The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1922-04-03
CLOCK OPERATES
ELECTRIC PLANT
Largest Automatic Station
In This Country at
Searsburg
GENERATION OF
POWER BEGUN
New England Power Co. Development
on Main Deerfield River Begun in
June, 1921-Requires Services of But
One Man at Power House.

Construction work on the Searsburg
hydro-electric station of the New Eng
land Power Co has just been completed
and power is being generated there. The
work was started in June, 1921.
The outstanding feature of this power
plant is the fact that it has been designed
and constructed to operate as an auto
matte generating station. In this respect
it is the largest which has yet been built
in this country. As an automatically
operated plant it presents considerable
departure from other hydro plants in that
it will require no regular shifts of skilled
operators. but will require the services
of only one man, who need not be spe-
cially trained and who viii have general
supervision of the building and grounds.
The generating unit win be started and
stopped by means of a time switch. which
will be set so as to make the most eco
nomical use of the water. In conjunction
with the time switch, however. there will
be float gauge situated at the pond 50
that an unforeseen flow of water will
render the time clock imperative. For
example, if the water should rise to such
Il height that there would be danger OF
spilling before the predetermined time for
starting. the wheel would automatically
start and prevent any waste of water
and conversely, if the pond elevation
should be below a certain height at such
a time, there could be no operation. In
the same manner, shutting down will be
accomplished by the time switch as
planned unless the flow of water should
make it advisable to shut down either be
fore that time or after.
I'm addition TO the rpgular OuerntIOu de-
pending on the river flow, the generator
is automatically protected against over
speed, over-voitage. sustained overload.
hot bearings, loss of oil pressure, and loss
of excitation. The plant can also be man
ually operated whenever 50 desired. 1t
is believed that considerable operating
economy will be effected due to the auto
matte operation
| This plant is located on the main
! Deerfeld river about 10 miles below
: Somerset reservoir, and - miles above
/ HOosac Tunnel Mass. The dam is sit
uated three and one-half miles above the
/ power plant and is built of earth, about
/ 30 feet high and 4J0 feet long with a
/ concrete intake and Spillway 120 feet
/ long constructed on the west end The
/ pond has an area of about 80 acres when
/ full and extends about three-fourths OF
/ a mile above the dam.
Somerset reservoir, at the upper end of
| the east branch of the Deerfeld river
/ has drainage area of 80 square miles
and a storage capacity of 10000, 100000
| gallons of water, the discharge of which
/ can be controlled as desired All water
| released from the reservoir passes into the
| Searsburg pond. In addition to the sc
| square miles drainage area of Somerset
the pond drains 60 square miles. and an
/ additional six square miles available for
| the power plant is obtained by siphOning
/ Bond and AIedbury brooks into the con.
/ duit. The aFerage annual rainfall in this
/ territory for the past six years has been
/ 53 inches.
! From the intake an eight-foot wood
stove pipe conducts the water 1890 feet
/ to a steel surge tank. and then through
1 800 feet of 6l5 foot steel penstock to the
power house The net effective head al
the waterwheel is 210 feet. The power
house building has a Substructure of con
crete and a SuperStructlIre of brick anC
contains a 6.200-Hp l. p Morris water
wheel directly connected to a 5.000-KVi :
General Electric generator. The switch
board and control apparatus is located
within the building, while the high ten
sion equipment as oil switch, transform
ers, and lightning arrester. is outdoors
The voltage is stepped up to $4,000 volt.
here and the power transmitted over ;
newly constructed line to No station
near Hoosac Tunnel, where it connect
with the existing lines of the system.