The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1963-01-11
from page

Ill0-lOSS. OO ldI DIS Cdll QSISIllilll'
the longest lines in the u. S. are M
more than 225 miles from point Of
generation to load centers. The dis
tances involved in moving Siberian
power to load centers are in excess
of 1900 miles. This accounts for the
strenuous research and construction
the Russians have been doing in the
extra-hi gh-voltage field, for in that
very difficult chronological field Lies
the answer to the problem.
SOVIETS OPERATE EHV LINES
The heaviest lines actually con-
structed in this country are at $780,
600 volts, and there are not many of
them. The Russians have for some
years been operating 500-kw Lines
as long as 600 miles, from Kuibyshev
to Moscow and from Volgograd to
Moscow. In addition, 50O-kw line
is in operation from Irkutsk to
Bratsk, is being extended from Bratsk
to Krasnoyarsk, and before that dam
is complete will be extended clear
across central Asia to the Ural Noun
tain area. Work is now going on
which will eventually boost some or
all of these lines to $50 XIV and ulti-
mately to 1000 kw-one million
volts alternating current.
Even more challenging, and hold
ing out the promise of even more
economies, is direct current, and
here too the Russians have heavy
lines eventually planned for 500 XIV
in operation from Volgograd to the
DON River basin industrial area. We
saw this extra-high-voltage research
a construction, including the
worlds largest DC laboratory at
and found it very impress
i've.
Finally we were shown the control
center in Moscow where, in single |
,oom, all of the power generated and
in European Russia, except |
'or two minor districts which are
low being hooked up, is dispatched |
1nder computerized control on a |
Jingle interconnected grid.
We have two such interconnected
grids in the u. S., the Northwest
power pool (mainly Bonneville)
and the Tennessee Valley Author
ity, each controlling about IL mill
lion XIV. In the Russian pool is al
most $50 of the power generated
in the entire nation, about 80 mill
lion XIV. Eventuslly-in only
few years-this power grid will ex-
tend clear to Siberia and will con-
tain virtually all of Russia's ma
tional capacity under centralized,
automated control.
The advantages and economies of
his arrangement are very large and
make Russian power production ca
'acity significantly closer to ours
han the current production and ca
acity figures indicate.
Tit seems safe to say that this will
e even more true in the future than
, is now, unless we increase our pace
4 this vital area. 1T is, of course,
luch more difficult for us to achieve
1tegration than for the Russians,
ecause our power systems are under
iverse ownership; but in Sweden,
hitch we also visited, we learned that
ne entire national electric capacity |
mere is in single integrated pool,
espite the fact that it is about even
: divided between public and pri-
ate ownership. This was accom- 4
Iished, we were told, without doing |
olence to any ownership rights. ]
erhaps the Swedish system is one /
e might study with profit.
WE ARE IN THAT RACE" t
To sum up is perhaps to belabor
re obvious. We have been challenged
7 the Soviet Union to an energy race
I'd, like it or not, we are in that
ce. Because energy-electrica en-
gy-is the heart of any industrial
stem. the outcome of this race may :
ny we'll determine which nation d
ii eventually command the largest u
ID most productive industrial plant y
the world. III
Whoever possesses the worlds
reatest industrial capacity can
nd will use that capacity to exert
political and military