![]() Roosevelt's New Deal projects was the development of regional hydroelectric systems, such as the Pacific Northwest system, which included the Bonneville dam and the Grand Coulee dam. In 1942 it joined the newly formed Northwest Power Pool, formed with several other regional power companies to coordinate resources when capacity was stretched. It had 73,000 customers, including 4,400 electrified farms. Pacific often wired the houses and sheds of its new customers and supplied the power.īy 1941 Pacific was in a solid financial position, with income of $740,000 on sales of $6.7 million. In addition to lighting, farmers used electric power to run irrigation pumps, which created more farm land and more demand for electricity. ![]() By 1938 Pacific's system included 10,000 farms. During the Depression employees were forced to take pay cuts, and stockholders' dividends were cut.Įxcept for the worst years of the Great Depression, rural electrification was an important source of company growth. Pacific successfully marketed and sold electric appliances to help increase electricity sales, although the Great Depression slowed Pacific's sales until 1941. Holding companies like Electric Bond & Share, which owned Pacific, provided capital and expertise.Ĭustomers in Pacific's mostly rural area wanted the electricity-powered conveniences: lights, electric ranges, toasters, vacuum cleaners, washing machines, and water pumps. Because it was difficult for these small firms to raise enough capital to expand or improve service, holding companies sprang up across the United States, buying smaller companies and integrating them into regional electric utilities. Most large towns had their own electric companies, which often provided gas, steam, or water service as well. The electric industry was in its infancy in 1910. It had a total of 14,344 electric, gas, and water customers and first-year revenues of $832,200. Pacific included utilities in Astoria, Pendleton, and The Dalles, Oregon Yakima, Walla Walla, and Pasco, Washington and Lewiston, Idaho. PacifiCorp began in 1910 as Pacific Power & Light Company, which was formed through the merger of several financially troubled electric utilities in the Pacific Northwest. ![]() PacifiCorp planned to use its expertise in the trading of bulk power to take advantage of the increasing deregulation in the U.S. In the late 1990s, PacifiCorp provided electric power to 1.3 million customers in parts of Washington, Oregon, Utah, Wyoming, California, Montana, and Idaho, and more than half a million customers in Australia. Owner of Pacific Power & Light, Utah Power & Light, and the Australian utility Powercor, PacifiCorp is one of the largest electric utility holding companies in the United States. ![]()
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