武昌電燈公司成立於 1911 年，後由日商經營約數年之久。1926 年，武昌總商會及另外兩社團接辦該公司，成立武昌竟成電氣公司，然而不到三個月，即由湖北省政府接管，至 1928 年，又交回商辦。自 1933 年起，再由省政府整頓，並擬改組該公司，事未成，然卒於 1935 年，省政府據為省營事業。公司不服，前後抗爭達兩年又九個月之久，但無效果。 本文分四節敘述，其目的在探討公司經營失敗的原因，政府整頓、接辦又有何困難？此一個案顯示，資金不足，設備簡陋，技術欠佳，管理不良，法規欠周全，社會貧窮，加上天災、內戰，造成中國早期電氣事業經營上的困難。電業良好的發展，則繫於政府、業者、用戶三者之間的理性的態度與行為。

The Wuchang Electric Light Company was established in 1911. A group of Japanese merchants later assumed management of the company for several years. In 1926, the General Chamber of Commerce and two other social associations in Wuchang bought the company and reorganized it as the Wuchang Jingcheng Electric Power Company, but its existence only lasted for two months and seven days. It was then taken over by the Hubei Provincial Government. However, in 1928 it was returned to the merchants. In 1933 the Provincial Government took it over again to reorganize it, but the reorganization failed. Finally, the Provincial Government assumed ownership in 1935. Members of the company disputed this takeover for two years and nine months, but failed to retake possession of the company from the Government. This paper consists of four sections discussing the factors that led to the failure of the company and the difficulties faced by the government in its takeover attempts. Wuchang Jingcheng’s case was not unique. A shortage of funds, poor equipment, lack of technology, bad management, defective regulations, social poverty, natural disasters and civil wars were all factors generally affecting the electricity business in the early Republic of China. Successful development of the electricity business depended on the rational behavior of the government, the producers and the consumers of electrical power.