The Story of Electricity in the City of Calcutta 

100 years of thermal power in India 1899 : 

Calcutta was still the capital of India, the second city of the British Empire. Lord Curzon held sway over a city that boasted of such luminaries as Rabindranath Tagore and Swami Vivekananda. Then, in April of that year, the first thermal power plant of The Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation Limited was commissioned.

First demonstration of lighting

The first demonstration of electric light in Calcutta was however conducted on 24 July, 1879 by P W Fleury & Co. This was followed by another demonstration by Dey Sil & Co. On 30 June, 1881, 36 electric lights lit up the Mackinnon & Mackenzie Company's Garden Reach Cotton Mills. 

The first license

The Government of Bengal passed the Calcutta Electric Lighting Act in 1895. The first license was for a period of 21 years and covered an area of 5.64 square miles, an area which has now grown to 567 square kilometres.  

The Indian Electric Company

On 7 January, 1897 Kilburn & Co secured the Calcutta electric lighting licence as agents of The Indian Electric Co Ltd. which was registered in London on 15 January, 1897 with a capital of £1000. A month later, the Company changed its name to The Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation Limited and enhanced its capital to
£ 1 00,000. The issue was over-subscribed the very first day it was opened. 

The early consumers

A Newspaper reported on 6 December, 1898, that on a trial basis electricity was being supplied to the Bank of Bengal (now the State Bank of India), The Bengal Club on Chowringhee and several private residences. An advertisement released by F &  C Osler & Co announced that the firm was ready to take on 'the installing of electric light in Calcutta' for houses and commercial establishments. 

Newspapers also reported that the Electric Supply Corporation is "spending 100,000 pound sterling" for the electric lighting of the town. "Mains have been laid for the supply of 60,000 lamps, which can be increased to 200,000. The supply will be continuous throughout the twenty-four hours and each day, and is well-adapted for working punkahs."

The plant in Emambaugh Lane "consists of three boilers of 500 horse-power which can be extended to 800 horse-power, if desired, with eight dynamos and a storage battery... The chimney will be the highest in Calcutta, being 40 ft. higher than the water works chimney which is close by." 

Rupee 1 per unit

The first generating station was erected at Emambagh Lane, near Princep Street, which was commissioned on 17 April, 1899, heralding the beginning of thermal power generation in India. The electrification of Calcutta took place 17 years after New York,. which boasted of electricity in 1882 and eleven years after London, which was electrified in 1888. In Calcutta the initial rate per unit of power was Rupee 1, the price being the same as in London. 

Bombay follows Calcutta

Bombay followed closely, inspired by the success of electricity in Calcutta. In November 1900, it was reported : "The Commissioners of the Corporation have recommended that a concession for 42 years be granted to Messrs. Killick Nixon and Company, as agents of Messrs. Kilburn and Company of Calcutta, to provide the required electric power for the city on terms laid down in the Calcutta Electric License Act of 1896."

Electric light for Lord Curzon

A month after the commissioning of the Emambagh Lane power house, a decision was taken on 19 May 1899 to have electric connection at the Government House, with the stipulation that the job must be complete before the Viceroy Lord Curzon returns to Calcutta from his official tour of north India.

Electric fans take Calcutta by storm 

When power supply started, it was thought that electric energy might be used for ventilating, powering purposes and lighting. But no one imagined that the days of hand - pulled punkah were over. The popularity of the electric fan ensured immediate success for Calcutta Electric Supply and provided the 'day load', essential to the economic working of an electric supply station. Kilburn & Co on behalf of The Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation released an advertisement on 6 May, 1899. quoting Rs. 18 for hiring of one electric fan 'used day and night' and the supply of electricity. 

Judges opt for the fan

The Calcutta High Court decided on 19 August 1899 to opt for electric fans instead of punkahs with the hope that the job should be complete next year. The Government sanctioned Rs.15000 to replace punkahs at Fort William on 28 May 1902. A month earlier, the Government owned Army Clothing Factory at Alipore decided to bring electricity at a cost of Rs.19000.  

 Electric trams benefit health 

Calcutta Tramways switched to electricity from horse drawn carriages in 1902. A medical man went on record saying that 'electric trams are of great benefit to the health of a great city ... Electric trams cause ozone to be generated in small quantities from morning to night, so that the air is being purified all the time.' 

The two anna ride to Kidderpore 

Although the target date was 9 December, the first electric tram between Esplanade and Kidderpore  ran a few months ahead of schedule on 27 March 1902. The initial tariff for first class was two annas. On 14 June, the electric tram service on the Kalighat section began, while the Shyambazar section was electrified on 30 September. On 19 December electrification of Calcutta Tramways was complete, making the horse-drawn carriage a symbol of the past. 

Growth beyond expectation

The demand for power grew beyond expectation. Three more stations were started: Alipore in 1902, Ultadanga and Howrah in 1906.

Voice of consumers

Although usually highly appreciative, consumers from the very beginning also criticised the Company's services. In a letter to The Statesman on 23 April, 1903, a correspondent wrote, bitterly about "giving a first class price for a second class article".

From Dalhousie Square to Victoria House

1908, on New Year's Day, The Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation Limited opened its office at 8 Dalhousie Square. The office moved to Temple Chambers, 6 Old Post Office Street, before coming to its present address, Victoria House, in 1933. The name was taken from the Company's Holborn Headquarters, in London. Victoria House has recently been renamed CESC House. 

