Search

The article focuses on the electric power industry in the United States. Scott Paper Co. is better known for making paper than for generating electricity. But now, Scott Paper Co. and a number of industrial manufacturers are making profits by wholesaling excess self-generated electricity to Central Maine Power Co. (CMP) at roughly 30% more than customers are paying for electricity supplied by CMP itself. The Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act obliges utilities to buy power from small producers that can generate the energy as a by-product of other industrial operations.

The article presents excerpts from papers in the January 1, 1927 issue, including one which boasts of the dependability of the electric power supply of the Holland double-tube, and another about the British coal strike.

The article focuses on the role of the electrical industry in the economic prosperity of the U.S. Topics discussed include improvements made to power generation efficiency and the distribution of electric power to even the smallest centers of population. Industrial expansion in New England, the Central States, and the Southwest as a result of electric distribution is explored.

The article offers U.S. business news briefs. Topics discussed include offering of lamp free to every citizen in Woodbine, Georgia; Edison Electric Institute convention on demand for electric power; and efforts taken by the construction machinery and equipment firm, Caterpillar Tractor in increasing the sales of its diesel-powered tractors.

The article profiles American inventor and businessman Thomas Alva Edison. It discusses his contributions to the light and power industry, his reputation as the world's greatest inventor, and his belief that time will come when mankind will draw electrical energy on a large scale directly from the sun. His views on the evolution of electrical invention and discovery are highlighted.

The article discusses various problems related to agriculture in the U.S. as of August 1926 including farm surplus, effect of population on farm surplus and the relation of power machinery and cost of production to farm surplus. It mentions the causes of farm surplus like the rapid increase in land area dedicated to certain crops, seasonal variation in yields of crops and the decrease in the horse population. It also cites how electric power can cut the cost of many farm operations.

The article focuses on fractional horse power motors. It mentions a small electric motor preserved by conglomerate General Electric Co. which is said to mark one point in the origin of the fractional horse power motor and the beginning of the application of small electric power units to practical use by people. It discusses the standardization of motor production, its various uses in post offices, homes and farms, and emergence of new applications amid business and industrial expansion.

The article describes how the industrial growth of Baltimore, Maryland has been stimulated by the broad policies and low power rates of the Consolidated Gas Electric Light & Power Co. of Baltimore. It details how the company's president, Herbert A. Wagner, consolidated the power supply in the area by closing down several inefficient plants. It discusses how the company's implementation of low electric power rates stabilized its own business and attracted a diversity of industries to the city.

The article indicates that electric power is the chief stimulant of industrial growth in the U.S. South, as it observes that cheap and adequate power has trebled the use of electricity in ten years in the period ended December 31, 1923. It asserts that electric power creates and enlarges the opportunities for workers to earn higher wages, improves living conditions, and adds comfort and convenience. The seven major power systems in the South, including Alabama Power Co., are also discussed.

The article looks at the impact of declining consumption of electricity in the U.S. as of August 1983 on the performance of privately owned utility American Electric Power (AEP). Discussed are AEP's sales to other power producers and to industrial manufacturers, its revenues and earnings per share, and debates around its coal-burning power plants. Presented are the policies of chairman Willis S. White Jr. regarding executive compensations, construction of production facilities, and marketing.

The article looks at discussions around the notion that despite investments, computers haven’t made a significant contribution to worker productivity in the U.S., known as the productivity paradox, as of 1993. The author offers a potential explanation based on the example of electric power and its introduction in industry during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He further suggests that the falling prices of computers will eventually offset costs and productivity will grow.

The article reports that according to a report by the Investor Responsibility Research Center, more than half of 123 electric utilities polled recently in the U.S. are promoting sales despite serious warnings about power shortages looming in the 1990s. The reason is that many regions have 40 per cent of their generating power in reserve twice the cushion they need. Though analysts warn that conservation and load management to cut demand during peak hours are crucial to long-term planning, few firms pay the concept more than lip service.

This article informs that Wisconsin Electric Power Co. (Wepco), the $1.4 billion utility that serves Milwaukee and most of southeast Wisconsin seems like a throwback to better days in the utility business. With record earnings of $163 million, or $4.35 per share, Wepco hit its 14.75% maximum allowable rate of return on equity. This year a warm spring and cool summer have flattened earnings, which should hit $155 million. But for the second year in a row Wepco's customers are enjoying a cut in rates, down another 4.6%. The aim is to help new businesses take root in its territory.

The article discusses pointers for profitability in the utility industry as to the advise of old Jeff Weston. Topics include selling appliances for popularizing power service, putting up an appliance business and failing to produce profitable results. It also notes the proposition of an electric light and power company to cut rates on a cost basis for a large business and the advise of Weston on lowering power costs by buying from a central station instead of building a steam plant.

The article discusses increase in demand in electricity in the U.S. Demand for electricity is up sharply. It is now rising at around 6% a year, thanks to a stronger economy, versus 2% to 3% a year on average since 1974. Electric power prices, meanwhile, are no longer shocking. Real rates on average, corrected for inflation, have in fact been falling for the past 18 months. Rate increases in the past six months have been the lowest in five years, says Mark Luftig, an utilities analyst. One should expect this trend to continue. There's big trouble in the utility industry, to be sure. But the headlines about massive defaults, monstrous cost overruns and emergency applications for stiff rate increases need some perspective.

The article presents an outlook for the U.S. for October 1941 through 1942. It notes that the costs of living are growing by 1% monthly and are not expected to level off. An analysis by the Chamber of Commerce shows that the tax load will become heavier in 1942. It discusses the shortages in gasoline and petroleum, freight car output and electric power.