Transmission to Buffalo

In 1895, the Niagara Falls Power Company began placing contracts for long distance electric transmission development and implementation.   It included the building of transformers that could handle 1,250 horsepower and the stringing of overhead wires capable of transmitting 11,000 volts.

The Niagara Falls Power Company applied and receive a right-of-way to transmit electrical power to Tonawanda and Buffalo on August 30, 1895, from the Superintendent of Public Works of the State of New York.   Compressed air and hydraulic transmissions of power had been eliminated as impractical before this time.   With respect to distribution of the power inside Buffalo, it was determined that the Cataract Power and Conduit Company, a municipally owned company.   Similarly, the Tonawanda Cataract Company obtained the right to distribute electrical power within that city in 1899.   In 1917, this company merged with the Tonawanda Lighting and Power Company, the local company supplying direct-current light, to form the Tonawanda Power Company. ^{Adams 339-340}

Proposals to build the transmission line (1) & (2) from Niagara Falls to Buffalo were received from the General Electric Company and the Westinghouse Electric Company, which were essentially the same: 10,000 hp from the Niagara power plant to Buffalo at 11,000 to 22,000 volts via step-up transformers.   General Electric won the contract. ^{Adams 344}