Making lives more comfortable

Calcuttans started the use of 8 watt and later 25-watt electric bulbs. On the heels of ceiling fans, table fans arrived on the scene. F & C Osier was soon advertising electric irons at Rs 35 and Rs 40. Refrigerators arrived, with a Frigidaire cabinet advertised at Rs 750 and Frost Coils at Rs 520. People soon found it hard to imagine an existence without electricity. 

Kennedy's prescription

The urgent need for a new programme of extension led to Sir Alexander Kennedy being called in as a consultant. As a result, the decision was taken to replace four power houses by one modern generating station at Cossipore. This was commissioned in July, 1912

Street lighting

Harrison Road (now Mahatma Gandhi Road) was the first Calcutta street to be lit by electricity between 1889 and 1892. Kilbum and Company used dynamos set up at Halliday Street pumping station. The municipal consultant was none other than Dr. Jagadish Chandra Bose.

1000 candle power Keiths lamps were installed on Corporation Street (now S. N. Banerjec Road) and Chowringhee in 1914. The Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation bore the cost of installation in order to "publieige the merits of electric street- lighting."  

In 1916, Chowringhee saw the installation of the first electric street lights. 

Underwater cables to Howrah  

Business continued to flourish with jute mill owners showing interest in the new power. The Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation laid cables under the pontoon bridge on the Hooghly. Each length of cable, when packed in its drum, weighed 12 tons. 

Demand triples in five years 

Between 1920 and 1925 demand for power increased 3 times and the decision was taken to build a second large power house at Garden Reach. 

Coal price rise and fuel surcharge on power

Following a steep rise in the price of coal, a surcharge of 15 % was imposed for the first time in 1921. Five years later, this surcharge was doubled to 30%. 

Tunneling the Hooghly - a marvel in engineering   

The Southern Generating Station at Garden Reach was commissioned in 1926. The next few years were dedicated to strengthening and extending the network of mains and cables. In 1929, work commenced on underground tunnel between Southern Generating Station and Botanical Gardens. 

The Cossipore Station was completely reconditioned in 1930-31 and the Underwater Tunnel  Southern Station was much enlarged. A tunnel was constructed under the river Hooghly in 1931. This was 690 yards long, 6 feet in diameter and 90 feet underground and still remains a marvel in engineering. Around this time canvassers were enlisted by CESC to popularise electricity to the public. 

In 1947 there was a change in the national policy with regard to electricity. Power generation was chiefly entrusted to state agencies. However, CESC was allowed to retain its business because of its excellent track record. But there was a check on the company's generating capacity because it was hoped that the city's demand would be met by supplies from the State Electricity Board and the Damodar Valley Corporation. 

New Cossipore

Three years later, in 1950 after Independence, Dr. K N Katju, the Governor, declared the New 130 MW Cossipore Station open. 

Dr B C Roy

Dr B C Roy, Chief Minister of West Bengal inaugurated the Howrah Receiving Station from DVC on 9 June, 1957. 

The first shock of load shedding

Calcuttans received the first shock of power cuts in 1961, as imports of power could not match the growing demand. From the early 1970's, load shedding became a household word, the intensity increasing steadily till 1983-84, when CESC was allowed to set up another generating station.

London Head Office shifts to Calcutta  

On 5 January, 1970, the control of the Company was transferred from London to Calcutta as the first step    towards Indianisation. In 1978 it  became a rupee company with the new name - The Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation (India) Ltd. 

Titagarh - the first ray of hope

Shri Jyoti Basu commissioned the Titagarh generating station, with a capacity of 240 MW in 1983. It marked the beginning of a new approach to solve the State's power shortage. On 1 January, 1987, the name of the Company was changed to CESC Limited.

The RPG association adds new vitality 

CESC's association with RPG, one of India's top industrial houses, began in 1989, when Mr. R P Goenka was inducted into the Board of Directors. The Goenka family traces its connection with Calcutta to 1820, when Ramdutt Goenka arrived in the city. One of RPG's first acts was to announce CESC's resolve to make Calcutta free of load shedding and to bring about instant new power connections almost across the counter, fault free supply, quick response to local faults, complaint free billing and swift redressal of customer grievances. 

Goodbye to loadshedding 

The 135MW Southern Generating Station was completed in the shortest possible time. The first unit commenced supply in September, 1990, followed by the second unit in May, 1991. 

Budge Budge dedicated to Calcutta

Looking beyond the Southern, CESC took the bold decision to add 500 MW to its generating capacity. To finance the project, the Company enlisted the support, for the first time in Eastern India, of international lending agencies like the Asian DevelopmentBank at Manila and the IFC at Washington. This is the largest private industrial investment in West Bengal in recent memory. The boiler of the first unit was lighted up on 30 March, 1997.The second unit was synchronised on 6 March, 1999. The 275 metre high chimney is as high as a 90 storey building. 

Calcutta power gets the highest rating

In 1997, The Sunday Times of India gave the highest rating to CESC's Calcutta - 10 out of 10 on the power position, when compared to other metropolitan cities of India. 

From 6,000 consumers to 1.73 million 

CESC's responsibility to consumers has grown over a hundred years. 6,000 consumers used 12 million units of power in 1912 and in 1925 the quantity sold exceeded 100 million units. In 1997-98, the figure exceeded 5 thousand million units. The peak load so far handled is 1,238 MW. The number of CESC consumers has already crossed 1.73 million. 

Consumers come first 

CESC and Calcutta have grown together. 100 years ago, poised on the edge of a century, the Company began its services to the city. Today it remembers that first day. And looks ahead, renewing its pledge of service to Calcutta and its people. After all, the consumer's support is CESC's strength.