New York State History

No single volume, even though it were many times the size of this, could tell the complete story of the evolution of Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation from hundreds of local electric and gas companies into one completely integrated system. Nor would it be possible to describe adequately within the covers of one book New York's Great Cor­ridor of highly industrialized communities, with its vast adjoining territory rich in agri­cultural and mineral resources, which the Niagara Mohawk System serves.

From the Niagara escarpment on the west to the broad valley of the Hudson on the east, in the area between the Adirondacks and the Catskills, lies the heart of the territory served by Niagara Mohawk. Here and in tributary feeder lines to the north and south is the major part of the System's plant—eighty-three hydro and seven steam-electric gener­ating stations with a total rated capacity of over 2,600,000 kilowatts, about 8,000 miles of transmission circuits and 90,000 miles of distribution lines, extensive gas facilities and several thousand miles of gas mains.

The System itself is a product not only of the labors of pioneers in power development and of employees, past and present; it is also the product of the people and the land it serves. The following pages describe its back­grounds and the forces that inevitably drew the network into the form it has achieved to­day, and show the breadth and scope of its performance in the industries, in the com­munities, and on the farms of the State.

Earle J. MacHold

PRESIDENT
NIAGARA   MOHAWK   POWER   CORPORATION