Evening star., 1936-11-29

power plant at Buzzards Point. At
the Buzzards Point plant a costly
system has been installed to safeguard
public health. 1t is known as the
"Dr. Cottrell precipitators"-a name
derived from the name Of its patentee
and inventor. Under this system
charged electrostatic plates are placed
at the base of the smokestacks and
small particles, known as "fy-ash, -
are drawn out of the gases as they leave
the stack and are dropped down again
into a water stream that carries them
of. The Benning plant Is the larger
of the two plants, and it is located
on the Anacostia River at Benning
Point. The Buzzards Point plant is
located near the confluence of the Ana
costa and Potomac Rivers.
THESE plants supplied Washington
and its environs with 652,750. .939
kilowatt hours from September, 1885,
to September, 1896, and the average
AL WHO dlSd
per residential customer for the same
period was 1,035 kilowatt hours. This
average exceeds by far the national
average per domestic customer, which
was 673 kilowatt hours in 1885. Un-
doubtedly the main reason for this
high consumption of electricity is the
unusually low rate that prevails in
Washington, for the Capital City en-
joys one of the lowest electric rates
in the entire United States. All Gov
eminent buildings supplied by the
local plant receive a special rate,
which is fixed by Congress.
This vast amount of electric power
is distributed in various areas where
it will be needed, in no hit-or- miss
fashion. The most careful analyses
are made Of the needs and require
ments, the potential needs or re-
quirements of each area to be served.
Here the business judgment, expert
ence and that second sight with which
power officials must be gifted are
called into play. Capacities are based
on every indication of load that is
available to system that is carefully
watched and guarded every moment
of every day and night.
The trained personnel set to watch
and control these needs is another
marvel of the efficiency of the system.
From the crews who send in reports
at stated intervals over the company's
private telephone wires to the men
in the dispatch Office who take note
of and pass on the information to
the right quarters, there must be no
flaw in the service.
At any time of the day or night
the exact amount of electricity being
consumed or necessary in any section
of the city is visually apparent in
the intricately designed control room
in headquarters. Operators before q
large board watch the fluctuations
of power, take note of the necessity
for increase in this locality or that.
A system operator gives instructions
to throw power from one cable to
another, as necessary. These cables
are all numbered and known, so that
when calls come in, power is diverted
to exactly the right locality.
Before the dispatch operators desk
in this control room is the board that
records faithfully the consumption of
power in Washington and its environs.
New York City makes use of inter-
esting animated charts that designate
power consumption in various local.
tiles. But the local system Is even
more interesting and detailed.
At the top of the board are five
dials, like the faces of five clocks.
One is captioned "Takoma," and in
order they run "P. r. r." wash
ington System" "Bennings," Bug
yards Point" These dials show the
power flowing over the transmission
lines, the total load, demand in WASH
ington area and the amount generated
by the two steam plants. The cables
that supply this energy to the various
substations and localities are outlined
diagramatically on the board be-
low. These connections outline the
"tie-up" between power generating
stations and substations. Red and
green lights wink upon this vast board.
The red indicate closed circuits; the
green open circuits.
The board is manually controlled
from the keyboard at the dispatch
officers desk, and he manipulates it
in accordance with reports on system
connections received from the various
substations.
The demand curve" is also visible
on the board. This pictures by means
of q graph the exact timing of in
creased or decreased loads in the
District Of Columbia. That is, the
hours at which Washington uses most
current or least current, the time Of
increase or decline Of consumption
are all clearly indicated. It is inter-
esting to observe that in Washing
ton the demand curve" shows that
from midnight to the hour between
4 and O'Clock am. consumption Of
power is at q minimum. From s
to 9 o'clock am. the curve increases
rapidly. From am. to 6 pm. there
is a steady demand, and at 6 pm. the
peak load" is attained. This, of course,
at this time of year. This peak load Is
maintained for is minutes, and from
6:15 pm. to midnight there is q
gradual reduction to the original load.
Over the period Of an hour the load
may increase at the rate Of 1000 kilo-