Harwood Electric Company.

The Harwood Electric Power Company was incorporated January 10, 1907, to supply electricity in Hazle Township, Luzerne County. It was organized by Calvin Pardee, an independent coal operator who wanted to obtain low-cost electricity for his mining operations in the Hazleton area. Pardee, the dominant coal operator at Hazleton, was the central figure in a series of mergers between 1909 and 1913 through which he eventually gained control of much of the electric generating capacity of the Hazleton area. The first wave of mergers resulted in the formation of the Harwood Electric Company on June 23, 1909, and the second produced The Harwood Electric Company on February 23, 1913. By 1918 Harwood had a capacity of 33,000 KW. On June 4, 1920, The Harwood Electric Company merged with seven other companies to form the Pennsylvania Power & Light Company.