George Westinghouse
Steve Mitnick is President of Lines Up, Inc., Executive Editor of Public Utilities Fortnightly, and co-author of the new book, “Front Lines to Power Lines.”
PUF will soon publish our new book, Front Lines to Power Lines, by Steve Mitnick and Rachel Moore. This book shares the experiences of thirty-five veterans, from their time in the service to their transition into the utility industry. The collection of stories illustrates how military service has been instrumental in shaping the careers of many in the industry.
But what of the industry's history? The sixth of October, we celebrate the one hundred seventy-fifth birthday of one of the first pioneers of the industry: George Westinghouse.
An entrepreneur, engineer, and inventor, Westinghouse competed against his contemporary, Thomas Edison, working to develop and market the use of alternating current for electric power distribution in the early 1880s. Ironically, Westinghouse later received the American Institute of Electrical Engineers' Edison Medal in 1911, for his achievements with alternating current distribution. But years before that, Westinghouse was just like many of the men and women chronicled in our new book. In fact, he was one of the first veterans in energy.