ELECTRICITY IN BRITAIN.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIII, Issue 286, 31 October 1933, Page 6

ELECTRICITY IN BRITAIN.

Two months ago there was completed in Great Britain what is claimed to be the greatest scheme of its kind in the world—the grid scheme —in connection with the national plan to supply electric power. In 1926 the Electricity Supply Act was passed and the elaborate grid system of high transmission was completed after five and a half years, with the erection at Fordingbridge, on the outskirts of the New Forest, of a TOftJiigh steel tower. The Central Electricity Board set up under the Act directed the organisation of 4he scheme to the attainment of

three great objectives-—the creation of giant power stations located in the main industrial areas, under the control of public supply undertakings; the . construction of a main transmission system operating at a pressure of 132,000 volts, so that the entire country would be held in a power ring, or a series of power rings radiating from the great power stations; and standardisation of frequencies in the areas where the 50 cycle was not used for generation and transmission. As 1934-35 was set for the completion of the grid scheme the Board has an excellent achievement to its credit. The Fordingbridge was the last of 26,265 pylons to be built over Great Britain, and the five and a half year scheme costing £27,000,000 has provided employment directly or indirectly for 200,000 workers, besides giving a valuable stimulus to such industries as iron, steel and coal, aluminium and pottery. There are no less than 4,000 miles of transmission lines in the system, 2,894 representing lines operating at 132,000 volts, with the remainder at 33,000 and 66,000 volts. Most of the towers reach to between 70ft and 80ft in height and average 6,9001 b in weight, but to provide for the crossing- of rivers much taller and heavier ones have been constructed. An example is provided in the linking up of the grid south of the Thames with Dagenham. There the pylons are 487 ft high with a weight of 290 tons each, and are the largest of their type in the world. By the building of these huge pylons, the manufacture and erection of the first 132,000 volt outdoor metal-clad switchgear at Tongland, in Scotland, and the erection of the first 75,000 YA transformers for the Clarence Dock substation near Liverpool, Britain has, it is claimed, taken the lead in electrical development. This progressive electricity policy is expected to result in many benefits. Not the least of these is the anticipated economical production of current and a cheaper cost to the consumer. Large savings in capital expenditure and generating costs from the better national organisation, and the elimination of stand-by plants made necessary Avhere at present unlinked systems are operating, are estimated to exceed the cost of the grid system within a decade. The importance of this estimate is emphasised by the huge expenditure of money mentioned. A remarkable advance has been made in Great Britain in the production of electricity in the past five years, and an increase in the power generated by public supply systems in 1932 brought the nation into third place in the world in this connection.