ELECTRICITY IN ONTARIO.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 2072, 30 December 1919, Page 2

ELECTRICITY IN ONTARIO.

i THE remarkable development p£ hydro-electricity in Ontario is described in the British journal, Engineering. The Ontario power system is one of the most important enterprises of its kind on the North American continent. It develops over 200,000 horse-power, which it sells to the people of Ontario, chiefly in the south-west portion of the province, and is rapidly extending its operartions. Were the power now being supplied to he obtained from coal, even in fairly large, modern, generating stations, over 2,000,000 tons would he required, and 4,000,000 tons in industrial plants, the value of which would be .approximately from £2,000,000 to £4,000,000, ami, as Ontaria has no coal, this money would have to go out of the province. The original idea, of (he earlier Ontario Power Commission, actually to develop and generate power at Niagara Falls, was abandoned, as there-wore then in existence three large generating companies at the falls, on the Canadian side, which were in a position to furnish large quantities of power, and as it was not desired to interfere unfairly with these companies, they were asked to submit tenders for the supply of power. A favourable tender having been submitted by the Ontario Power Company, a contract was entered into with this company for® 100,000 horse-power, the first 25,000 horsepower to cost 30s per horse-power year, and the remainder 37s Od per horse-power year, for 24 hour power; this provided that the power should be delivered in blocks commencing with 8,000 horse-power, increasing as the commission should require in blocks of 1,000 horsepower until the maximum of 100,000 horse-power should Ik* reached. The action--of the commission in making a contract f -v so large an amount nl' power was very severely criticised on (be ground that it would bo many years before the entire contract was utilised. As a matter of fact, the commission exhausted this contract in five years from the date when power was taken in .1010, and in 1018 the power obtained from Niagara. Falls alone was over it)l,000 horse-power, while altogether, from the various systems owned by the commission, there were supplied during the winter of 1918-1010 over 198,000 horse-power. The total population of Ontario is about 2,500,000.