Thomas Edison's Pearl Street Station in Manhattan began operation on September 4, 1882, supplying direct-current electricity to 59 customers in a one-square-mile area of lower Manhattan — the first commercial electric power grid in the world, the direct ancestor of the modern electrical grid.
The question, scope, and sources behind this Registry record.
Thomas Edison's Pearl Street Station in Manhattan began operation on September 4, 1882, supplying direct-current electricity to 59 customers in a one-square-mile area of lower Manhattan — the first commercial electric power grid in the world, the direct ancestor of the modern electrical grid.
The year the first commercial electric power station and distribution grid began supplying paying customers.
Change a parameter to stress-test whether a proposed result is still inside the published specification. This is an audit aid, not a proof checker.
This record has no editable parameters. Read the formal question and assumptions before challenging it.
Current frontiers derived from accepted Claims.
An observed or demonstrated result; no opposing bound is implied.
The frontier is not sacred
Most progress starts with a disagreement that survives contact with evidence. If you can push the known lower bound up or pull the upper bound down, show us the work.
≥ when you have shown that at least this value is achievable.≤ when you have shown that anything above this value is impossible.No vibes. State the value, define the scope, and link the paper, proof, code, or reproduction that lets another person check it. Editors review every challenge before the public record changes.
Challenge this recordAssertions tied to evidence, attribution, and review.
The frontier as it changed over time.
Only accepted Claims matching the current specification contribute to the displayed bounds. Strict inequalities remain open; contradictory Claims require editorial review.
Permanent ID limitsregistry.com/limits/LR-FIRST-COMMERCIAL-POWER-GRID
No active verified bounties are linked to this Limit.
View verified bounty tracker ↗No accepted machine-checked reproductions are recorded for this Limit.
Limits Registry. LR-FIRST-COMMERCIAL-POWER-GRID. First commercial electric power grid. 2026.