The Story of Edmonton’s Power CompanyThe Klondike Gold Rush begins. The first long-distance, high-voltage transmission line (11 kV) carries power from St. Narcisse to Trois-Rivières,

Candles to Kilowatts

The Story of Edmonton’s

Power Company

Chapter 1

Edmonton Electric Lighting

and Power Company Limited

• • • • •

1891 – 1901

lick a light switch, turn on a televi-sion, use a microwave – we take manyelectrical conveniences for granted. Butbefore the turn of the twentieth century,electricity was just a flickering noveltyfor most people. Since then, it hasbecome central to our daily lives, a driv-ing force of modern industry, and amulti-billion dollar enterprise. And forpeople in Edmonton, a home-grownutility has made electricity a reality formore than a century.

Edmonton’s EarlyGrowthEdmonton Electric Lighting and PowerCompany Limited has its roots in theearly history of the City of Edmonton.Like other cities in western Canada,Edmonton began as a fur trading post.After relocating several times, FortEdmonton was situated in the Edmontonarea in 1802, when it was erected on thenorth bank of the North SaskatchewanRiver. In 1829, the fort was moved tohigher ground near the present locationof Alberta’s legislature building.

Fort Edmonton experienced two sepa-rate waves of newcomers. The first andsmaller group were fur traders. Theserugged individuals traded with Nativepeoples at the fort and transported fursalong the North Saskatchewan inEdmonton-built York boats.

This way of life was not to continuefor long. Demand for furs in NorthAmerica and Europe diminished. In the1870s, the rich agricultural land of theWest attracted those who saw opportu-nities for farming and commerce. A newwave of newcomers began to arrive inwhat is now central Alberta, eager tohomestead on the land that had beenopened up by the traders.

1 Chapter 1: Edmonton Electric Lighting and Power Co. Ltd.

FMilestones

1891Alex Taylor starts the first

electric plant in Edmonton.

The C&E Railway between Calgary and South Edmonton is completed.

1892Edmonton is incorporated as a town.

1895John Walter’s sawmill business is

operational in Edmonton.

1896Marconi applies for a patent on

wireless telegraphy.

The Klondike Gold Rush begins.

The first long-distance, high-voltagetransmission line (11 kV) carriespower from St. Narcisse to Trois-

Rivières, Québec, a distance of 29 km.

1898The Edmonton Golf and Country

Club is established.

1899South Edmonton is

incorporated as a town and renamed Strathcona.

The North Saskatchewan Riverfloods Edmonton’s river valley.

It is a fact – or have I dreamt it – that,

by means of electricity, the world of

matter has become a great nerve,

vibrating thousands of miles in a

breathless point of time.

–Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1851

Chapter 1 final 2/7/02 10:07 PM Page 1

As businesses were established to pro-vide goods and services for thehomesteaders, a town grew up aroundFort Edmonton. By 1890, the commer-cial core of this riverside community waswell established along a thoroughfareknown as Jasper Avenue (see map, page5). This main street was lined with two-storey wood-frame stores selling jewelry,shoes, and hardware. There were hotels,a Masonic Hall, and the Hudson’s BayCompany store. One general storewould later serve as the print shop forFrank Oliver’s Edmonton Bulletin, one ofthe city’s early newspapers.

The trickle of second-wave settlersbecame a torrent when the C&E Railwayreached the south side of the NorthSaskatchewan in 1891. Edmonton hadbeen clamoring for a rail line since 1882,when the Canadian Pacific Railway firstreached Calgary. Although a railwaybridge across the North Saskatchewanto Edmonton would not be built untilafter the new century began, the future

capital benefitted from the increasingnumbers of settlers arriving at the sta-tion on the south side.

Edmonton’s population grew steadily.During the summer of 1891, over 300homesteading entries were filed. In1892, Edmonton was incorporated as atown. Edmontonians were optimisticthat the growth of their communitywould be sustained. This growingmarket several hundred kilometers fromother major centres, combined with thedevelopment of electrical technologies,made a homegrown electrical utility aplausible investment.

The Lights Come On inEdmonton!Edmonton had much to offer an electri-cal utility besides an isolatedconcentration of consumers. Many of theingredients necessary for electrical generation were in the community’sbackyard. The North Saskatchewan wasavailable to supply water to boilers, andthe Edmonton area was rich in coaldeposits. In fact, many small coal minesoperated in the river valley not far fromJasper Avenue.

In 1891, a small group of frontierentrepreneurs recognized how far a localelectrical utility could go in Edmonton.In that year, they became the originalshareholders of Edmonton ElectricLighting and Power Company Limited.Those who were willing to take thatfirst risk in bringing electricity toEdmonton came from many walks oflife. Many names that remain familiar toEdmontonians today appeared in anEdmonton Bulletin article about the utili-ty on October 8, 1891. Donald Ross

2 Candles to Kilowatts

It was in 1267 AD that Roger Baconfirst published his theories on thepolar attraction of magnetite. Almost600 years would pass before MichaelFaraday demonstrated in 1891 thatelectricity could be generated by pass-ing a wire through a magnetic field ...he went on to build the world’s firstdynamo in 1831. Once the power ofelectricity was harnessed, it swept theworld like wildfire.

Within a few short years we hadthe telegraph (1846), the telephone(1876), incandescent lights (1879),streetcars (1883), the electric oven(1892), electric cars (1893), movies(1896), radio (1900), and a myriad ofother inventions.

From The Electric Century:

The Canadian Electricity Association

1891-1991, 1 9 9 0

Out of the Past, Into the Future

L E F T: The board of Edmonton Electric Light-ing and Power Company Limited.


owned the Edmonton Hotel. FrankOliver, a politician and forceful advocatefor settler’s land rights, operated TheEdmonton Bulletin. Daniel R. Fraser wasthe proprietor of a flourmill as well as asawmill that milled 50,000 feet oflumber daily and employed as many as70 people. John Walter, operator of aferry, sawmill, and coal mine, may havesupplied his own coal to the powerplant. John A. McDougall was electedpresident of Edmonton Electric Light-


John A. McDougall’s is one of the sig-natures most often found on earlyEdmonton Electric Lighting andPower Company records. Elected asthe first president of the company, heremained in that position until theutility was sold to the Town ofEdmonton in May 1902. John A.McDougall played a leading role inthe development of the civic enter-prises and businesses of Edmonton.

Originally from Oakwood, Ontario,McDougall first made his way west at1 9 years of age by working as a traderand freighter. He first reachedEdmonton in 1 8 7 7 , but remained onlyb r i e f l y. He returned from Ontario in1 8 7 9 with a new bride, Lovisa. Heentered into a business partnershipwith local businessman RichardSecord; together, they established sev-eral of Edmonton’s foundingbusinesses.

Their first firm was known asMcDougall and Secord; theydescribed themselves as

general merchants, wholesale andretail; buyers and exporters of rawfurs; dealers in land scrip and north-west lands; outfitters for surveyparties, traders, trappers, miners andothers for the north; and suppliers forcountry stores.

Later, in 1907, this enterprise wassold and the two men set up a finan-cial business that would grow into the$2,500,000 Empire Building.

John A. McDougall’s contributionsto the Edmonton scene were impres-sive. He was a charter member of theEdmonton Board of Trade, and chair-man of the Edmonton Public SchoolBoard. He was also a patron of thearts and benefactor of many welfareand youth organizations. McDougallwas a member of the first senate ofthe University of Alberta. Politically,he was elected mayor of the Town,then City, of Edmonton starting in1897, and was elected to the legisla-ture in 1909.

McDougall spent the later years ofhis life traveling throughout theworld. He died in Edmonton at theage of 74.

