Kyoto Dento contributed to the widespread installation of electric lamps by lowering the cost of power generation and the price of electric lamps by drawing on the large amount (for that time) of electricity generated at the Keage Power Plant (run by Kyoto City) on Lake Biwa Canal, which was the first commercial hydraulic power generation in Japan.
日本初の営業用水力発電である琵琶湖疏水の蹴上発電所（発電所は京都市営）から生み出される当時としては大量の電力を背景として、発電コストを低下させ電灯料金も引き下げ、電灯の本格的普及に貢献した。