Electric power industry The world's first public electricity supply was provided in late 1881, when the streets of the Surrey town of Godalming in the UK were lit with electric light. This system was powered from a water wheel on the River Wey, which drove a Siemens alternator that supplied a number of arc lamps within the town. This supply scheme also provided electricity to a number of shops and premises to light 34 incandescent Swan light bulbs. Additionally, Robert Hammond, in December 1881, demonstrated the new electric light in the Sussex town of Brighton in the UK for a trial period. The
History of electricity supply in Queensland 1913. The first regional electricity supply was established in the far western town of Thargomindah. A street lighting system was installed in 1892, and in 1898 commenced generating electricity using Australia's first hydro-electric plant, using the water pressure from a water bore, a system which remained until replaced by diesel generators in 1951. The Rockhampton Gas & Coke Co. began to supply electricity in that city in 1892, with the Rockhampton City Council assuming responsibility for electricity supplies in 1924. Electricity was supplied in Charters Towers in 1897, Toowoomba in 1905, Warwick in 1912 and Barcaldine in 1915, each by