A History of Virginia’s Public Utility

The history of the Virginia Department of Public Utilities is intertwined with the history of the City itself. And the very early history of the City, even before its formal establishment as a village in 1892, was as a lumber town. But also the history of the Utility is intertwined with the innovations that occurred and continue to occur, beginning with the electric light and its application in residences, the refrigerator, electric stove, and the water heater in the 30’s and 40’s, electric heat and television in the 50’s, and personal computers and flat screens over the past few decades. It is these, coupled with the rapid increase in the wealth of the average person that occurred this past century, that pushed and sometimes pulled the Utility to produce and expand.