Edmonton Electricity Facts
The Edmonton Power Historical Foundation was incorporated in November of 1989.
The founding president of the Edmonton Power Historical Foundation was Frank Battistella.
From 1891 to 1901 Alex Taylor was one of the owners of Edmonton's first power company, the Edmonton Electric Light & Power Company.
The first electricity generating station in Edmonton was a coal-fired steam driven plant built in 1891.
In 1891, the first street lights were installed along Jasper Avenue and operated from sunset to 1:00 a.m. and in the winter from 5:30 a.m. to sunrise.
In 1902, the Edmonton Electric Light & Power Company was bought by the Town of Edmonton for $13,500.
In 1905, round-the-clock electric service began in Edmonton.
In 1905, Edmonton Light Department had 53 customers.
To celebrate Alberta's inauguration in 1905, Edmonton Power gave its customers free power for a week.
In 1908, Edmonton became the first town between Winnipeg and the West Coast to have an electric street railway system. Trolley buses began replacing the trams in 1939.
Edmonton Power first started using underground cable in 1922.
Edmonton saw its first neon-lit sign on Jasper Avenue in 1929. First traffic signal in 1930.
In 1960, Edmonton Power employees start the Sourdough Raft Race.
In 1970 two City of Edmonton departments, Generation and Distribution, were combined to form Edmonton Power.
In 1976, Edmonton became the first city in North America with a population less than a million to have a light rail transit (LRT) system.
In 1982, Edmonton Power adopted the new blue turbine-shaped logo.
In 1982, work began on the Genesee Generating Station, 50 km southwest of Edmonton. The project cost was $1.2 Billion.
In 2002, work began on a third unit at the Genesee Generating Station. This is the first coal-fired unit in Canada to use supercritical boiler technology. The project cost is estimated at $600 Million.