Canadian politician and hydroelectricity advocate had a couple of direct connections to Stratford

Adam Beck, born in 1857, was a manufacturer, politician and power-authority commissioner. Feared and revered as an empire builder, Beck dominated provincial politics for a generation as he built and expanded the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario into the largest publicly owned power authority in the world.

Beck, who was the son of a German Lutheran foundryman and miller, made his name as a manufacturer of cigar boxes. He was also an outstanding athlete, and mayor and MPP in nearby London. As mayor, he led a movement of Ontario municipalities and boards of trade to get cheap electric power from Niagara Falls. In 1905, James P. Whitney, premier of Ontario, made Beck head of a public inquiry that ultimately recommended creating a municipally owned, provincially financed co-operative hydroelectric distribution system.

Supported by bipartisan public ownership advocates, the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario began in a small way in 1910, but through Beck’s aggressive promotion of “Power At Cost,” thousands of new industrial, retail and household customers were soon added. By charging initial low rates to........

© Sarnia Observer