electrificationnoun/ɪˈlɛktɹɪfɪkeɪʃən/

• 1

  The act of electrifying, or the state of being charged with electricity.

• 2

  The adaptation (of a home, farm, village, city, countryside, industry, railroad) for electric power.

  • rural electrification
  • As temperature regulations and quality-control issues were of paramount importance [in American dairying circa the 1920s to 1940s], the superiority of electric milk coolers became recognized. Electrification itself became important to North Pomfret residents. Persis Johnson summed the feeling up best: “You could do a lot with electricity.” Electric household appliances promised to ease labor, lights illuminated the night, and electricity in the barn efficiently operated milking machines and cooled milk in special electric coolers. Before electric companies expanded their power lines into North Pomfret, some residents installed “Delco” household electric-generating systems, which essentially were home-based power plants. Delco systems worked well, but required regular maintenance. Nevertheless, they remained popular until the electrification of North Pomfret was completed. Electrifying the neighborhood took years. […] Electrification helped farmers, but in addition, the farm routine was greatly simplified because milk itself became the desired commodity instead of cream and butter. Milk trucks traveled to neighborhoods like North Pomfret to pick up cans of milk and haul them to the creamery for processing. The empty cans were returned to the farm when the next load was picked up. This required the farmer to purchase and keep extra milk cans on hand, but that was a small price to pay for convenience. Platforms were erected by the side of the main road through Pomfret so that during the winter farmers could sleigh their milk cans to them for pickup by the milk trucks, which were unable to navigate the infrequently maintained back roads where many farmers lived.