CHAPTER X 



ECONOMICAL ASPECTS 



PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS 



LIKE every other commercial undertaking, the promotion of 

 a hyro-electric development involves a very careful preliminary 

 investigation, as upon this will largely be based the success of 

 obtaining financial support for the enterprise. Such investiga- 

 tions should be considered from the engineering as well as the 

 commercial side, and the man to whom this responsible task is 

 entrusted should have a sound and conservative judgment in 

 analyzing such propositions. 



This applies to small developments as well as large ones, and 

 possibly more so to the former because an error which would be of 

 minor importance in a large plant may involve serious financial 

 consequences in a small one. 



No two streams offer quite the same problem of power devel- 

 opment, and a multitude of conditions must, therefore, in every 

 case be investigated. These involve a complete and most effi- 

 cient study of the watershed, rainfall and hydrographic data for 

 determining the available stream-flow and the storage possibilities. 

 Estimates of the probable market for the power and the planning 

 of the development as to type and size, so that the total annual 

 cost, including fixed charges, to deliver the necessary power, will 

 not exceed the amount the available customers can afford to pay, 

 the rates generally being governed by the cost of competing 

 power generated from fuel. 



The location of the development should be such that it will 

 insure the most economical results. Usually this is when the 

 maximum head is utilized, but considerations must also be given 

 to the land which may be overflowed by so increasing the head. 

 A study of the watershed may, furthermore, show that several 

 developments of a smaller size will give better economy than one 

 large plant, and that in this manner the entire system may be 

 served in such a way that the power from the new developments 



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