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Show Utah Coal Is ISeljpSssg Relieve Flood Area Utah coal is generating electricity electric-ity at a rapid rate to help relieve the power shortage in the flood-ravaged flood-ravaged Columbia river basin, it was reported today by T. A. Pur-ton, Pur-ton, chief engineer, Utah Power & Light Company. Utah Power has been operating its steam-electric generating plants and is sending up to 35,000 kilowatts kilo-watts of power daily to the Northwest North-west over its 161,000-volt transmission transmis-sion line between Grace, Idaho and Anaconda, Montana, he said. Mr. Purton pointed out that damage dam-age of succeeding crests down the Columbia river has been augmented augment-ed by the fact that floodwaters rush unimpeded over full reservoirs of the Bonneville and Grand Coulee dams, and on down the channel to flood the areas below. Retarding effect of the original river banks and meandering channel are thus lost, he pointed out. High water has filled the channels chan-nels below Bonneville and Grand Coulee dams, thus slashing the electric generating capacity at the two dams by an amount greater than the normal capacity of the entire Bonneville plant, he said. Mr. Purton explained that Bonneville Bonne-ville and Coulee power plants are unable to supply the demand for electricity although that demand has been greatly reduced because floodwaters have closed many manufacturing plants normally supplied with electricity. That Bolleville and Coulee dams were not designed for flood control purposes must always be compromised-to the advantage of another. |