Sources: The Edmonton Bulletin, 1918,

The Edmonton Journal, 1963, 1959,and City of Edmonton Archives material

John Alexander McDougall

RIGHT: Looking east down Jasper Avenue in1896. Signs of innovation, including streetlightsand telephone lines, are visible.


ing and Power Company Limited, andremained in that position until 1902.Alex Taylor, a well-known businessowner, was the company’s managingdirector.

On October 23, 1891, Queen Victo-ria’s representative to the North WestTerritories, Joseph Royal, granted theEdmonton Electric Lighting and PowerCompany a “letters patent.” This gavethe fledgling company the right to the“construction, maintenance and operation of works for the production,sale and distribution of electricity forpurposes of light, heat and power.” As aprivate company, the capital stock wasfixed at $10,000, which was made up of1,000 shares at $10 each.

Under the management of AlexTaylor, Edmonton’s power plant wasbuilt on the north bank of the NorthSaskatchewan River, upstream of theLow Level Bridge’s present location.This plant had a coal-fired steam boilerand piston-engine-driven generators.Coal, which was stoked by hand, wastaken from nearby river valley mines;the river provided easy transportationfrom mines upstream.

Power poles were installed alongJasper Avenue from 96 Street to 103Street to power principal buildings andlampposts. Beginning December 22,1891, electric lights came on in Edmon-ton. From sunset to 1:00 AM, and in thewinter months from 5:30 AM to sunrise,Jasper Avenue was illuminated.

Inroads into Edmonton’s market ofabout 7 0 0 citizens (in 1 8 9 2) came slowly


When the Dominion Telegraph Ser-vice line was extended from HayLakes to Edmonton in 1879, AlexTaylor came with it as its first opera-tor. He set up an office in JohnWalter’s old log house across the riverfrom Fort Edmonton. That winter, hearranged for weekly news bulletins tobe wired to him from Winnipeg. Hewrote out these bulletins and leftthem in Frank Oliver’s store, wherecustomers eagerly read them. This,Edmonton’s first newspaper, evolvedinto Frank Oliver’s EdmontonBulletin.

Alex Ta y l o r ’s telegraph operationalso led to the telephone business. In1884, only eight years after AlexanderGraham Bell’s historic call from Brant-ford to Paris, Ontario, Alex Ta y l o r

encouraged the Dominion Te l e g r a p hService to build a telephone linkbetween his telegraph office and St.Albert, a community a short distancenorth of Edmonton. This, Alberta’sfirst telephone line, began operation inJanuary 1885. Soon after, Alex estab-lished telephone connections betweenhis office and Fort Edmonton, then tovarious businesses around the commu-n i t y. Edmonton’s first telephonesystem was launched. Alex sold hisoperation to the City in 1904, and itbecame the municipally-ownedEdmonton Te l e p h o n e s .

Alex Taylor was also the Dominionweatherman, postmaster, clerk of thecourt, and chairman of the publicschool. In later life, he lost the use ofboth arms, yet remained active in

serving the community. He set a fineexample of dignity and courage.

Adapted from Edmonton: Portrait

of a City, 1981

Alex Taylor

LEFT: Edmonton’s power plant as it appearedin the 1890s.


The basic plan of downtown Edmonton was already formed in 1892. This map shows the location of Edmonton’s first powerplant (right and below center) as well as another notable landmark of the day: Fort Edmonton, situated on what is now thegrounds of the provincial legislature.

Edmonton in 1892



for Edmonton Electric Lighting andP o w e r. The utility had yet to prove itself:people were not convinced that this newmethod of lighting was better than theold coal-oil lantern. After all, lanternsrequired the user to trim wicks and cleanchimneys, but once a lantern was lit, itstayed on! This could not always be saidfor electric lights. Electric generation anddistribution were new technologies at theturn of the century, and lacked modernfailsafes. Floods and falling trees couldcut the electric supply.

According to an original EdmontonElectric Lighting and Power price list of1891, the cost of lighting a home orbusiness depended on how many lightswere wanted.

The rates are as follows: dwelling houses,hotel bedrooms, etc., the first lamp costs$1 a month; two lamps, 85 cents each;more than four lamps, 50 cents each.

The Flood of 1899The early utility faced a serious chal-lenge in 1899, when the NorthSaskatchewan rose 41 feet up over theriver banks and rolled into the powerstation. According to Arthur W.Ormsby (later a superintendent of theplant), three to four feet of water hadspilled in the building, disabling theoperation of the control apparatus andother equipment.

“After we went down McDougall Hill,it was necessary to take a boat to thepower plant,” said Ormsby in a lateri n t e r v i e w. The flood caused countlessother difficulties that were compoundedby a lack of facilities for drying or fixingthe wet equipment. As a result, powerwas off for at least three weeks. It wasthis disaster, and a smaller flood in 1 9 0 0,


John and Elizabeth Walter formedone of Edmonton’s most memorablefounding families. John built many ofthe businesses and institutions thatwere critical to the city’s early devel-opment, including a sawmill, a coalmine, and a ferry.

John Walter was born at Senness,on the Orkney Islands, on August 12,1849. The Hudson’s Bay Companylured him to North America; hearrived at York Factory on HudsonBay in 1870. He then made a longjourney to Edmonton, first toNorway House on Lake Winnipeg,then on to Edmonton via theSaskatchewan River. While he could,he traveled by York boat. As winterset in, however, his party continuedon by dog train. He finally reachedEdmonton on December 24.

Elizabeth Newby was also born inGreat Britain, in Yorkshire, in 1860.She came to Canada in 1880, andlived in Toronto for two years. Shethen traveled by rail to Brandon, andfrom there made her way to PheasantPlains by oxcart.

Elizabeth left Pheasant Plains forWinnipeg after only one year; therewere too few people of her age livingthere. After leaving Winnipeg sheworked in an orphanage for Nativechildren in Morely. She finally arrivedin Edmonton in 1886. There, she metJohn, whom she married on October21 of that same year.

By this time, John had become apillar in the emerging community. Hehad left the Hudson’s Bay Companyto pursue his own interests. Theseinterests included Walter’s Ferry, the

first ferry service to cross the NorthSaskatchewan, and a boat-buildingoperation that provided small scowsto both the Hudson’s Bay Companyand the government.

When the railway began bringingsettlers into the Edmonton area in1891, John’s business diversified. Heopened a sawmill, started a coal mine,became the owner of a considerablequantity of land, invested in an elec-trical generating station, and built asteamer that sailed the NorthSaskatchewan. He and Elizabeth hadtwo sons: John William and Stanley,who both grew up to operate farms inthe Sandy Lake district of Alberta.

A series of floods damaged John’soperations around the turn of the cen-tury. At this time, many businesseswere located on the banks of the river.John urged the government to dosomething to decrease the severity ofthe flooding. But a flood in 1915destroyed not only John’s sawmill, butmany homes as well. John abandonedhis mill, but retained sufficient equityin other interests to go into semi-retirement, though he intended tore-enter the business world.

Unfortunately, however, John diedon Christmas morning, 1920, after anoperation at Edmonton’s RoyalAlexandra Hospital. Elizabeth sur-vived her husband, and continued tolive in her large green house on theriver’s edge. Today, Edmontonremembers the Walters through theJohn Walter Museum.

Source: text prepared by the Northern Alberta Pioneers and Old

Timers Association

John and Elizabeth Walter


that would eventually lead to the deci-sion to move the plant to higher ground.

Once the power plant was back in oper-ation, it remained in good running orderunder private ownership for several more years. In 1901, however,the company’s franchise came to an end.In May 1902, after 10 successful andprofitable years under private owner-ship, Edmonton Electric Lighting andPower Company entered the next phaseof its existence, as the first municipally-owned electric utility in a Canada, withan installed capacity of 75 kW.


Born near Orilla, in Simcoe County,Ontario, Arthur Ormsby gained someexperience in telephone operations asa youth. He came to Edmonton onApril 16, 1892.

