The first electric power transmission line in North America-Oregon City, Oregon

The uses of electric power are rarely at the locations where electric power is generated. Thus, there is a need to transmit electric power from its sources to the points of utilization. Perhaps the most important way this is done is by overhead electric power transmission lines. Where was the first such transmission? Some sources indicate it was in 1886 at Cherchi, Italy, where energy was transmitted to Rome over a distance of 17 miles. Little information is available on this installation. Much more is known of the first electric power transmission line in North America. It was constructed in 1889 between the generating station at Willamette Falls in Oregon City, Oregon, and downtown Portland, Oregon, a distance of around 13 miles. Although the distance of 13 miles is very short compared to the length of present transmission lines, its construction and successful operation was considered to be a major technological breakthrough at the time.