Adam Gowans Whyte and Samuel Baker Williams

“ No generating station or main transmission line can be established or extended without the consent of the electricity commissioners, except in the case of a private station, which must comply with regulations as to the type of current, frequency, and pressure laid down by the commissioners. Each joint authority is given power to supply electricity within its district except in the area of an authorized distributor or a power company for any save certain specified purposes, unless consent is given, such consent not to be unreasonably withheld. ”

“ The prices charged by a joint authority are to be so fixed that the receipts shall be sufficient to cover expenditure with such margin as the electricity commissioners may allow; and the commissioners may require such modifications in prices charged by authorized undertakers as will secure that the benefit of any reduction in the cost of electricity to the undertakers or in the capital employed shall accrue to consumers. ”

“ The war, however, arrested the growth of the domestic demand and brought an urgent and practically unlimited call for electric power in factories and workshops extended for war purposes and in new factories erected for the production of munitions of war. During the first months of war the need was met by running all the plant (including reserves) available in public generating stations to its full capacity. ”

“ A little more than half of the current sold by power companies in the United States is generated by water-power. The development of the water-power resources of the country, however, was greatly retarded during 1910-720 by the threat of unfavourable Federal legislation. ”

“ The majority of the metropolitan electric supply companies are represented by the London Electricity Joint Committee (1920) , Ltd., and there is also a conference of local authorities owning electricity undertakings in Greater London. Similar associated effort has been manifested in other branches of the electrical industry, and the Institution of Electrical Engineers has provided a common platform upon which all sections could meet for the discussion of legislative and other problems. ”

“ All proposals for the extension of generating stations and mains had to be brought before the Electric Power Supply Department of the Ministry, which issued priority certificates for those judged to be most urgent. The output of electrical manufacturing firms was likewise controlled, so that the production of both electric power and electric plant was centrally organized to meet the ever-increasing demand for current. ”

“ Boards were to be empowered to borrow for these purposes on terms to be fixed by the electricity commissioners, who were also to be empowered to lend to boards or authorized undertakers, subject to Treasury approval, money up to a total of £25,000,000, if they were satisfied that the boards or undertakers could not otherwise raise the money on reasonable terms. A sum of £20,000,000 was also to be made available out of the consolidated fund to enable the Board of Trade to construct interim works during the first two years. ”

“ Municipal ownership sustained a great setback during the war because high costs of production added too much to city budgets. As a result a great many municipal plants went out of existence, their service being replaced by that of large transmission systems. ”

“ The features of the bill are: (1) the erection of a commission (The Federal Power Commission) ; (2) the granting of a 50-year lease; and (3) the ability of the Government to resume control of the project on the payment of just compensation at the termination of the lease. Priority is given to national, state and municipal governments. On the Colorado river alone one company was planning to develop between three and four million H.P. of electrical energy. ”

“ The supply undertakings were in the main content with steady development among both industrial and domestic consumers. Advances were more rapid in the lighting field on account of the appearance of the drawn-wire tungsten lamp, first in the vacuum type and later in the gas-filled type. Improvements in cooking and heating apparatus also stimulated the domestic day load. ”

“ Public supply undertakings were also in some cases linked together for mutual assistance.
During the war there was a marked increase in the average size of generating units, an improvement in load factor, and a reduction in the costs of generation. Before the war the average size of generating unit installed was 522 K.W., with 8,000 K.W. as the capacity of the largest unit. At the end of Oct. 1918 the average size was 7,044 K.W., and units of 25,000 K.W. and 30,000 K.W. were being built. In 1914 the coal consumption per unit sold was 4.1 lb. ”