Arthur Ormsby made his first 50cents in Edmonton repairing a phonein the office of The Edmonton Bul-letin. Alex Taylor immediately hiredhim to work as telephone repairmanfor Taylor’s telephone company. Atthat time, there were between 25 and30 telephones in Edmonton. Taylorsubsequently had Ormsby work at theElectric Lighting and Power Company.

Mr. Ormsby continued to work forthe utilities after the Town ofEdmonton purchased the electriclight and telephone systems. Later, hewas employed solely in the electriclight department, and eventuallybecame superintendent. In 1919, he

was appointed City commissioner,and held the post until 1921, when heentered private business.

Arthur Ormsby was an avid curler.He was one of the 16 people whofounded the Edmonton Curling Clubin 1892. At that time, the club’s“rocks” were kettles filled with sand.“We decided to do it right,” Ormsbyrecalled in an interview he gave in1961, when he was 92 years old.

So we went to ... the blacksmiths. Wedescribed curling rocks to them andthey made them from iron blocks.They rounded off the blocks andwelded iron handles on them. Weordered just enough rocks for onegame at a time.

We sent away to Winnipeg for thedimensions of a curling rink, andmarked one out on the river where the

Macdonald Hotel is now. We markedthe sheet with paint and it lasted allwinter.

They used moccasins or skates forshoes, and ordinary householdbrooms.

We tried curling at night with thelight from coal oil lanterns, but itwasn’t too successful. Still, we man-aged to play two or three times aweek.

Then, in 1894, the club built alean-to alongside the lumberyardowned by D.R. Fraser. These facilitiesattracted the attention of other Alber-ta teams, and played host to manyfriendly tournaments.

Sources: The Edmonton Journal, 1954,

1961, and Ormsby’s obituary

Arthur Ormsby

LEFT: Edmonton’s power plant during thedisastrous flood of 1899.


A variety of electrical appliances were available to Edmontonians in this early twentieth century store.

CHAPTER 2 FINAL 2/7/02 10:09 PM Page 8

Chapter 2

Moving with the Times

• • • • •

1902 – 1919

he first two decades of the twentiethcentury brought great change to bothEdmonton and the new Province ofAlberta. The Klondike Gold Rush,begun in 1896, would bring prospectorsto the West. Homesteaders continued toflood into the area, attracted by govern-ment-funded advertisements promotingsettlement. In 1902, a railway bridgewas built across the North Saskat-chewan River, linking Edmonton to therest of Canada. Two years later, Edmon-ton was incorporated as a city. In 1905,it became the capital of the new provinceof Alberta. By 1908, Edmonton had itsown streetcar system. In 1912, Edmon-ton amalgamated with Strathcona, itsneighbour to the south, raising thecapital’s population from 24,900 to30,479. By the time an economic slumpslowed the city’s economy in 1914,Edmonton’s population had grown to72,516.

Edmonton needed to provide manyservices to its growing population. Oneof those services was electricity. In 1902,the city became the first in Canada tooperate its own electrical utility. To meetthe needs of a quadrupling populationand increasing per capita demand, theutility increased its generating capacity13-fold between 1907 and 1914, to9,375 kW. Those responsible for thisexpansion faced considerable and uniquechallenges during this time of growthand transition.

The Sale of Edmonton Electric Lighting and PowerDespite the success of Edmonton Elec-tric Lighting and Power under itsprivate owners, there had been occasion-al lapses in service over the years. The

TMilestones

1902The Low Level Bridge connectingEdmonton and Strathcona opens.

1903The Edmonton Journal

begins publication.

1904The City of Edmonton purchases

Alex Taylor’s telephone system for $17,000.

1905Alberta becomes a province within

the Dominion of Canada, withEdmonton as its capital city.

1908Classes begin at the

University of Alberta.

Edmonton’s streetcar system begins operation.

The City of Edmonton installs thefirst automatic dialing telephones in

North America.

1909The City of Edmonton hires Alex

Decoteau, Canada’s first Native police officer. He will later be killed during

the Great War.

1911Alberta’s legislature building opens;construction is completed in 1913.

ELECTRICITY: A term applied to

that unknown power in nature, which

produces electric phenomena.

– from the 1911

Handy Electrical Dictionary

9 Chapter 2: Moving with the Times


people of Edmonton were voicing theirdissatisfaction to Edmonton TownCouncil. So, in January 1902, whenEdmonton Electric Lighting and Powerasked for a 10-year renewal of its fran-chise, the Town decided to purchase theutility outright.

On May 8, 1902 the Town ofEdmonton officially took over the own-ership of Edmonton Electric Lightingand Power. For $13,500 the municipali-ty acquired the powerhouse, itsgenerators, three boilers, and all otherassets.

The electrical utility required consid-erable renovation when it wastransferred to municipal ownership. Thegenerating station had been built on a

flood-prone spot on the riverbank.Flooding had caused much as-yet unre-paired damage to equipment and to thefoundations under one of the engines;the plant’s vulnerability was made clear ashort time after the transfer of assets,when a broken crankshaft left the community in total darkness. To w ncommissioners decided to move theplant out of harm’s way. Operationswere moved a short distance upstream,to just east of the Walterdale (1 0 5 S t r e e t )B r i d g e ’s present location. The stationbuilt at this location was the originalRossdale Power Plant; it included awater pumping station. Coincidentally,the municipal plant was built partly onthe site of an early Fort Edmonton.

New equipment was also necessary tomake the utility reliable. The generatingsystem in use at the time of transfer ofownership was becoming outdated, andthough an existing generator could stillbe used, more generating capacity wasneeded.

Considerable funds were spent tobuild the new building, move in the oldequipment, and to purchase and install anew generator. The new facility wasnamed Edmonton Water and LightStation.

The distribution system was also


The [new] electric light plant wasinstalled by the Canadian GeneralElectric Company under the supervi-sion of Chas. L. Leacock ... The oldelectric light plant, which is in opera-tion as well as the new, consists of tworeturn tubular boilers of 80 horse-power each and one tandemcompound engine of 150 horsepower.The boilers are fed by a ... duplexoutside packed pump with sufficientcapacity to feed four boilers.

The boilers supply steam to run thewaterworks pump during the day.Arrangements have lately been madeto have the plant fitted with a 1000-horsepower condenser. There is aforce of 450 horsepower available forthe electric light plant, but only about250 horsepower are now being used.The pumps require 100 horsepowerto run both together. For electriclighting the large engine is run until

11:30 PM, then the 150 horsepowerengine until 5:30 PM, when the largeengine is run again until morning.

The dynamo and switchboard ofthe electric light plant were installedby the Canadian General Electriccompany. The machine is a 3,000light S.K.C. alternator, excited by a 4 1/2 K.W.D.C. bypolar generator.Upon the blue Vermont marbleswitchboard are mounted one-voltmeters with a new style of doublethrow switch, which connects eitherphase of the machine to the motor.There are two ampere meters, one oneach circuit, one ground detector; alsofour switches upon board, one toconnect the exciter to the alternatorfields, the generator to the bus barsand two switches which connect thebus bars to the transmission line.There are also two rheostats: one con-trolling the field current of the exciter

and the other regulating the amountof current flowing to the alternatorfield. At the bottom of the switch-boards are two regular heads, eachone being connected with several coilsof armature, allowing an adjustmentof voltage if either phase is moreheavily loaded than the other.

Provision is also made for runningthe old machine at the same time asthe new one. A lamp mounted uponthe switches indicates by its pulsationsthe relative speeds of the twomachines: when the lamp is bright thetwo generators are in phase and theswitches can be closed, paralleling thesame.

From The Daily Edmonton,

1903

*Note: Generation at this time was two

phase alternating current. Three-phase alter-

nating current later became standard.

A Report from the Plant

OPPOSITE: The Rossdale Power Plant at theturn of the century. INSET: The building’sdatestone survived the demolition of the origi-nal plant.



