THE UNDERGROUND INSTALLATION OF UTILITIES 401 



Even greater advances in power transmission and distribution lie 

 ahead. Research and product development throughout the electrical 

 industry will not only keep electricity the consumer's greatest bar- 

 gain, but will also bring about new technologies and equipment 

 with the optimum combination of usefulness and beauty. 



The utilities and electrical equipment manufacturers, in the pro- 

 gressive tradition of their industry, have never failed to respond to 

 a significant challenge. The restoration and preservation of Ameri- 

 ca's natural beauty is such a challenge. 



ZAGH R. STEWART. Considered as a complete system the physical 

 plant of the electric utility industry represents a fascinating design 

 problem; technically extremely difficult, economically involved in 

 major investments, and physically composed of a mixture of the 

 most advanced as well as technologically obsolete components. For 

 the purpose of definition the design of the physical elements of this 

 industry can be called the architecture of energy. This encompasses 

 all distribution and transmission systems, generating plants of all sizes 

 from dams and powerhouses to local peaking generators, substations 

 and switchgear, television antennae, electrical distribution and trans- 

 mission hardware, and television and radio transmission towers. 



The comprehensive approach generally advocated by the delegates 

 to the White House Conference on Natural Beauty, if directed to the 

 architecture of energy, would encourage an enormous amount of 

 progress toward beautification of the current and future installation 

 of all the components in the Nation's electrical system. Transmis- 

 sion line right-of-way placement, miniaturization of parts, develop- 

 ment of underground and overhead systems, camouflage or redesign 

 of television antennae, and the visual impact of present and future 

 utility systems on different urban, suburban, and countryside land- 

 scapes need improvement. 



There is every evidence that the Nation's electric utility companies 

 are vitally interested in improving the architecture of energy. Sev- 

 eral western utilities have formed a utility appearance committee; 

 Allis Chalmers sponsored a national art contest called "the Art of 

 extra high voltage"; Kaiser Aluminum News published an issue on 

 "The Aesthetics of Electric Distribution"; the southern California 

 Edison Co. placed in service transmission lines designed by the indus- 

 trial designer, Dreyfuss; the Pacific Gas and Electric Co. has designed 

 and is installing the streamline distribution system ; Portland General 

 Electric has developed the Somerset system; and the Long Island 



