Con Edison history

Such an immense project naturally would require capital, and in October 1878 Edison's group joined forces with Wall Street financiers in forming the Edison Electric Light Company.

Edison simultaneously had solved most of the generation and transmission problems, and by 1880 was ready to apply to the city of New York for permission to build the nation's first commercial electric power station.

The newly formed Edison Electric Illuminating applied for and received its license--apparently with the help of liberal payments to New York's open-handed city government--and at 3 p.m. on September 4, 1881, current began to flow from the generators at 255-57 Pearl Street in lower Manhattan.

The New York Steam Company began providing service in lower Manhattan in 1882.

The inventor and his associates incorporated many subsidiary manufacturing companies in order to build power stations wherever they were wanted, and by 1884, greatly assisted by a young financial wizard, Samuel Insull, Edison had even gained control of Edison Light as well as Edison Illuminating.

Consolidated Gas bought NYG&ELH&P in 1899, when Consolidated Gas decided to use its superior financial might to overcome a growing technological gap by buying up as many electricity companies as it could.

1901: The company merges with Edison's Illuminating Company to create the New York Edison Company.

The power of the legislature to fix rates of return for utilities was tested in a landmark court case arising out of its 1906 attempt to limit Consolidated Gas's price for its gas to 80 cents per 1,000 cubic feet.

The long process of unifying New York's various power companies continued, and by 1932 Consolidated Gas was the largest company in the world providing electrical service.

In 1936, with electric sales far outstripping gas sales, the company incorporated and the name was changed to Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc.

Consolidated Edison acquired land on the Hudson River in Buchanan, NY, in 1954 for the Indian Point nuclear power plant.

In 1955 Con Ed was among the first utilities to apply for permission from the Atomic Energy Commission to build and operate a private atomic power plant.

1962: Con Ed begins operation of a private atomic power plant.

While 1965 revenues of $840 million made Con Ed the nation's largest utility, its revenue growth was very slow, net earnings were low, and earnings per share were moving up at only 4 percent per year, or half the pace of a typical competitor such as Commonwealth Edison in Chicago.

1974: State government buys two of Con Ed's generating plants for $612 million.

Indian Point 3 was sold to the New York Power Authority in 1975.

Luce retired in September 1982 and was succeeded by Arthur Haupsburg.

In addition, taxes accounted for 25 percent of Con Ed's revenues in 1993, by far the highest in the country.

In 1997 the first phase of a five-year process of deregulation began, allowing some commercial and residential customers to choose their power supplier.