A study of underground distribution systems for the city of New Orleans

Review of the Subject — Recent developments in a-c. low-voltage networks have aroused a condiderable amount of interest as to the application of a-c. distribution to the service requirements of business centers of large cities. Therefore, when the New Orleans Public Service Inc. was recently confronted with the necessity of rehabilitating its underground distribution system, it was decided that a thorough investigation should be made to determine the economics and advantages of various a-c. systems as compared with d-c. distribution. This paper describes the system which, as the result of the investigation, was selected to form the basis for serving the future growth of load in the underground district of New Orleans and for eventually displacing the present distribution system. An economic comparison of several types of systems which were studied is also included.