Electrifying America: From Thomas Edison to Climate Change

On September 4, 1882, Thomas Edison flipped a switch and illuminated an office building in New York's financial district for the first time. But before Edison could achieve his goal of "lighting the world," he was challenged by George Westinghouse and his alternating current system. The ensuing War of the Electric Currents played out before the entire nation and became a vicious personal battle between Edison, Westinghouse, and Nicola Tesla. The War of the Electric Currents was only the first in a series of challenges to the reliable and affordable delivery of electricity in America. It was followed by the excesses of the Power Trusts of the 1920s, multiple large scale power blackouts, the 1973 Arab Oil Embargo, the Three Mile Island accident, California's misadventure with competitive electric supply, and Enron's bankruptcy. The challenges continue to this day with fears of cyberattacks on the electric grid, the aging energy infrastructure, and the need to respond to the threat of climate change. As part of his journey through the evolution of electric service, forty-year industry veteran, I. David Rosenstein, provides a fascinating insider's perspective on events from electric industry restructuring to the efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. He shows that, no matter how daunting the challenges, the electric industry and its policy makers have always met the challenges head-on and ensured delivery of electric supply that meets the public interest.

I. David Rosenstein is the author of Electrifying America: From Thomas Edison to Climate Change. David grew up in Ohio and received his engineering and law degrees from the University of Cincinnati. After graduating from law school he entered private practice where he represented electric users in opposition to rate increases at state regulatory agencies throughout the country. When the electric industry transitioned from regulation to competition, David left private practice to work in the independent power production industry. During the years when that industry was consolidating though mergers and acquisitions David worked first as Vice President-General Counsel at Conectiv Energy, LLC in Wilmington, Delaware until that company was sold to a larger independent power producer. He then worked in the same position at Essential Power, LLC. in Princeton, New Jersey until that company was also sold to a larger independent power producer. When asked to describe his 40-year career as an attorney specializing in the field of utility law, he says: ＂The tires of electric industry restructuring have left their tracks on my back.＂ David now lives with his wife at the Atlantic Ocean in Coastal Delaware.