DC Survival: Myth of the War of the Currents [History]

Popular history of electric power promotes an erroneous legend that a titanic 1890 “War of the Currents” immediately obliterated dc installations in favor of ac systems. Some authors may mention that dc has specialized railway and industrial applications. While there was a legal and public relations competition among proponents of each system, the actual competition was very different. There was no immediate change, as ac systems took time to perfect and dc retained its place, as it was superior for certain applications. Electric power at that time had three primary markets: local distribution of power to customers, electric railways, and long-distance transmission. Only in the latter did ac gain immediate acceptance, though not without competition from dc schemes.