Evening star., 1923-07-15

try. When superpower
has marched triumphant over this
country it will have solved the coal
problem, the transportation problem
and the labor problem. 1t will mean
social advance for the worker. with
lessened cost to capital, and with
lower prices to the consumer. Super
power, which can achieve all this, is
not visionary-it is on its way; 1t is
entirely practical and even essential
to our industrial future. 1t requires
only financing and organization to
hasten the day of full accomplish
nent.
But this is a staggering dose of
optimism on a hot summers day.
Let's proceed to look superpower
and its promises over more slowly.
starting easy, instead of trying to
swallow it in one big gulp.
Made Survey of Power.
4 couple of years ago what was
known as the Washington to- Boston
superpower survey was made under
Department of the Interior auspices.
The report showed how all power
plants and stations throughout that
biggest industrial section in the
United States could be economically
and efficiently linked together. That
set people thinking about more ex-
tensive interconnections. This was
the best and most comprehensive
survey ever yet made in any terri
tory.
The report on this survey made it
quite evident that there could be
marked operating economies in any
such scheme, and this economy would
be OF two kinds. First. 1t would
mean much higher grade equipment
IN the big stations. which would re-
suit in less cost per kilowatt hour.
Second, that equipment would be
used greater percentage of the
time, giving what engineers call "a
better load factor" which has the
result of reducing the fixed charges
(such as interest. depreciation, etc.)
per kilowatt hour.
Heavy Cost Foreseen.
As far as carrying out this super
power scheme in the Washington
Boston area is concerned 1t would
take an enormous amount of new
construction to put it through as one
single job. On the other hand, it
would require throwing away the
Investment in a large part of the
existing equipment. for this scheme
Ia supposed to supersede Cor scrap)
the existing inefficient steam sta
tions
What will happen? In the opinion
Of those best qualified to make
prediction, this general scheme will
be worked out gradually by the ex-
tension of interconnections. There
will be d spreading out at certain
points until the various groups final
ly get together-until the territories
run together and they finally tie their
plants together
Take as an illustration what hap
pened in California. There was a
group of stations in central Califor-
MIA, then a group in southern Cali
fornia, another group in northern CAL
ifornia, group In southern Oregon. As
these groups extended their activities
they came into contact with each
other and then built connecting lines
and interchanged power. So that
there is today on the Pacific coast
superpower zone extending from
Medford, Ore, to the Mexican bound
AIRY, which Is as far as from the
nohtrrn boundary of New York to
Charleston, S. C.
Had Nothing to Scrap.
That shows what can be done in
aunerDOWar Zona and what eyeptu-
ally will be done on the eastern coast.
Right here it must be remembered
that tlre western coast did not have
hundreds of millions of dollars of
equipment to scrap. That is why
they moved faster. They were build
ing on this plan from the start
There is a somewhat similar situa-
tion in the south, which is the second
largest group of interconnected
plants in this country. Here inter-
connection was achieved between
several companies at one time, so
that power was being relaid from
the steam plant at Muscle Shoals,
through the lineage of the Alabama
Power Company, the Georgia Power
Company, to relieve shortages In
North and South Carolina.
The biggest obstacle in the biggest
industrial zone, on the northeast At
lantic seaboard, is the big investment
In existing equipment. 1t is no
longer a question of engineering
that has been solved. It is purely a
question Of finance and organization
and time to adjust the financial rela-
tion so that the power companies
can afford to take out the inefficient
plant and replace 1t with an inter-
connecting plant.
Devises National Plan.
Taking a long look into the future,
Frank G.. Baum, a hydroelectric en-
sineer on the Pacific coast, has Wis
uaIized in map how the entire
United States can be linked up into
one superpower system. Gen. Guy
e. Trtpp, chairman of the Westing-
house Electric snd Manufacturing
Company, and other practical experts
have pronounced this nationwide
interoonnection System, which will
mako our waterSpower and coal re-
sources available to all the people,
Is entirely workable. They say that
such q system, which seems inevi-
tably essential, would provide the
maximum amount OF power at a
minimum cost and distribute It to
the largest number of the people.