The National Electric Light Association (NELA) was a national United States trade association that included the operators of electric central power generation stations, electrical supply companies, electrical engineers, scientists, educational institutions and interested individuals. Founded in 1885 by George S. Bowen, Franklin S. Terry and Charles A. Brown, it represented the interests of private companies involved in the fledgling electric power industry that included companies like General Electric, Westinghouse and most of the country's electric companies. The NELA played a dominant role in promoting the interests and expansion of the U.S. commercial electric industry. The association's conventions became a major clearinghouse for technical papers covering the entire field of electricity and its development, with a special focus on the components needed for centralized power stations or power plants. In 1895 the association sponsored a conference that led to the issue of the first edition of the U.S. National Electrical Code. Its rapid growth mirrored the development of electricity in the U.S. that included regional and statewide affiliations across the country and Canada. It was the forerunner of the Edison Electric Institute (founded in 1933). Its highly aggressive battle against municipal ownership of electric production led to extensive federal hearings between 1928 and 1935 that led to its demise. Its logo is an early depiction of Ohm's law which is "C equals E divided by R," or "the current strength in any circuit is equal to the electromotive force divided by the resistance," or the basic law of electricity. It was established in 1827 by Dr. G. S. Ohm.
Structure
During its first convention, the NELA set up a formal structure that included a constitution and a governing body made up of elected officers using committees to carry out the interests of its members. By 1904, the NELA had 588 members that were broken down into major classes. The membership included all of the major electric suppliers, like Edison Electric Company that later became General Electric as well as most of the larger electric generating companies from the east to west coast. The list of honorary members included Baron Alphonse James de Rothschild, Charles A. Coffin (the head of General Electric), George Westinghouse, Lord Kelvin, Charles F. Brush, Thomas A. Edison, Prof. Elihu Thomson, and Nikola Tesla. Tesla read his technical paper on "Light and Other High Frequency Phenomena" at the 1893 convention in St. Louis. By 1921, the NELA had eight different classes of membership with over 11,000 members including companies, associations and individuals from other countries.
The NELA had nearly 30 different committees in place that came together during its conventions. These committees that included geographical representatives from the industry broken down by region and state-affiliated associations and industry representatives coordinated the distribution of reports on best practices and standards of the industry from the ratings of light bulbs, safety, accounting practices, engineering designs of equipment to advertizing, public relations and legislative campaigns.
Each year, the NELA selected a new president to lead the association from an executive of a major electric power company. For example, in 1898 Sam Insull from the Commonwealth Edison Company was selected the same year that his hometown of Chicago hosted the June 7–9 event. The president would preside over the convention that included an introductory speech that summarized the major events of the year. Part of Insull's speech stunned attendees as he promoted the idea that electric companies were natural monopolies that should be regulated at the state rather than local level. Within fifteen years, his idea would sweep the nation.
The association maintained a modest year-round staff in New York City. They managed the group's budget, produced and distributed its reports and coordinated the conventions along with the host electric company. Prior to 1905, events were three days long but jumped to five-days by 1910. In 1907, the association introduced a monthly Bulletin that was distributed to all members. By 1910, the NELA was approaching 7,000 members, with its main office maintaining an exchange network of 114 trade and company journals being produced by its members in 1922.
