia]]-based electric company [[PECO Energy]] to form [[Exelon]].