Inauguration Day, September 1, 1905Those were wonderful days, the dayssurrounding September 1, 1905. Theywere wonderful nights, too. In fact, itmight be said the nights were almostmore wonderful than the days ...During the nights Edmonton, thenew capital, rivaled Paris for the title:City of Light. Edmonton blazed withlights as it never had before. And theelectric light department of the newcapital helped to make it so, by givingeveryone [two days] of free power ...It was on the “powerhouse.” LetEdmonton be the city of light. Thefirst place they decorated was AlbertaCollege, just off First and Jasper.Alberta College was headquarters forthe inauguration revelry, and stringafter string of coloured lights werehung on the college. Down on 98thStreet the front of the fire hall was

ablaze with mottoes and designs,worked out in coloured lights.

Across from the fire hall on JasperAvenue, the round tower of theAlberta Hotel was transformed into abarber pole by alternate strings of red,white, and blue lights. [Along] thelength of Jasper Avenue ... up toFourth Street – there were archesproclaiming the greatness of the newprovince. The arches were hung withsheaves of wheat, evergreens, and ofcourse, lights. The Hudson’s Bay storeand Revillon Freres were spangledwith white stars. The residentialstreets were bright with Japaneselanterns hung in the trees. The verynight was dazzled by the brightness.... By night Edmonton was a veritablebeacon ....

From The Edmonton Story,

by Tony Cashman, 1956

Alberta Becomes a Province

Milestones(continued)

1911Calgary Power Company Limited

is registered.

1912Strathcona amalgamates with

Edmonton.

1913The High Level and Walterdale

bridges are opened in Edmonton.

The Alberta legislature building opens.

The City of Edmonton appointsAnnie Jackson, Canada’s first female

police officer.

1914World War 1 begins.

1915Edmonton’s Commercial Grads

basketball club is formed.

Edmonton’s 49th Battalion goes overseas to fight in Europe.

1916Alberta women gain the right to

vote in provincial elections.

Prohibition comes to Alberta.

1918The Spanish influenza epidemic

strikes Alberta.


improved and expanded; new poles wereinstalled while existing ones werealtered for better transmission. In addi-tion, a newly installed series streetlighting system meant that streetlightscould be turned on from a single point;previously, each one had to be turned onindividually. This was fortunate, as thestreetlights were growing in number:there were only 53 lights in 1905, and1550 by 1920.

Before the Town of Edmonton tookover the provision of electricity to its res-idents, the service was provided onlyuntil late in the evening. With municipalownership, service was increased to 24hours a day.

A Growing MarketDespite the purchase of new equipment,demand for power soon exceeded theutility’s generating capacity. The area ofthe city grew from 7.17 square miles in1904 to 14.67 square miles in 1908 andto 40.88 square miles in 1914. Further-more, the population increased from14,088 in 1906 to 23,000 in 1909, thento 72,516 by 1914. In 1908, the Cityhad also taken over ownership of thestreet railway system, which operated ondirect current electricity. Grain milling,grain elevators, machine shops, andpacking plants established themselves inEdmonton. Expansion of the power andlight service would have to keep step

with the general development of the city.From 1904 to 1914, Edmonton

undertook yearly expansions of electricalservices. Two million dollars was raisedfor the power plant, and one milliondollars was raised for the distributionsystem. These investments soon began topay off; by the end of this period, theutility was producing a $300,000surplus for the City every year.

How was the money spent? Additionswere made to the Rossdale building in1906 and 1908. In 1908, a Loomis-Pettibone gas producer of 750 horse-power capacity was installed, along witha gas-engine-driven three-phase alterna-tor. Then, in 1910, a 2,000 kWturbo-generator was installed. Two moregenerators were added in the followingyear: a second 2,000 kW unit, and a 400kW direct current generator that ener-gized the street railway. The railwayrequired more power, however, so anadditional 750 kW direct current gener-ator was added in 1912. Then again in1913, a 4,000 kW turbo-generator waspurchased and installed to bring thetotal alternating current generatingcapacity at Rossdale to 9,375 kW.

The distribution system, too, was indire need of renovation; it had become asystem of feeders so complicated thateconomical operation became impossi-ble. With the economic depressionduring World War I, however, therewas little that could be done to improvethe system until 1922.

Beyond City BordersFrom time to time, as the city’s powerplant was stretched to the limit, alterna-tives to the utility’s thermal generatorswere examined. In 1904, at the sugges-tion of the Edmonton Board of Trade, a


According to an Edmonton Bulletinarticle dating from June 5, 1916, PeterMcNaughton was “one of the best-known Edmonton citizens.” He was agraduate of the mechanical engineer-ing program at McGill University, anda member of the Canadian Society ofMechanical Engineers. McNaughtonapparently came to Edmonton fromHuntingdon, Quebec in 1898, and wassoon employed as the power engineerat the city power plant. He retainedthis position until 1910.

McNaughton was active in civicaffairs, and spent a two-year term as aCity commissioner. He earned theesteem and confidence of a greatmany people. In a September 1903letter to the Town of Edmonton, forexample, he makes a request to thecouncil for holidays on behalf of powerplant employees. No doubt hisworkers respected him. “Of a genialdisposition, he was exceedingly well

liked by all. A mechanic, a scientist, as o l d i e r, he was a typical type of the all-round Canadian.”

McNaughton had always taken aninterest in military affairs, and there-fore was eager to sign up for servicesoon after World War 1 broke out.Like so many others, he was never toreturn. Sometime in June, 1916 hiswife was notified that machinegunner Peter McNaughton had beenkilled in action.

Source: The Edmonton Bulletin, 1916

Peter McNaughton



Edmonton’s first electric generatingunits were fed steam produced incoal-fired boilers. The Town ofEdmonton contracted Samuel Moranto provide this coal. Moran was toprovide graded coal to the generatingstation for a flat fee of $225 permonth. The contract obliged Moranto supply fuel sufficient to supply1500 customers. If the customer baseincreased, Moran would receive anadditional $15 for every 100 cus-tomers in excess of 1500.

Coal!

TOP LEFT and RIGHT: Additions weremade to the Rossdale Power Plant in 1906 and1908.

RIGHT: Streetcars running on direct currentpower were an important part of Edmonton’stransport system in 1910.

BELOW RIGHT: Both the legislature andthe High Level Bridge were under constructionin 1912. Rossdale is visible on the far right ofthis photograph.


consultant was hired to examine the pos-sibility of a hydro-electric plant on theNorth Saskatchewan River 50 miles tothe west of the city. According to thereport finally made available in 1907,this was a feasible plan, though quiteexpensive: it required a capital outlay of$1 million and yearly costs of $139,000.

So the hydro-electric idea was shelveduntil 1 9 1 0, when the City explored thepossibility of a hydro-electric facility onthe Athabasca River, at Grand Rapids,2 0 0 miles north of the city. This idea wassoundly defeated at the polls. Again, in1 9 1 2, the idea of a hydro plant on theSaskatchewan was investigated but laterrejected. Though the City wanted to dealwith its growing need for power, it


In accordance with the policy of theCommissioners, the management ofthe substation was taken over by thePower Plant from May 1st, 1913, andat the same time debenture liabilitiesamounting to $149,551.03 weretransferred from the Street Railwaybooks to those of the Power Plant. At

this time the only substation was asmall wooden structure on SyndicateAvenue [95 Street], equipped withone 500 K.W. motor generator. As itwas decided to abandon this site,plans were at once prepared andconstruction commenced on a permanent brick substation of

modern type, situated on John Street[80 Street], adjoining the new carbarns. A transmission voltage of6,600 volts was determined to be themost economical, and was, therefore,adopted – two 1,000 K.V.A. threephase, step-down transformers beinginstalled in the substation. DuringNovember, 1913, the new substationwas put into service with one 500K.W. motor generator, which wastransferred from a temporary locationat the Power Plant. Early in 1914 theold substation will be dismantled andthe motor generator and equipmentre-erected in the new one, which willthen contain 1,000 K.W. rating ofsynchronous motor-generatingmachinery and 2,000 K.V.A. trans-former capacity.

