As an engineer, Emil Rathenau saw the hour of electricity as a source of light, power and heat around 150 years ago. He attended the International Electricity Exhibition in Paris and was enthusiastic about Edison's invention of the electric light bulb. Together with Werner von Siemens, he would have liked to replace the gas-powered street lamps with electric ones. However, Siemens showed little interest. Eight years earlier, in 1873, Rathenau had already concretized his plans for the introduction of electric street lighting.
