The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-01-02
By N. Sparks

north OF the Ohio-he great Industrial region OF the
u s. We must bear In mind that over 30 per cent
of the power requirements of the country Is located
east OF the Rock Mountains whereas this area pos.
sesses only 30 per cent of the potential water pow
er. Partly in view of this, the report recommends
that so per cent of the power requirements be SUP
piled by steam-electric stations.
Between the anthracite and bituminous regions ~
the basic source of the power required, the report
favors the anthracite. Economical power generation
in the btuminous region would require that coAa
plants be built at the mines so as to conserve all thu
by-products of the coal. Furthermore the claim n
made that the bituminous region does not provide
sufficient water for steam condensation--tho this
may be remedied IN the future by system Of reser
voirs The anthracite is considered as the mast
favorable source of power, but 1t is recommended
that the mines be electrified.
Cheap energy, however, cannot be obtained hon
steam alone and the development OF water power u
essential to conserve coal The hydro-eectric plants
included in the Superpower scheme divided IN
to three classes: 1. Plants depending on Uniform
stream flow e. g., the Niagara and st. Lawrence
Rivers. These be relied on for the basic pro-
duction g. Plants with variable stream flow
g, the Susquehanna where storage to cover the
seasons of low water is impracticable. These can
be developed for as much as can be gotten from
them. 8. Plants on streams that would require
storage reservoirs e. g., the Connecticut Hudson,
Delaware and Potomac These could be developed
for production of the extra power required at the
peak of the demand
The economies expected from inter-connection are
these: it would permit the basic plants to be op
Grated at their full basic capacity all the time q
necessary condition for high efficiency. It would
permit the development Of the less favorable water
power projects that could not maintain themselves
if they had to operate alone 1t would fuel by
permitting the less efficient of the steam-electric
plants be shut down times when the power con-
sumption is light. 1t would vastly increase the dis-
tribution capacity.
Two technical problems stand out in the consider
alton of Superpower. One is transmission, the othar
is Standardization Inter-connecting lines must be
capable of carrying the full power load that
station has to shut down, another may take IN
place. Many existing transmission systems are In
adequate for this requirement of Superpower. Ade-
quate protective devices and selective schemes for
disconnecting defective circuits are essential These
assured, are available.
In addition to this the unprecedented length Of
the transmission lines involved in the project pre-
sents new difculties-or at least difficulties that
negligible or easily met in the case of the
shorter lines Foremost among these is Instability"
the tendency of an exceedingly long line to rein
force any power surges that may take place in the
system, rejecting them back and forth along the
line. with more and more power and higher and
higher voltage until disaster ensues This prob
lem is now practically solved but great care will be
necessary to see that all circuits and systems that
interconnect be designed so as to have character.
istics that will insure stability.
Standardization of transmission and distribution
Voltages and frequencies is essential In Pennsyl-
van1a in 1921. II different D. c. volages and 81 diff
ferent A. c. voltages were found to be in use Such
conditions make only for chaos. SO per cent of the
power IN the zone covered by the report is gene
rated at the frequencies of 25 and 60 cycles 1t ID
calculated that the adoption of go cycles as stand
ard frequency would 171 per cent of the total
investment in motors and power. For main line
iong-distance transmission 100000 volts has been
suggested as the standard. The economic capacftv
of the lines at 100000 volts is more than double that
at 100000 volts.
1t is estimated that by 1880, the investment IN
superpower will be s16aOOo,OOO. The coal saved WIN