From the Edmonton Light and Power

1913 Annual Report

L E F T: 100 Substation in 2000.

From the Edmonton Light and Power Annual Report, 1913

Rossdale, or Ross Flats as it was firstknown, got its name from local hote-lier Donald Ross. Ross came toEdmonton in the early 1870s, wherehe was to erect the third house builtin Edmonton, after the Hudson’s BayCompany and the Mission. Being oneof the few European men in town, hishospitality was stretched to the limit;thus, he decided to charge visitors$0.50 for meals. This was his start asa hotelier. He opened the EdmontonHotel in 1876. Ross’s hotel was thefirst to be established west of Portage

La Prairie. Fitted up with rooms,kitchen, bar, and billiard tables, theEdmonton Hotel would remain as alandmark until 1925, when it wasdestroyed by fire. No doubt theEdmonton Hotel was one of Edmon-ton Light and Power’s preferredcustomers. The power plant, still situ-ated in Rossdale, continues to bearDonald Ross’s name.

Sources: The Edmonton

Bulletin 1915, The Edmonton Journal

1955, The Alberta Hotelman 1965, and

City of Edmonton Archive material

How did Rossdale get its name?



seemed unable to settle on a solution.F i n a l l y, in 1 9 1 4, it appeared as though theCity had resolved to purchase new equip-ment, including a boiler system, forRossdale. Despite these intentions, thisinitiative was delayed when World War 1broke out.

AmalgamationWhen Edmonton amalgamated withStrathcona in 1 9 1 2, the StrathconaPower Plant became Edmonton’s respon-s i b i l i t y. Edmonton had occasionallypurchased power from this plant to meetpeak demands. Large sums of moneyhad been spent on machinery prior to theamalgamation. According to the PowerHouse Annual Report of 1 9 1 3, twoboilers together with a 6 0 0 kW slow-

speed engine and alternator had been putinto service in Strathcona. A new brickstack had been built and a considerableamount of money had been spent on coalunloading facilities. Unfortunately, afteramalgamation the City operated thisplant only when it was necessary, and itcontributed only 1 . 6 6 % to the totaloutput in 1 9 1 3. The poor condition ofthe building and its foundations, as wellas the high cost of fuel, made the plantuneconomical to operate.

Alliance Power Compa n yOwnership of utilities was a hotly-debated topic in the early decades of thetwentieth century – many thought thatpublic utilities should be privatized,while others were opposed to this idea.

Edmonton Light and Power did notescape scrutiny. City Council hadreceived numerous proposals fromprivate businesses that wanted to partici-pate in the electrical industry. When thequestion was put to the public in a refer-endum, they agreed that this would be apositive step forward. Consequently, pro-posals were called for, and from 1 9 1 6 t o1 9 1 9 the Alliance Power Company tookover the power plant. They sold power inbulk to the Electric Light and PowerDepartment of the City of Edmonton.This arrangement came to an end due tofinancial difficulties.

Undoubtedly, the City of Edmontonfaced many challenges as it kept up withthe ever-increasing demand for electrici -

Politics are a part of business atmunicipally-owned utilities likeEdmonton Light and Power. The“Bouillon Affair” of 1911 made thisparticularly apparent.

Mr. Bouillon moved from Seattle toEdmonton in April 1910. The Cityhired him to manage its municipalutilities; as a commissioner, Bouillonwas paid the then-astronomical figureof $10,000 per year. This high salarydidn’t please everyone, and so Mr.Bouillon began his career in Edmon-ton on the wrong foot. This was justthe beginning. As time went by,Bouillon proved to be what peoplecalled a “czar,” about as close as onecould get to a dictator: he wanted torun all the departments himself andin his own way. City aldermenattempted to get rid of Bouillon afterrealizing that he did not meet

expectations. This task involved legaland civic battles, and spurred a mediawar that produced both comedy anddrama for local citizens.

In early January of 1911, eight daysafter the public declaration of warbetween Bouillon and some of theCity aldermen, Commissioner Bouil-lon refused to recommend that thecity power plant superintendent goalong with a civic party to easternCanada on a buying trip. Two dayslater, he fired both the power plantsuperintendent and the head of thestreet railway. He refused to give anyreasons. When councilors protested,he reminded them that hiring andfiring was a power given to commis-sioners. This further enraged thecouncilors, and they “fixed” him byrefusing to allow him to go on athree-week holiday. The street

railway also sent him a bill for $22.50for four late streetcars he had orderedto run after midnight mass on Christ-mas Eve.

Later that year, Edmonton CityCouncil decided to have Bouillon hirean engineer to advise them on bigpurchases like power plant equip-ment. Bouillon hired a fellow whoinitially seemed competent. But it wassoon discovered that his main engi-neering experience had been gainedwhile installing some minor equip-ment at the Ponoka Mental Hospital.

Finally, after numerous legal chal-lenges, the City was able to rid itselfof Bouillon: he was fired. Ironically,he went back to Seattle where he tooka job managing a big shipyard – for asalary of $40,000 per year.

The Bouillon Affair: The Power Plant Connection



ty during the period from 1902 to 1914.However, financial records show thatthe City made a considerable profit fromthe utility during this time, and was ableto keep rates among the lowest inCanada, at $0.08 per kWh.

Over the same period, from 1902 to1914, the ability of the power plant to

meet demand also increased. From a netcapacity of 225 kW in 1902 (after theupgrade), net capacity had risen to 9,375kW by 1914.

When the Great War came to a closein 1918, soldiers began to return toEdmonton. Businesses again began toflourish. Edmonton Light and Power

would continue to face the challenge ofresponding to a growing demand forpower in a thriving city.

At the power plant, the scene wasrather remarkable. The entire staff isworking under high pressure, and insome instances, under high water.Several of the [ash] pits [in the plant’sbasement] have from four to six feetof water in them. As the power plantis the vital heart of the city, MayorHenry and Commissioner Harlsonkept gravitating to this point to seehow things were going. The waterkept rising in the pits at the averagerate of one foot every hour. But it wasnoticed that by three o’clock in theafternoon the rate of rise was decreas-ing and it was felt that unless the

entire plant was flooded in from thesurrounding land, it would be possi-ble to keep it going.

The only way in which it was possi-ble to keep the plant running was tokeep ... the water out of the ash pits.Here a big six-inch hose was attachedto a high power pump and a greatstream of water was forced out of thepits just a trifle faster than it wascoming in from the river. In this waythe water was kept below the level ofthe fireboxes and steam was kept up,although the stokers were working inwater all day long to do it.

from The Edmonton Bulletin, 1915

Power Plant and Pumping Station Withstood Test: Flats Flooded to First Street

ABOVE: The accounting office at Rossdaleearly in the twentieth century.

“Illuminated electric signs as amethod of advertising will soon be athing of the past,” said Electric Super-intendent Ormsby to the Bulletinyesterday, in discussing this methodof street advertising.

“Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver,Winnipeg and all the other largecities are drawing the lines tighter onelectric sign advertising, and in Min-neapolis and St. Paul, where it used tobe a big feature, it is being rapidlydiscarded,” he continued.

“What is the objection?” the Bul-letin representative asked.

“The great complaint is theunsightly appearance of the signs inday time. They resemble rookeries inthe best parts of the city,” replied Mr.Ormsby.

“Another reason is that it is hard toregulate them. Every person who getsa sign tries to go one better than hisneighbour, and completely eclipsehim if he can. You can see thatalready along Jasper Avenue.

