Evening star., 1924-05-16
FAVORS US. HANDLING
GREAT FALLS PROJECT
Gen. Black, Former Chief Engineer
of Army, Sees Abundant
Market for Power.
TYLER ESTIMATES AMPLE
House Committee Told Work Could
Be Done in Sections.

Water power development in the
Potomac River can be done cheaper
by the government than by private
interests; there is an abundant mar
ket within economic ira nSmission dis
tance for all the power that can be
generated; the entire project as esti-
mated by Maj. NJ. c. Tyler can easily
be done within the cost figured by
him and can be done in sections-the
Chain bridge dam first. the three stor-
age reservoirs next and then the
Great Falls dam.
Based on forty years experience in
ment, Maj Gen. William NJ. Black.
L. S. A., retired. formerly chief of
engineers of the Army gave these
facts to the special subcommittee of
the House District committee today.
Gen. Black emphasized that in his
expressed by Maj. j. A. O'Connor, by
Maj. Tyler in his report. by Col.
William Kelly, chief engineer for the
federal power commission, and by o.
c. Merrill. the executive secretary
of the federal power commission. that
the Potomac River hydroelectric de-
velopment should not be undertaken
without a definite contract with local
public utilities that they would use
or distribute all of the power that
could be generated so as to get the
greatest reduction in cost to tine con-
Sumers that would be possible by the
full development.
Investigated Many Times.
Gen. Black explained to the com
mittee that the Potomac River project
is an old one, which has been in
vestigated many times during his
term of office 1t was turned down
many times because of the low cost
of steam production before the cost
of coal began to increase. He de-
scribed Maj. Tyler's report as care
fully prepared. conservative, and said
that Maj. Tyler was an able en-
gineer. Gen. Black explained that he
accepted the Craftsmanship of COM
mlttee representing the Washington
Chamber of Commerce, which inyes-
tigated the Tyler plan.
In reply to questions from Repre-
sentative Thomas L. Blanton, Demo-
crat; Texas, he made it plain that this
Work was undertaken as a civic duty
and that he was not hired. After
going thoroughly into the project
he expressed himself as fully con-
vinced that Maj. Tyler's estimates
are ample and that the work will
included in the report. The cost of
power produced in a steam plant is
ia mills per kilowatt hour at the
switchboard in the most efficient
steam nosad plant plan in the city. In the pro-
mated cost is SIS. including amorti
zatlon in thirty years. The actual
cost of production of energy will be
nine tenths Of a mill per kilowatt
hour. without amortization charges.
That is the figure that should be
compared with the steam production
cost. Gen. Black explained. After
amortization power from Great Falls
can be sold with economy at a rate
of one to two mills per kilowat hour
10 the distributing company.
Two Classes of Power.
Gen. Black explained the two classes
of power-f1rst, primary. which is the
only one considered in the Tyler re-
port and on which the estimates were
based. This is the amount of energy
which can be produced day in and
day out: then there is the secondary
power. produced by the flow of the
river at certain periods of the year.
which is a surplus supply, available
IN certain seasons and is about equal
to the primary power.
Much of Gen. Blacks testimony was
technical. He explained that the
project is so large that it is proposed
10 construct, first, a dam at Chain
bridge. This would have immediate
beneficial effect on the District, he
said. He would next recommend the
construction of the three storage res
crvoirs to increase the primary pow
er, and then build the Great Falls
dam, which would double the power
capacity.
Within forty years the cost of the
entire plant would be paid and cur
rent could be delivered at switch
boards at a cost of about mills per
kilowat hour. The cost of transmits
sion and distribution would be
brought up to cents per kilowat
hour as compared with the 10-cent
charge at present.
1t would be very unwiSe, General
Black said, to undertake the project
without a contract that the power
is to be distributed through existing
systems, that is by the Potomac Elec-
tric Power Company, which already
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