Kern County No. 1 Hydroelectric System, Powerhouse Exciters, Kern River Canyon, Bakersfield, Kern County, CA

Significance: The Kern River No. 1 powerhouse is equipped with two exciters (small electric generators) to provide direct field current to the four 5000 kv generators. The No. 1 exciter is original equipment driven by a water wheel; the No. 2 exciter was modified about 1930 to operate on an electric motor. Kern River No. 1 Hydroelectric Project significance lies in the key role it played in the development of the Southern California Edison Company into the pre-eminent twentieth Century Southern California Electric Utility. It is also significant as a nearly intact example of a state-of-the-art hydroelectric power facility from the early twentieth Century.
Survey number: HAER CA-165-A
Building/structure dates: 1902-1907 Initial Construction
Building/structure dates: ca. 1930 Initial Construction