What type of power did Edison's Pearl Street Station primarily distribute in 1882?
Answer
Direct Current (DC)
The inaugural commercial central power plant established by Thomas Alva Edison in September 1882 at Pearl Street Station in New York City operated exclusively on Direct Current, commonly abbreviated as DC. This system utilized steam engines connected to generators to produce a low-voltage DC current. This power was then sent out to customers within a defined, localized service area, establishing the initial template for a metered, centralized utility service model. The fundamental characteristics of DC power, specifically its inability to be efficiently stepped up or down via simple induction devices, dictated that power stations had to be placed very near the consumers they served.
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