Conservation Commission'. 17 



whenever questions involving those policies have been submitted to 

 the people. 



As is always the case, time was required to arouse and educate 

 the citizens. The economic merits of the project were so evident, 

 however, that a simple understanding of it carried conviction of 

 the necessity for applying it to Ontario. 



In the words of the Hon. Adam Beck, Chairman of the Hydro- 

 Electric Power Commission: " The primary object that the pro- 

 moters of the Hydro-Electric scheme had in mind was the main- 

 tenance of the industrial supremacy of the province." The atten- 

 tion of the legislators of New York is invited to this statement, 

 and they are requested to view the policy of the Commission from 

 the standpoint of maintaining the pre-eminence of the Empire 

 State. 



What the Conservation Commission Found in Ontario. 



The investigation of the Commission disclosed that from the 

 engineering standpoint the work of the Ontario Hydro-Electric 

 Power Commission is highly successful. The construction is of 

 a most substantial and permanent character, and gives more 

 reliable service than that of the public service corporations with 

 which it competes. 



The system is now entirely self-supporting, as the rates charged 

 for power are sufficient to provide an income which will pay the 

 interest on the bonds issued to build the system, the operating and 

 maintenance expense, the renewal or obsolescence charge sufficient 

 to replace the entire plant in the event of new discoveries in the 

 electrical art rendering the present plant obsolete, and further, 

 for a sinking fund to begin in 1914 to retire the bond issue in 30 

 years. These rates have been reduced to the municipalities at 

 various times as the sale of power increases. 



In the city of Ottawa, where the municipal system has been 

 in operation for seven years, the price for private lighting has 

 been reduced to an average of 5.4 cents per kilowatt hour, and 

 the price for mercantile continuous power ranges from $9.90 

 to $22.50 per horse power. As a result of this low rate, 98% 

 of the houses of Ottawa are lighted by electricity and the plant 

 earns a surplus annually. 



