It was only in 1882 that electric light was first used on a commercial scale in London, and it was another ten years before the possibility of utilising electric power at a distance from the generating station was accepted as a safe and paying undertaking. In Mysore we are exceptionally favoured in respect of sources of power to be put into harness, and in the genius of our administrators, who have seized upon the opportunity to make this power of the utmost value to the State. Compare with the dates that I have just given you the date of 1894, on which Sir K.C. Sheshadri Iyer first took up the question of the harnessing of the Cauvery Falls at Sivasamudram, and you will see that Mysore was not behind the times. In fact when in 1902 the transmission line from the Cauvery Falls to the Kolar Gold Fields, 93 miles long, and operating at 35,000 Volts, was put into service, it was the longest high voltage transmission line in the whole of Asia and the second or third longest in the world! The success of that undertaking is an eloquent testimony to the boldness of spirit, the farsightedness and the statesmanship of those who were responsible for it.
The work thus auspiciously begun has never halted. Installation has followed installation, and the output of power has increased from 6000 H.P. in 1902 to 67,000 H.P. in 1937! In the meanwhile the uses of the power have been extended far beyond the original purpose of supply to the gold mines, Electric power was supplied to the two cities of Bangalore and Mysore in 1905 and 1908 respectively, and now it is issued to nearly 150 towns and villages. Meanwhile the demand for industry has also increased, and at the present time we have nearly 32,000 lighting installations and nearly 4000 power installations in operation!