“Edmonton will give more atten-tion to street lighting, as Minneapolisand St. Paul are now doing, and theresult will be a much better appear-ance both in the day and at night.”

from The Edmonton Bulletin, 1910

Electric Signs are Being Discarded


Chapter 3

Expanding Power• • • • •

1920 – 1929

n May 1, 1922, Alberta’s first com-mercial radio station, CJCA, went onthe air in Edmonton. The 50 W stationwas located in the offices of The Edmon-ton Journal. At the time, there were 200radios in the city. By 1927, 10,000licensed radio sets were in use inAlberta. For the first time, Albertans inisolated parts of the province could hearnews, weather, and entertainment pro-grams. They could also learn about thelives and interests of other people in theprovince.

During the 1920s, the applications ofelectricity greatly diversified. Whileradio was enabling people to learn aboutthe wider world, other electrical appli-ances were transforming people’sdomestic lives. In Edmonton andCalgary, electric wringer washersreplaced washboards, and brooms weresacrificed to the vacuum cleaner.Kerosene lamps were relegated to

17 Chapter 3: Expanding Power

OMilestones

1923Natural gas is first used for

domestic purposes in Edmonton.

CKCK Regina makes Canada’s firstradio broadcast of a hockey game.

1924Oil is struck in Turner Valley,

southwest of Calgary.

1926Blatchford Field, Canada’s first municipal airport, is established

in Edmonton.

1927Canada celebrates its sixtieth

anniversary as a nation.

Canadian Utilities begins generating electricity for small

Alberta communities.

1928The City of Edmonton installs one ofthe world’s largest 10,000 kW turbine

generators at its Rossdale plant.

1929Alberta pilots Wilfred “Wop” May

and Vic Horner fly desperatelyneeded diphtheria antitoxin to

Fort Vermilion.

Emily Murphy and Nellie McClungsucceed in having British courts

declare that Canadian women are legally “persons.”

BELOW: A growing number of customerstook advantage of a variety of electrical conveniences in the 1920s.


Obsolete technology and massivedemand increases posed just a few ofthe challenges that faced Edmonton’selectrical utility during the 1 9 2 0s. F o r t u n a t e l y, an able manager wasavailable to guide the Rossdale PowerPlant through this tumultuous period.William J. Cunningham, a soft-spokenman with a strong English accent, wasborn in Altrincham, England in 1 8 8 6.He studied engineering at the Univer-sity of Manchester, and eventuallymoved to North America to work forthe City power plant in Calgary. By1 9 1 5 , he was assistant superintendentof the plant.

Later, Cunningham left his job tojoin the war effort. His skills werevaluable to the Royal Gun Factory inWoolwich, England, where heworked as a munitions inspector.After the war, Cunningham returnedto Calgary and resumed his work atthe power plant. In 1919, however,Cunningham accepted a job as thesuperintendent of Edmonton’s powerplant. Cunningham’s job in Edmon-ton would expand twice over thefollowing few years: in 1920, he wasmade responsible for the water plant,and in 1925, he was asked to managethe city’s electric railway system.

Cunningham was intimately con-cerned with the day-to-day work of theareas he managed. He kept himselfinformed of the latest innovations inengineering technology. In 1 9 2 7, hetraveled to England to visit otherpower plants and learn about innova-tions in electrical technology. Duringhis tenure at the Edmonton powerplant, Cunningham used his knowl-

edge and credibility to advise citypoliticians on costly expansions as wellas collaborations with other companies.

Like many Rossdale managersbefore and since, Cunningham wasactive in many voluntary associationsin Edmonton. He was president ofthe Association of Professional Engi-neers of Alberta and of the EdmontonGolf and Country Club; he was also amember of the Masonic Lodge.


Unfortunately, all of this activity,coupled with hard work and heavyresponsibilities, may have cost Cun-ningham his health. In 1934, hesuffered a major stroke and died at 47years of age. His death shocked cityofficials. According to an account in theMay 14, 1937 issue of The EdmontonBulletin,

[Cunningham] was highly regardedby civic officials with whom heworked and also by the large staff ofemployees of both the power and streetrailway departments for his fairness,good nature, and unceasing efforts tobetter conditions in the branch ofindustry in which he attained such ahigh place.

Sources: The Edmonton Journal, 1934,1935, 1937; Edmonton Bulletin, 1934

William J. Cunningham

LEFT: William Cunningham.

BELOW: Chain grate stokers used with aboiler installed in 1914. Cunningham is in theright foreground wearing a white shirt and tie.


garden sheds and electric light bulbshung from the ceilings of many urbanhomes. This trend toward greaterconsumption, coupled with a growingpopulation, meant explosive increases indemand for electricity.

Management atthe UtilitiesWilliam Cunningham was the superin-tendent of Rossdale Power Plant in the1920s. Although Rossdale was managedseparately from the electrical distribu-tion system (which was called theElectric Light and Power Department,and was managed by superintendentsBarnhouse and Murphy) during thistime, many other aspects of the city’s

infrastructure came under Cunning-ham’s wing. In 1920, Cunninghambegan to manage the water treatmentand pumping plant. This was a logicalarrangement, as the power plant provid-ed the electric energy and steamnecessary for the operation of the pumps,filters, and other equipment that thepumping and filtration systems needed.The power plant also provided warmwater to keep the treatment plants,filters, and the distribution mains opera-tional in cold weather. The power plantsupplied direct current electricity to thestreet railway; thus, Cunningham cameto manage the streetcar system as well.

A Growing DemandBetween 1920 and 1929, Edmonton’spopulation grew from 61,045 to 74,298.

One of the reasons for this growth wasthe number of soldiers returning fromthe battlefields of World War 1. It was atime of relief and optimism followingthe harsh days of war; thus, new indus-tries were established and both factoriesand homes were built. Constructionboomed, more than doubling in thelatter half of the decade.

According to a table that appeared inThe Edmonton Journal in 1935, Edmon-ton’s Electric Light and PowerDepartment had 15,445 electricity cus-tomers in January 1921. By January1930, this number had increased to20,082. The demand for electricity inthe same period rose from 1,266,900kWh for January, 1921 to 3,515,163kWh for the same month in 1930.

The power plant required expansion


ABOVE: As soldiers returned from World War

I, demand for electricity skyrocketed.


due to increased demand and the needfor greater reliability. Electricity was nolonger just a convenience or a luxury bythe 1920s: it had become a necessity.Superintendent Cunningham recog-nized this fact:

The supply of energy must not fail forone second – the lighting of the homes,hospitals, public buildings, and streets aredependent upon it. The wheels of indus-try must be kept turning by the manifoldapplications of the electric motor, andtransportation provided by the energysupplied to the street railway lines. Incase of trouble arising in the complicatedstructure of producing and deliveringenergy, the first aim of the staff is tomaintain and restore the service, nomatter what the cost.

New Equipment NeededBetween 1914 and 1921, the generatingcapacity of the Rossdale Power Plant didnot expand. As demand increasedduring this time, more pressure wasplaced on rapidly aging equipment. In1920, machinery breakdowns, over-hauls, and repair work cost the city astaggering $56,865. As SuperintendentCunningham noted:

Probably owing to the fact that the firstperiod of growth occurred during theyears in which rapid development wastaking place in the design of electricalmachinery, a large amount of equipmentwas installed which quickly becameobsolete.

Throughout the 1920s, the city wouldinvest in new and innovative equipment

that would expand the installed generat-ing capacity of the Rossdale Power Plantto 23,000 kW. A 5,000 kW GeneralElectric-Curtis turbo-generator with aWheeler condensing plant was installedin 1921. To accommodate this equip-ment, the basement floor of the powerplant was excavated and a new founda-tion was built. The leaky roof over theengine room was replaced, and a trans-former and switching station were built.

In 1922, old and dangerous switchingcontrol equipment was also replaced.New circuit breakers, bus-bar equip-ment, and three new transformers wereinstalled. In the end, Rossdale’s entireoutput was operated by remote controlfrom the board located in the turbineroom.

