United States. In the International Niagara Commission’s contest to determine the best method for extracting and distributing electricity from the falls, Lord Kelvin insists to its leader, banker Edward Dean Adams, “Trust you to avoid the gigantic mistake of adopting alternating current.” Adams instead chooses the AC proposed by Westinghouse, based on Tesla’s patents, opting for two-phase for short-distance distribution in Niagara and three-phase for longer-distance distribution in Buffalo. Among other things, copies of the Westinghouse proposal will be discovered in GE’s offices, resulting in accusations of industrial espionage.
