Why AEIC? Why Now?

In 1885, a small group of Edison Illuminating Companies gathered in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, not to celebrate themselves, but to solve problems. They came together, the record shows, for “mutual protection” and for the “collection and dissemination of information.” They believed the knowledge of one company should become the knowledge of all. That was the point. That was the value. That was the beginning.

More than 140 years later, the industry is still working together to solve problems and share knowledge. It still needs a place where operators, engineers, planners, leaders, and stewards of the grid can come together to compare experiences, debate hard truths, and make the knowledge of one utility useful to many.

That is why AEIC matters. And that is why AEIC matters now. The earliest minutes make clear that AEIC was never intended to be a ceremonial society. It was a working body.