Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation

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CESC or the Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation supplies electricity to area under Kolkata municipal corporation in the city of Kolkata, India.

[edit] History

On 7 January 1897 Kilburn & Co. secured the Calcutta electric lighting licence as agents of The Indian Electric Co. Ltd. The company soon changed its name to Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation Limited. The first power generating station was started on 17 April 1899 near the Princep Ghat. Calcutta Tramways Company switched to electricity from horse drawn carriages in 1902. Three new power generating stations were started by 1906. The company was shifted to the Victoria House in Dharmatala in 1933, and still operates from this address. Load-shedding (interruption of power supply due to shortage of electricity) was common in Kolkata during 1970s and 1980s. In 1978 the company was christened as The Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation (India) Ltd. The RPG group was associated with CESC from 1989.