400 CONFERENCE ON NATURAL BEAUTY 



pole top with no side appurtenances; and streamlining a factory pre- 

 wired lighting pole which provides five times as much light and no 

 more power consumption than units previously installed. 



This type of physical improvement, combined with the lower cost 

 to the consumer, may make overhead preferable to underground in 

 many areas. Where this is so, the marriage of practicality and 

 aesthetics will continue to add dividends of value to the eye as well 

 as the purse. 



Moving further back on the power system, the substations for 

 stepping higher voltages down to distribution levels have also been 

 facelifted. Utilities have for some time been building their new 

 substations with attractive low-height and modern designs which 

 blend more effectively into their surroundings and enhance neighbor- 

 ing property values. 



Turning now to transmission, the problem in putting lines under- 

 ground is far greater than in distribution. Because underground 

 cannot dissipate the tremendous heat involved in transmission, its 

 cost can be more than 10 times greater than overhead, even where 

 the distances involved are relatively short. 



Barring a research breakthrough not now on the horizon, this 

 great cost differential confronts us with the choice of utilizing present 

 transmission rights-of-way to the maximum or duplicating the towers 

 and lines which carry bulk electricity from generating station to com- 

 munity. Clearly, maximum utilization is by far the preferable choice, 

 from the standpoint of appearance as well as cost. 



To this end, General Electric has continuously sought to increase 

 transmission line power capacity. Recent steps forward of major 

 significance were the introduction in 1961 of a power circuit breaker 

 which operates in one-thirtieth of a second and the subsequent de- 

 velopment of the highly sophisticated series capacitors in use today 

 across the Nation. 



Simultaneously, several utilities have doubled the voltage ratings 

 of their lines with modest changes in existing structures, increasing 

 the power handling capacity by a factor of 4 to 1. Also, some 

 utilities have been able to make use of existing railroad rights-of- 

 way to bring power into urban load centers, a development which per- 

 mits trains to be electrified at reduced expense, and makes it possible 

 for the rails to move people and goods with increased speed, safety 

 and convenience. 



