LIGHT AND POWER.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 8 December 1924, Page 7

LIGHT AND POWER.

AMERICA’S ELECTRICITY

MUNIOIPALLY-O>yNED. SUPPLIES.

In thinking of America*, it, should be /remembered that electrical lighting and power are generally supplied by-private companies, although public ownership js growing in favour. Seattle is one of the first cities to engage in public ownership. In the year 1905 the oity made a start. There was a private company already in the field, a branch of a big corporation whose headquarters) were in Boston (states, the New* York' correspondent of the Melbourne Age). This company also owned and managed the .street railway... Several years ago the city purchased the railway, and is a powerful rival in the field of supplying light pid power. - The opening of the * ‘Skagit’ ’ is -a city. enterprise, and probably marks the beginning of an epoch in the life of the city when all power , and light will he supplied by the city. The the “Skagit” was of enough national importance to warrant having President Coolidge at his desk, in the. White House, 3000 miles away, touch the electric button which automatically opened the flood gates of the waters of the Skagit River, in the Cascades, 50 miles to the west of Seattle. Here -'fite -A ! -feW items showing city-light progress in Seattle;since 1905. More than 10,000,000 dollars net earnings turned to payment of interest and retirement of bonds. l • Net profits in 1923,. 800,000- dollars. Add depreciation allowed, 400,000 dollars. Through the years a steadily increasing annual revenue and , net profits. The year 1924 promises to break all records. The number of customers has grown as follow :—SOO in 1905'; 15,000 in 1910; 39,000 in 1915; 72,000 in 1923; 76,000 in 1924.

Here is the rather remarkable story of )this munieipailly-ow’ned light and pOWer plant, as told in' the 'records, covering 20 years. Capital .assets have increased from 590,000 dollars to 22,997,952 dollars. Annual revenue receipts have grown from 45,470 dollars to 2,661,965 dollars. A surplus over and above operating expenses,, interest,' and'depreciation, bf 6,119,206 dollars, has been created. Capacity of the plant has been enlarged from 3000 horsepower to 72,800’ horse-poAver, not in-: eluding' . the- • 50,000 • horse-power from the first Skagit unit, just /made: avail-; able. Number of consumers has increased: from 500 to 76,000. Rates have been reduced from 20 c. a kilowatt hour maximuni to 5j c. a kilowatt hour maximum. The average residence; rate, of all cities of the United States having a population of 100,000 or more; is 8J e. Street lighting has been extended and improved, until the city has 1075 miles of lighting streets, and a total aggregate candle nower of lamps of 2,083,995. Rates in Seattle for general household. purposes, including lighting and cooking and small appliances, are—--5.5 c. for the first 40 kilowatts (maximum rate), 2 c. for the next 200 kilowatts per month, this later rate representing the lowest in the United States. The city also does a good business in electric merchandise, such as washing machines, ironers, and stoves, ect. Its sales in these appliances, amount to about 30,000 dollars each month, . and are mounting rip. Electricity is increasingly being used for heating purposes. "The average cqst.fof .lighting,, power,, and heating in the* Seattle family of four or five is .given at - '5.75 dollars. " This is a low average for the majority of American icities- ; , ■ /

, As to public ownership, there are at •present 2318 municipally-owned electric 'light and power plants in the United iStates and. eleven hydro-electric plants owned and operated by the Federal Go- , vernment. The Census figures show that -the number of municipal nlants grew -from 16 in 1885 to 1318 -in 1917, and from 9 per cent., in, 1917. The fall in .rates in three cities, diiiring that period 1 , was in Cleveland from 12.5 c. a kilowatt hour to 3 c.; in Pasadena from 15 ;c. to 5.; in Seattle from 20 c. to 5.5 c. These, cities passed into public ownership.

The movement now is for connecting groups of cities by intertie transmission lines. For example, Seattle’s [Skagit, Cedar Falls, and steam plants connected with Tacoma’s Nisqually, Lake Cashman and steam plants, affording both cities a supply of nearly •300,000 horse-power, with additional ’»« porse-power under development. •There is in many States a Sate-wide initerest, showing itself-in legislation, in the development of State-owned super•power. Even the the church.folks.arebeto discuss the' significance of electricity, of hydro-electricity, for the new social order. Electricity is -inyad--:ing the farms, especially in California .and the Pacific north-west. The electric motor ha's been put in many uses on the fruit ranches,- poultry ranches, general truck farming,, ect. The jtric range, the vacuum cleaner, the eler•tric iron, the washing - machine, and •:other appliances afe lifting the burdens from tlie California, womenfolk bp'the farms as in the servantless homes of the cities. Even cows are being milk:ed by '•'electricity;-'"-'-’''-''' ••>•' •: v >