The greatest source of pride for staff atthe power plant during the 1 9 2 0s was the1 0 , 0 0 0 kW Parsons turbine generator thatoperated at a speed of 3 , 6 0 0 R P M .Installed in 1 9 2 7, this piece of equipmentrepresented a major technologicaladvance. Previous machines were smaller

or ran at lower speeds. The new high-speed generator was the first of its typeinstalled in North America. It cost the city$ 2 1 5 , 0 0 0. It demonstrated the progres-sive, courageous attitude of the City andthe utility. Sir Charles A. Parsons andLady Parsons traveled to Edmonton fromN e w c a s t l e - u p o n - Tyne, England, to com-mission the unit in 1 9 2 9.

DistributionThe effective distribution of electricitywas also a priority for Edmonton’spower managers in the 1920s. Bus bars,feeders, and transformers were updated.In 1922, a 13,200 V ring main feedersystem was started. Many new substa-tions were built. Substations weredistribution centres where voltage wasreduced from 13,200 V to 2,300 V. Thislower level of voltage was carried downstreets and lanes and converted to 110 Vfor use in the homes of residential cus-tomers. According to Electric Light andPower Superintendent Barnhouse, substations made it possible for linemen


RIGHT: The General Electric-Curtis turbo-generator that was installed in 1921.


to make repairs to the distributionnetwork in one part of the city withoutshutting down the main power line.

The Street RailwayEdmonton’s power plant provided elec-tricity to the electric streetcars thatrumbled along the city’s main arteries.The production of direct current for thestreet railway posed special problems. Inthe early 1920s, motor generators at 100

Substation (located at 80 Street and 115Avenue) produced 1,200 kW for therailway. Generators at the RossdalePower Plant produced an additional2,200 kW for the service. Since powerwas supplied from these two centresonly, the drop in voltage was excessive atvarious points on the streetcar system,making it difficult for the cars to startmoving again after dropping off passen-gers. The problem was made worse by

the demand for power, which increasedas the railway system expanded.

With the return of the soldiers follow-ing World War 1, ridership on thebrown and yellow electric streetcarsincreased steadily. Railway lines wereextended and more streetcars were pur-chased. The aging equipment at thepower plant and motor generators at100 Substation could not keep pace withthis increase. Equipment breakdownsmeant that rail service was interruptedfor days at a stretch; in one case, a shortcircuit in one of the motor generatorstook four days to repair.

In March 1927, Superintendent Cun-ningham put in an urgent request toCity commissioners recommending thata second-hand 750 kW motor generatorbe purchased from the City of Calgary,to be used to provide electricity for thestreet railway. The request was granted.The purchase cost $17,000, includingdismantling, freight, and installation ofthe unit.

In 1929, a mercury arc power rectifierwas purchased to convert alternatingcurrent to direct current for the streetrailway. This increased the supply ofcurrent available to the railway systemby making the total output of Rossdaleeligible for powering streetcars.

In the long term, Cunningham pro-posed building additional substationsand replacing outdated equipment toeffectively deal with the streetcarproblem. While City commissionersembraced Cunningham’s proposals, theGreat Depression of the 1930s would


FAR LEFT: 400 Substation in the 1920s.

LEFT: Fifty-foot poles were erected acrossEdmonton to carry telephone, power, and streetrailway lines.

The 10,000 kW Parsons turbine gen-erator that was installed in Rossdalewith so much pride in 1927 was soldto Saskatchewan Power in 1950. TheSaskatchewan utility did not takewith it the Howden exciter and steamengine (LEFT) that had worked withthe generator. It was thereforedecided to place the exciter on a smallpedestal between the sundial and theflagpole which were then in front ofthe Rossdale office. Unfortunately,politicians raised concerns about thisarrangement and the machine wassold for scrap.

A Memorable Machine


delay the implementation of many ofthem. Provision of power to the streetrailway would continue to be a techni-cally demanding and financiallydraining problem for superintendentsand City commissioners alike for manyyears to come.

The Trouble ManThe proliferation of electrical appliancesin the 1920s may have made life easierfor consumers, but it also meant thatmore things could go wrong. In theearly 1920s, a customer who noticed astrange burning smell coming from anelectric wringer washer might call the


RIGHT: Early mercury arc rectifiers such asthese were used to convert alternating currentinto direct current to power the street railway.

Rossdale Power Plant frequentlyturned to new generating equipmentto increase efficiency and output.However, there were other ways tomeet production goals. A more effi-cient and reliable coal handling systemwas one. A new coal crusher was pur-chased and installed in December1920. Mechanical coal stokers to feedseveral of the boilers were added in1922. Boiler-induced draft fans werealso installed. These additionsimproved efficiency so effectively thatboilers installed in 1914 were able tofunction until 1931.

Steps were also taken to improve theplant’s ash disposal system. In 1921, alight industrial track with dump carswas installed in the basement of theplant. These cars removed ashes anddumped them into an undergroundbunker. A locomotive crane removedthe ashes from the bunker and loaded

them into railway cars. The disposal system modifications

were successful: in 1922, 18 men were

needed to remove the ash. A yearlater, only 8 men were required.

Coal and Ash

BELOW: Stokers at Rossdale in 1923.


Electric Lighting and Power Depart-m e n t ’s “trouble man.” He would appearon the customer’s doorstep, attempt tofind the source of the problem, and fix it.

The trouble man was on duty untilmidnight every day except Saturday andSunday. On those nights, the troublephone was switched to 100 Substation sothe substation operator could respond tocalls. By 1926, this arrangement was nolonger practical.

In a December 6, 1926 letter to CityCommissioner Mitchell, Electric Lightand Power Superintendent Murphy asksthat trouble service be extended toinclude the weekends.

As an example of the necessity for thisarrangement, we might refer to the caseof trouble that occurred in the north enddistrict about a week ago ... The officetrouble man went off duty at 7 PM andphone calls were switched to the substa-tion; as the substation operator was thenbusy testing switches, etc., it was not pos-sible for him to give proper attention tothe many phone calls received.

Mitchell agreed to Murphy’s request.Late that month, weekend troubleservice was established, with the“trouble man” receiving $4.00 for eachsix-hour weekend shift.

Lighting Up the StreetsTraffic jams were becoming common inEdmonton by 1927, as there werebetween 7,000 and 8,000 cars in the city.“Tin Lizzies” – Model T Fords – viedfor parking spots in Edmonton’s marketsquare (now Churchill Square). Trucks

replaced horse-drawn delivery wagons.As the number of automobiles grew, sodid the need for improved street lighting.Edmonton’s Electric Light and PowerDepartment responded by increasing thenumber of streetlights to 2016.

A Profitable VentureEven with a large number of equipmentpurchases, the City’s electric utilitieswere able to maintain healthy surplusesthroughout the 1920s. In 1928, Edmon-ton’s Electric Lighting and PowerDepartment showed a surplus of$1,593,433. That same year, the Powerand Pumping Plant had a surplus of$1,186,039. The benefits of these sur-pluses were passed on to customers inthe form of lowered rates. The basic ratefor electricity in the 1920s hoveredbetween $0.07 and $0.08 per kWh,with the average customer payingbetween $4.46 and $5.10 per month forelectricity.

Attracted by the healthy balance sheets,Canadian Utilities offered to purchase


Neon signs were first installed alongCalgary’s Eighth Avenue andEdmonton’s Jasper Avenue in 1928.Though signs lit with incandescentbulbs were common, neon was anentirely new and enchanting way toadvertise, and quickly gained popu-larity.

Advertisements urged merchants towrite their messages “... in letters offire – Neon.” At first, the signs wereavailable only in red – the colour nat-urally emitted when electricity passesthrough neon gas. The lettering onthe Darling’s Drug Store sign installedat the corner of Jasper Avenue and102 Street in December, 1928 owedits crimson colour to neon gas. Therewas truth to claims that neon made“indelible impressions” on the mindsof customers, because many Edmon-ton residents still remember theDarling’s Drug Store sign.

