Seattle City Light starts serving private customers on September 9, 1905.

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On September 9, 1905, Seattle City Light starts supplying individual customers with electricity. The first residential customer is The Reverend J. M. Wilson, pastor of the Westminster Presbyterian Church, who had applied for service in January.

Before this, electric utilities had focused on providing power for streetcars, street lighting, and industrial users. The city of Seattle had begun generating electric power for street lights on October 14, 1904.

The City Light Cedar River Power Plant began operating on January 10, 1905, but it only provided power to Seattle’s street lights. In September 1905, the city began selling the excess electricity it produced to private individuals and companies. Demands from Seattle residents for more electrical service caused the city to propose more bond issues for greater generating capacity at the power plant at Cedar Falls.

Sources:
Seattle Post-Intelligencer, April 7, 1963, p. C-5; James D. Ross, "Your Own City Light," The Public Service Journal, August 16, 1935, p. 1.

By Greg Lange, January 17, 1999

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A Seattle kitchen in 1905. Electricity was used only for illumination
Courtesy MOHAI (Webster & Stevens, 5,239)

By 1914, electric appliances were being used in Seattle kitchens. The Stavis Residence at 802 33rd Avenue had an electric water heater
Courtesy MOHAI (Webster & Stevens)