Edison Illuminating Company
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The Edison Illuminating Company was established by Thomas Edison on December 17, 1880, to construct electrical generating stations, initially in New York City. Its first central station, located on Pearl Street in lower Manhattan, opened on September 4, 1882. The company was the prototype for other local illuminating companies that were established in the United States during the 1880s:
- July 4, 1883, Sunbury, Pennsylvania - the opening of the central station for the first three-wire Edison incandescent electric light (village system), which was attended by Edison himself.
- November 17, 1883, Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania - the Edison Electric Illuminating Company of Mount Carmel was founded. This was the first isolated electrical plant in the world (i.e., Mt. Carmel was the first town lighted exclusively by electricity); it was also the fifth electrical plant constructed upon the Edison system.
In 1891, Henry Ford became an engineer with the Edison Illuminating Company, and was promoted to Chief Engineer in 1893.
The Edison Illuminating Company was purchased by Consolidated Gas some time between 1899 and 1901, subsequently the company became known as Consolidated Edison, a name which it has kept since 1936.