Siemens Power - A driving force with a long tradition

The use of electricity for power has a long history. As a researcher, inventor and founder of Siemens AG, Werner von Siemens played a decisive role in clearing the path for power generation and distribution for the benefit of all. And Siemens continues to be committed to this tradition to this day.

It was a defining moment when he first founded Siemens - the first of many.

December 13, 1816: Werner von Siemens is born in Lenthe, near Hanover, Germany. He is a tenant farmer's child, the fourth of 14.

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Werner von Siemens constructs the pointer telegraph, an invention that enables him to lay the cornerstone of his company. In the same year, the Siemens & Halske Telegraph Construction Company is founded in Berlin.

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From the very beginning, Siemens always had an international outlook, expanding to London in 1850, St. Petersburg in 1855, Chicago in 1892, Africa in 1895, China in 1904, South America in 1905 and Canada in 1912. Today, with its uniquely global presence in about 200 countries, Siemens continues a tradition of globalization that goes back to its very roots.

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Werner von Siemens invents the dynamo, which made it possible for the first time to generate electric power economically. This represented the foundation and the beginning of the age of power engineering.

Werner von Siemens discovers the dynamoelectric principle and invents the dynamo. With these innovations, the economic generation of electrical energy in large quantities becomes possible. A whole world of possibilities and potential widespread uses for power suddenly opens up.

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The first electric railway is presented at the Berlin Trade Fair. This railway is powered by a Siemens generator, which delivers 8 kilowatts of power.

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For the first time, the Friedrichstrasse generating station in Berlin supplies electric power: the recipients are Café Bauer, the Kaiserhallen and the residential block at "Unter den Linden 25 + 27."

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For the first time in history, electric power is offered for sale to private customers. With 28 customers, the Markgrafenstrasse master station in Berlin is Germany's first public power plant.

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Franz Pichler (1866-1919) founds the Pichler Works, which later develops into VA TECH Transmission and Distribution.

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Ireland awards Siemens the contract to electrify an entire country. Siemens is to construct the hydroelectric power plant in Shannon, which will be handed over ready for operation in 1929.

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Because classical oil-filled switches are liable to explode, Siemens develops an expansion circuit breaker using water as the quenching medium. The first circuit breaker of this type is supplied to the Hamburg public utility.

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Siemens performs the first AC/DC test installation of HVDC transmission between the Berlin suburbs of Charlottenburg and Moabit. The converter station has six mercury-arch rectifiers for 100 kV, 140 A.

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Power reaches the consumer via distribution and transmission systems. The SF6 circuit breaker was introduced in 1964 in order to switch the increasingly high voltages which were being transmitted. It operated with sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) as the quenching agent.

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For the Cabora Bassa hydroelectric power station in Mozambique, Siemens installs the world's first high-voltage direct current transmission line equipped with thyristors.

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In Kayenta, Arizona, Siemens builds the world's first continuously controlled three-phase series compensator.

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Siemens integrates the Transmission and Distribution division of the Austrian company VA TECH. This allows us to not only bundle our innovative strengths and enhance our portfolio, but also to increase our global presence, thereby improving our proximity to customers.

Siemens acquires Power Technologies International, recognized the world over as the expert in network planning and consulting.

Bridges Electric, Inc. is acquired, and its well-respected line of disconnet switches is added to the Siemens portfolio.