The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1916-12-13
CONSOLIDATION OF SMALL
CITY ELECTRIC PLANTS
An Important Movement Nou Going On, Especially
In The Middle Vest
WRITTEN BY cEo WEBER


In ll'non outside Of Chicago aa
in other state each town had, or has,
an clec'ric plant Each Of thcse was
too sma 10 justify ihe employment OF
such e1frri selF'c" machinery and
supplies ls would bring about The best
service or financial results Tho re-
quremcn' for electrical service came
simultaneously oyrryN here, and each
place proceeded 70 provide for iis own
requrem anls Hence many small un.
profitable plants too often misman'
aged, were installed.
The aim now Is, and for some time
has been 10 unite these isolated pIanta
into operating units.
/. The connection Of thc Individual
plants in group by transmits
sion lines Will, when the system ia
fully developed and properly patron.
lied, insure the cities in the group
against accidents that might occur TO
d single isolated plant At times Of er'
traordinary demand for light and pow.
er-as in the case Of a county fair
sufficient can be supplied without dam
ger OF a breakdown or overload.
q instead OF each plant requiring
separate administration, o. being left
to the changing municipa govern.
ments, the consolidated plants have
but one managerial service and that
continuous and selected operations
and are under the State Public Utili.
ties Commission.
g. BY uniting a considerable mum.
ber of small plants a large unit is pro
duced, which has sufficient income and
work to make il possible to employ
experts and to keep in stock all nee
essary supplies and repairs.
a. Great economies are possible in
financing group Of connected small
plants as compared with the overhead
charges on the same plants operating
independently of each other.
5. All Of the plants being connected
by means of transmission lines these
lines can be, and are being, extensive
Iy used to supply energy to farm
houses in the rural districts through
which the lines pass.
Cities Should Have Surplus Power.
Consider this one fact: The single
plant, serving a small city, must
have capacity equal to the great
est service requirement that may
be put upon IT, In other words
its use at certain hours MAJ be
let us say equal to 900 horsepow.
er, while its low point Of service may
be as little as fifty horsepower TN
less the plant is equipped separately
al great expense with generators
for each different degree of service, !
the 1000 horsepower machine win
have TO run all the time. even while
carrying its smallest service load Of
course. the fuel consumed would be
reduced but that would be about all .
Now suppose that several plants be
united by transmission line In that
event one plant can do the entire scrv. .
ice during the hours of minimum re-
quirement And. ordinarily. one plant
can carry the minimum load Of ten or
twenty plants The advantages from
an of This are obvious Some of he
plants could lie out of efvice part of
the time which. besides reducing
wear and tear. would permit repairs
of idle machinery. Another lhing. with
sucn a system twenty-four hour
force of operatives wouldNnot be re-
Qumed ON top Of al Of this ia
the assurance that there would not be
q break in the service because of the
single home plant breaking down.
This ideal is aimed at but is pre-.
vented N some small cities and
il should be kept in mind that ,he
small city Isolated plant can never do
better than il is doing now. An elec
trio plant should have a surplus pro.
duct in excess of the towns present
needs so that outside powcrns ne
needs so that concerns will locate
in the town, for they will locate
only whore they can be sure of
a power supply The electric light
plant lIore than anything else. up.
builds the town and II should be-
economically speaking in advance Of
the town always pulling the town up
toward its own higher level as II
We're. No city can prosper with bad
electric service. An oyerworked or i'm.
properly worked. electric light plant
Is Ike an oyerworked team of horses
on farm
Grouping Insures Great Savings.
Another important consideration Ia
the fact that a group of stations would
have business and income sufficiently
large to Justify the employment OF
experts, and this would insure the
right kind in larger amount and of
greater diversity by having one SUP.
ply house from which all demands can
be furnished
Almost without exception the cleo
trc plants Of small cities have been
organized and financed by local cap
italists who were inspired by civic
pride and determination to keep their
home town up 10 the times. But. al
most always, these undertakings havo
been financially disappointing. Those
who are known TO be successful
in operating electric UNDERTAKINGS
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