GAS AND ELECTRICITY

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXI, 10 June 1926, Page 2

GAS AND ELECTRICITY

FLOURISH SIDE BY SIDE Some years ago when the electricity industry came into active being, there were many who held the view that progress in that industry must necessarily coincide with a gradual dying away of the older-established ..energy-producing industry „ They, were wrong t.afil. . who put forward the same argument, today are equally mistaken. Once again thev are relying on fancy instead of fact. “Nothing is so permanent,” said Thomas Hardy,..‘/as change.” .We agree. What the general public do hot understand is the fact that the- gas,, industry is constantly .changing,, Becoming new, ever-increasing its efficiency in manufacturing.processes and distribution service. It is absurd to compare tlie gas industry of to-day with that of 20 or 30 years ago. as it is .to compare a young' woman with ah old one. • v ■ Side by side with the growth of electricity there has been a remarkable, development in the gas nftlustry—a striking feature which provides a conrplete answer to those who fear the competition of electricty. Both industries have developed where there has been competition, and. both have developed in like manner-where they have- been jointly controlled —as at Leek, for ex:ample. . : - In .1913 there . were in the .United ..Kingdom 7.300,000 gas consumers. In 1924 there were 8,500,000. In other gas industry ; has, in,,,;tliis shortperiod’, enjoyed- an'.increase in . consumers equal to .the total, population of the cities of Nottingham jajid Leices* i ter. In the last three years the, capital - invested iii ,the industry, in England C has increased. by; £6','6Qoo,6oO—an ayerf, jage of j82,20p,0d0 per year.. The invest; v , ing public do not think that gas is a dying industry. . 1 ,ipven. greater strides have .been made in . America In thb gas industry. - There they have 9,500,000 gas ... consumers, and this, vast army is..increasing -a£ the rate of. 400,000 per year. . The annual .sales of: gas appliances is Amerir ca, total 750,00 b. ga5.,,,; cookers,; ; 425,000 water heaters, «T (jas; ebmfiaiiies were compelled to- spend ’1.450,000,000 dollars. iii America, in new t works iii order to keep pace vvith the growth of . the industry. ; Contrary to the opinion of those ac--2 quaiiited with, tjuj facts, .the .industry has shown the greatest growth during r the past 20 years. At a recent dinner given , by; the Mossley Council, the man- ■ ager of the Mossley corporation gasworks gave some interesting- figures re- „»'• lading to the undertaking. In 1901 the ■; output of gas . at-Mossley .was 97,777,660 --cubic - feet. This undertaking was ,n 'j comgetiti on ‘-with another concern sup- '- "plying .energy..at a.cheap rate, and ; wliichvyas yet-y, well managed, and yet ' the output of the Mossley gasworks in- * creased to the extent;that In 1924 the - ; demand rose to-219,675,400 cubic feet—l more than doubled the . output in 23 » years. , fi ’

years... , , Ifc has also to be remembered that carbonisation", ;.<jf a ... gasworks Conserves all, the valuable, -"by-products—-' ''coal-tar, ammonia, this,- of course, from . the broad national standpoint. is decided advantage.-. ■ .: 'P l ®.! P®*®,’<*£ the City, of Bijtriinghaih is also of interest. Txie gas sales rduring the year .ended March, 31,, „ i 925, showed an increase'of over 6 per ran: over,that of the previous year. , In 1£575 the amount of business done did not exceed £500,000, while to-day it is in ihe neighbourhood of £2,500,000. per annum! There are some. 25i500 supplied, with gas in the city and district, arid there ireover 200,000 gas cookers and -r.boui. 90,0c00 gas fires and water-heaters, and orders for gas apparatus are at present being received at the rate of about 700 per week. ~ .... ' ,t,y * ,lo conclude this short.article, figures wiu he, given to demonstrate, that the popular forms of energy can ?®>' el ®P. wben,iii competition, and can also develop where hp competition. exist, 5 - The demand for electricity ... ypp. plied by the Yorkshire and Blackwater M as and Electricity, Company, has iner.eased steadily since. 1921, and ..the gas load has also increased. In 1922 this £?™pany sold 23,701 units,.and in .1924 75,790; umts.-i-'ln 1921 the of gas was 132,000,d00 feet, and at the end of 1924 it had increased to 159 millions, there can be no doubt ...whatever that’ gas and electricity can develop side by side; and judged by the rate of development the. gas industry can look forward to a splendid future.-r-Gas .Journal. "• h