Abstract :
The general purpose of the paper is to make a comparison of the costs of power production for normal power requirements up to 500 kW. Power from private plants is considered first and the results are given for an investigation into power-plant costs which was made in the area of a semirural supply undertaking. A more generalized study of the cost of running Diesel and ¿pass out¿ steam plant is then made, as these werfe found to be the most efficient forms of private plant. The second part of the paper is devoted to an analysis of the costs of providing electricity from public-supply undertakings. The particular case of an actual semi-rural undertaking is studied (in whose area the private-plant investigation was made), and the technical design, progress, and costs, are detailed for this scheme. Private-plant and public-supply costs are then compared for this particular case. Finally, a brief classification is made of the various types of supply undertakings, and the generalized costs for private plants are compared with the general case for the public supply. The conclusion is reached that a modern and efficient public-supply undertaking can supply power more cheaply than the most efficient private plant, except for those special cases which are outside the scope of this paper. It is found that public-supply tariffs are widely dissimilar, although the capital expenditure per consumer is shown to be approximately the same for all types of areas. These variations in cost are due in part to varying stages of developments between undertakings, but chiefly to the lack of a standard tariff basis, and it is suggested that national co-ordination of tariffs is essential if increased sales are to be obtained.
