Ashland tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1876-1919, 1913-11-06

Very few people outside of those
interested in the electrical business
realize the very serious condition un-
der which our municipal plant has
operated since its installation. The
water of Ashland creek has been
higher during the low water period
than it was during the same months
in the years previous to the installa-
ton of the city plant. This has en-
abled the municipal power house to
carry in the low water period of the
last two years a much larger load
than during the ordinary low water
season of former years.
Notwithstanding this fact, how
ever, we find that during the month
of October Of this year the maximum
flow at low water furnished only
about six second feet, which amount
OF water might be during the ordi-
nary dry season reduced to even four
second feet.
The installation at the city power
house is three hundred kilowatts,
which means about four hundred
horsepower. With the water avail
able during part Of last October we
have been enabled to manufacture
only about two hundred horsepower
or an amount less than one-half the
installed capacity of the plant.
When we consider that it takes to
supply the city of Ashland between
six hundred and fifty and eight hun.
dred and fifty horsepower, we car
judge for ourselves how totally in.
adequate our city plant is to fill the
purposes for which it was construct.
ed.
Few of us, perhaps. have stopped
TO think that should break occur
in our pipe line or anything happen
TO our power house machinery, the
plant would be put out of commits.
sion, and that portion OF the city
which depends on the city installa-
tion for its lights and power would
be left without current.
In this connection it might be we'll
TO compare with the condition of the
private corporation operating in the
city of Ashland, regarding this one
important feature of the business.
The Ashland Electric Power G. Light
Company, which is supplied by the
California-Oregon Power Company. is
very well protected in the matter of
giving continuous and uninterrupted
service, because of the fact that the
Callfornia-Oregon Power Company is
operating at the present time six in
dependent power houses, two of
which are situated north OF Ashland
and four of which are situated east
and south OF Ashland. Should both
of the power houses north OF the city
be put out OF commission at any one
time, the supply Of current to Ash
land would still be uninterrupted, as
the electricity would be furnished
from the plants at the other end, and
this same rule would apply should
anything happen to the plants con-
nected with the service lines to the
east of Ashland. This is allowing
that all of the plants either north or
south would go out of commission at
the same time, which is very improb-
able and an almost impossible condi-
ton.
The going out Of any one plant
either north or south would have no
affect upon the continuous service
In fact, when you consider that the
lines supplying the privately owned
plant In Ashland are fed from six
independent power houses, all would
have to be practically out of business
before service would be discontinued.
so that every customer served by the
Ashland Electric Power & Light
Company has six times more safety
in the matter of continuous service