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How the world's first electric grid was built - Works in Progress Magazine

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In 1918, fifty systems supplied London's electricity. Turning these into a grid required war, nationalization, and an act of engineering insubordination.

In 1883, Sir Coutts Lindsay, owner of the Grosvenor Art Gallery in Bond Street, decided that he wanted to illuminate his paintings without the smoke produced by gas lanterns. He installed a small generator, first in the yard and then in the basement of the gallery. This was a cutting-edge status symbol at the time. The generator turned out to produce more than enough electricity to power his gallery lights, so he started to supply the excess power to his neighbors via overhead cables. In 1887, after being pitched by a professional engineering team, Sir Coutts formed the London Electricity Supp

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