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Light Without Fire
Although Virginia's largest cities were using electricity by the end of the nineteenth century, some rural areas were not electrified until after World War II.
The state's first large-scale supply of electricity was made available in 1909 by the investor-owned Virginia Railway and Power Company -- renamed the Virginia Electric and Power Company (VEPCO) in 1925. During the Great Depression, the federal government's creation of the Rural Electrification Administration helped Virginians establish local electric cooperatives that improved living standards in the countryside. |