Show BUSINESS and the STOCK MARKET by BABSON'S REPORTS INC Copyright l 1073 1973 3 WHAT'S AHEAD FOR ELECTRIC POWER With energy in the forefront it a good time to take a look at a primary energy form and its fu fu- fu- fu ture Conversion of coal and oil into electricity produces an outstanding medium medium me me- of far greater than the original and with widespread lions Anti Pollution Anti Usage One such applications of great importance importance tance today is electricity's use in cleaning cleaning clean clean- ing up our environmental problems which are as nothing compared with what lies ahead For example many waste recycling processes require pressers and furnaces of great capa capa- city The motors that operate much of this equipment are electric And recycling is still only beginning As for water pollution sewage and waste treatment treat ment plants move effluents through a series of settling tanks filters and other systems The job is done by electric pumps and and- andas as in recycling this is only the start There may never be an electric aircraft aircraft air air- craft but automobiles powered by electricity electricity electricity ele ele- are on the drawing boards- boards most of them employing the principle of rechargeable batteries If a practicable practicable cable produced mass-produced car of this sort comes into use use the implications for improving air quality are staggering Meanwhile powered electric-powered mass transit systems are arc feasible San Francisco's BART is a long way from the trolley car and is a prime example of a modem modern mod mod- em ern n electric people Self Cleaning Comes First The industry has of course immense possibilities in the fight to better the environment but the electric firms themselves themselves them them- selves come under fire as polluters Weighing all aspects however it would seem that the electric are policing policing pol pol- pol icing both older and newer plants quite well in order to reduce harmful em em- Control of air pollution is being accomplished by use of fuels with low sulfur content lofty smokestacks the better to disperse effluents air scrubbers scrubbers scrubbers scrub bers and a shift to nuclear power gen gen- All AR of these developed over the years have helped make cleaner air air as have other contributions such as underground underground un un- un transmission and distribution distribution tion lines in urban and suburban areas In 1972 the utility companies expended over 21 billion in trying to achieve pollution pol lution control Raising Living Conditions While industry will continue to be the top user of electric power the residential customer now consumes about one one- third of all sold He lie has become be come to electric living and third of all sold sold lIe He has become become become be be- come accustomed to electric living and owns many of the two twenty-two major appliances plus other electrically operated oper devices While there are complaints about high rates with the companies gen getting the blame the facts do donot donot donot not justify the criticism When electric power was first made available it cost 25 cents per kilowatt hour In 1946 it was down to cents per kwh in 1971 the price was cents per kwh The reason for larger electric bills is not the price but rather the fact that the average number of used by residential customers rose from 1329 in 1946 to in 1971 an increase of percent Overall sales of about doubles in a year ten-year period from million in 1961 to 1466 million in 1971 This h has s been the trend for the industry indus Indus- try with sales doubling every decade and this pattern may well wen continue over the period ahead Nuclear Power pow By October 1 I 1972 the industry had 1 million kilowatts of new generating e capacity scheduled for installation in inthe inthe inthe the coming years Considerable of the planned capacity will be nuclear but the bright promise of this decades decade's power power power po po- po- po supply has dimmed somewhat Environmentalists Environmentalists En En- and safety groups I have slowed progress on the nuclear front forcing utilities to revert to the less expensive to quicker-to-build conventional generating stations in order to meet the inevitable and increasingly urgent demand de mand for electric power |