Fortis Inc.

Newfoundland Light and Power merges with Union Electric Light and Power Company and United Towns Electric to form Newfoundland Light & Power Company, Limited. Fortis, Inc., through its subsidiaries, is the leading distributor of electricity in the Province of Newfoundland and the Province of Prince Edward Island, and the leading commercial distributor of electricity in the country of Belize. Fortis was created in 1987 as a holding company, with Newfoundland Light & Power Company, Limited as its chief subsidiary. Since then it has branched out into other power industry segments and diversified into the real estate and telecommunications industries. The company posted steady growth in the mid-1990s, as it expanded its power holdings into the United States and Central America. Although Fortis is a relatively new company, its core subsidiary and predecessor, Newfoundland Light & Power Co., boasts a rich history dating back to the 1880s. By that time, Edison's breakthrough electric lamp had been introduced as had his design for an entire electrical supply system. Demand for Edison's system was immediate and overwhelming. Not exempt from the clamor to develop an electric system were Edison's northern neighbors in Newfoundland (which did not actually join the Canadian confederation until 1949). In fact, it was on October 19, 1885, that residents of Newfoundland's port city of St. John's saw an electric light demonstrated for the first time. That event sparked a concerted drive to bring electricity to St. John's and throughout the rugged, sparsely populated Newfoundland region. Among the first communities along the North American coast to develop an electric system was St. John's, a relatively wealthy town of about 31,000 people who were mostly of English or Irish descent. In May 1885, five men--Alexander McLellan Mackay, John Steer, Walter Baine Grieve, Edwin John Duder, and Moses Monroe--incorporated themselves as Newfoundland Electric Light Company Limited. Through that venture, the investors planned to develop "an electric light station or stations in St. John's and elsewhere in Newfoundland." Spearheading the effort were Monroe and Mackay. Mackay served as the company's first president until 1892, at which time he was succeeded by Monroe. Mackay had moved to Newfoundland in 1857 to head the local division of the New York, London, and Newfoundland Telegraph Company. He became a Newfoundland citizen and achieved notable success as a politician there. Monroe was a successful businessman and was operating a successful wholesale venture at the time. The fledgling electricity company, which became known as St. John's Electric Light Company, strung electric wires and converted an old warehouse into a power station. By October 1885 the company was already burning electric street and store lamps. Despite initial glitches--one telephone office employee was blown six feet away from the switchboard when electric lines came into contact with the phone lines--the company was an early success. Several companies signed up for electric lighting service and, significantly, St. John's Electric secured a lucrative street lighting contract with the city. By 1887 St. John's Electric was supplying electric lighting to about 50 companies and by 1888 was fueling about 25 street lamps that replaced antiquated gas lamps. Once the company had proven the viability of electric lighting, growth was rapid. In 1889 the company installed a new plant near its first generation building to produce power for incandescent lamps. The advanced system consisted of two horizontal steam engines that drove a shaft connected to two dynamos. The contraption was capable of producing a total of about 330 amps at 125 volts (a very small amount of power by modern standards). Demand for electricity surged and within a few years generation capacity was again increased. In addition to lighting, St. John's Electric began producing power for other uses, including an electric str