This piece originally appeared at Nuclear Barbarians.
Longtime subscribers know that I’ve been warning about American grid fragility for years. We’re short on spare capacity and long on increasing demand: a recipe for disaster. As we navigate these challenging waters, I think we should reflect on how the grid got built, who built it, and how they did it.
One man stands above all the others in our national annals—Samuel Insull. If you haven’t heard of him, don’t worry. This is the first in a several part series dedicated to telling the story of his achievements. At the end of the series, I’ll provide a bibliography of all the research material I used.
I’d like to thank the staff at the Chicago History Museum’s Abakanowicz Research Center who helped me find rare material published by Insull. I would also like to thank Daniel Lund, the Curator of Collections at the Elmhurst History Museum, who allowed me to see the historical documents concerning my home town’s experience with early electrification. Robert Bryce as well as Madi and Griffin Hilly provided invaluable feedback on earlier, more laborious drafts of this series. This series would be greatly impoverished without their insight. John Goodson, Canada Mike, and the Electricity Degenerates (you know who you are) offered crucial moral support during the laborious research process. I am also indebted to the editorial assistance of both my colleague at Foundation for American Innovation, Robert Bellafiore, and my patient and lovely wife.
