Holborn Viaduct power station

Holborn Viaduct power station, named the Edison Electric Light Station, was the world's first coal-fired power station generating electricity for public use. It was built at number 57 Holborn Viaduct in central London, by Thomas Edison's Edison Electric Light Company. The plant began running on 12 January 1882 (1882-01-12), three years after the invention of the carbon-filament incandescent light bulb. It burnt coal to drive a steam engine which drove a 27-tonne (27-long-ton, 30-short-ton), 125 horsepower (93 kW) generator which produced direct current (DC) at 110 volts. It initially lit 968 16-candle incandescent lamps to provide street lighting from Holborn Circus to St. Martin's Le Grand, which was later expanded to 3,000 lamps. The power station also provided electricity for private residences, which may have included nearby Ely Place. Having run at a significant loss the station closed in September 1886, and the lamps were converted back to gas. Edison opened a second coal-fired power station in September 1882 in the United States, at Pearl Street Station in New York City.

Power station data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).