© Frank H. Jump
© Frank H. Jump
From 1882 to 1952, Staten Island produced its own electricity. In September 1952, with the turn of a switch, submarine power cables laid across the Narrows to Brooklyn were activated, and power lines connecting Staten Island with Public Service Electric and Gas of New Jersey were shut down. Staten Island Edison’s Livingston electric plant (on what is now a Con Ed parking lot, across Richmond Terrace from its Davis Avenue executive offices), would be retired in 1961 after 64 years of service. Arthur Kill Generator No. 1, built in 1947 with only 25,000 kilowatts capacity, would be retired in 1963. It would be replaced by Arthur Kill No. 2, producing 397,000 kilowatts and built on the site of an old linoleum manufacturing plant, which opened in 1959. Arthur Kill No. 2 is still in operation. – Staten Island Advance, March 26, 2011