Adapted from The Spirit of Alberta:

An Illustrated Heritage,

by Helen La Rose

The First Neon Signs

BELOW: Edmonton’s electricity generatingstation as it appeared in the early 1920s.


Edmonton’s electric system in 1928. In areport that year, Superintendent Cunningham explored the advantagesand disadvantages of a sale. Cunning-ham pointed out that selling the utilitywould remove the immediate necessityof buying much-needed new equipmentand expanding Rossdale Power Plant.However, all investments in the utilitywere quickly recouped throughincreased sales of electrical power.

The offers to purchase Edmonton’selectric light and power system werequickly rejected. As CommissionerMitchell stated:

The fact that today certain powerfulprivate interests are knocking at the doorto be heard in support of their proposalsto undertake the operation of some ofthese utilities on supposedly advanta-geous terms, merely goes to prove thatthey recognize the value of the City’sutilities as a large field of industrialdevelopment which, with its promisingfuture, warrants a considerable invest-ment of capital in acquiring theseutilities.

Attention – Citizens of Edmonton!Although the City refused to sell itspower utility to a private firm, it did notclose the door to all collaborations withprivate enterprise. A memo datedDecember 28, 1928 provides the earliestevidence that such a collaboration wasunder consideration. In this memo,Power Plant Superintendent Cunning-ham briefly explores the implications of apossible interconnection of Edmonton’selectrical supply with the system operatedby Calgary Power Ltd.

On March 11, 1929, Calgary Power


Albertans have long debated themerits of public ownership of theirmunicipal electric utilities. A pam-phlet entitled “Opposition to PublicOperation” circulated in Edmontonin the 1920s, promoting the benefitsof private ownership of utilities. Itargued that “men who are competentto run great enterprises are not in pol-itics, and if they are hired to runmunicipal utilities they are too muchhindered by politics.”

It seems that many Albertansagreed. Small private companies gen-erated power for many of Alberta’s

communities in the early years ofelectricity. Except for a brief period inits history, Edmonton was the excep-tion to this rule. While operation ofthe utility would at times be “hin-dered” by politics, Edmonton wouldeventually have the largest publicpower system in Alberta. In contrast,Calgary Power, Canadian Utilities,and Northland Utilities would buyout most of the local power plants inother parts of the province.

Private vs. Public

BELOW: In the 1920s, Albertans were sub -jected to persuasive advertising that arguedfor privately-owned utilities.


Ltd. submitted a proposal to sell second-ary power to, and interchange powerwith, the Rossdale Power Plant. In anAugust 23, 1929 report exploring theimplications of such a relationship, Cun-ningham states that the existingequipment at Edmonton’s power plantcould not be expected to meet thegrowing peak load demands projectedfor the winter of 1930 – 1931.

According to Cunningham, Edmon-ton had two options: it could build anew extension to the Rossdale PowerPlant, which meant purchasing efficientbut expensive machinery. Or, it couldenter into a mutually advantageous rela-tionship with Calgary Power in whichresources would be pooled. Cunning-ham believed that Calgary Power’s offerlooked good in theory, but knew that, inpractice, it would require extreme careto ensure efficiency and low power costs.It would also only delay the need to pur-chase equipment; Edmonton would stillneed to replace machines that wererapidly becoming obsolete.

Cunningham knew that CalgaryPower was developing a province-widesystem of generation and transmission.By providing industries with competi-tive rates for power, the company wasalso attracting many large manufactur-ing businesses to Calgary. ManitobaSteel and Iron and the Dominion BridgeCompany Ltd. had both located inCalgary because of lower energy costs.In Cunningham’s view, if Edmontonand Calgary were receiving their electri-cal energy from a common system, thisdifference would be removed and the

playing field would be more level.Not all of Edmonton’s citizens were

enthusiastic about the possibility of theirpublicly-owned utility entering into arelationship with a privately-ownedcompany. In at least one case, flyers weredistributed and a public meeting held toprotest the interchange with CalgaryPower. One handbill read:

Attention – Citizens of Edmonton!The aldermen are PLEDGED toPUBLIC OWNERSHIP. Without anymandate from the people they nowintend to enter into an agreement withCalgary Power Company. The agree-ment is in effect a FRANCHISE. It isan attack on PUBLIC OWNERSHIP!THE THIN EDGE OF THEWEDGE! At its termination Edmontonwill be at the mercy of Calgary PowerCompany. CALGARY POWERCOMPANY IS NOT TO DELIVERPOWER TO THE CITY UNTIL

THE SUMMER OF 1930. There isplenty of time to ascertain the wishes ofthe citizens. LET THEM DECIDE!The contract IS NOT favorable toEdmonton. Calgary Power will notbring industries to Edmonton. The mottoof the Council should be EDMONTONFIRST! Attend the public meeting at theMemorial Hall on Thursday, Septemberthe 12th at 8:00 p.m.

Despite these protests, Edmonton CityCouncil accepted a modified version ofCalgary Power’s offer. Thus began arelationship that would provide ongoingchallenges for the managers of both util-ities for many years.

Building for the Future Besides agreeing to collaborate withCalgary Power, the City adopted anearlier plan by Cunningham. This, anambitious five-year proposal to improvethe power plant, consisted of building an


RIGHT: Inside the Rossdale plant in the 1920s.The tallest unit is the 750 kW triple expansionand engine, installed in 1910 and removed in1949.



extension to the existing plant, erectingnew buildings, acquiring and installingnew equipment, and disposing of oldmachinery.

Cunningham pointed out that thecosts of these improvements should notconcern the City of Edmonton:

Provided the requirements warrant theexpenditure, and the economic resultsattained absorb the increased charges, theamount of the investment is a secondaryconsideration. The City of Edmonton isactually only lending its credit for aninvestment which will produce largereturns. This utility has not cost the citi-

zens of Edmonton one dollar, and by afurther extension of credit, the result willbe decreased charges for light and powerthan exist at the present time.

Cunningham could not foresee the eco-nomic crisis that would soon blanket theworld. The Wall Street crash and subse-quent economic downturn would curtailsome of the utility’s ambitious expansionplans, but not for long. In 1930, the Cityof Edmonton would approve the firstphase of Cunningham’s proposal, andinvest scarce dollars on expanding theRossdale Power Plant to meet the needfor electricity.

ABOVE: In the second decade of the twentiethcentury, Edmonton’s Electric Light and PowerDepartment had its offices at 242 MacDougallAvenue. The people in this photograph mayhave staffed the early utility.


Chapter 4

Growth DespiteHard Times

• • • • •

1930 – 1939

n October 24, 1929, an event occurredthat would change the lives of peoplearound the world for the next decade.On that day, so many people lost somuch money on the New York StockExchange that the world economy wasthrown into what is now known as theGreat Depression. Despite this, Edmon-ton Light and Power and its marketexperienced growth for several subse-quent years. In 1930, electricity use inEdmonton hit new highs: the averagehome consumed 600 kWh per year,double the amount used in 1910.Edmonton Light and Power had 20,073customers, up from 19,400 the yearbefore; electric lighting was a commonfeature in city businesses, public institu-tions, theatres, and restaurants. Thatyear, plans were underway to introduce“white way” lighting to Edmonton’sbusiness district, to brighten areas oncelit by only one lamp per street corner.Ninety-eight additional streetlights wereinstalled in the city’s core.

Electricity was being used for lesspractical purposes. In 1930, Edmonton’sIndustrial Association recommendedthat “the city’s main streets should begiven a festive appearance during theChristmas and New Year’s seasons.”How? Using coloured lights and bright-ly lit Christmas trees.

By 1931, Edmonton had a populationof over 79,000. Goods that had oncebeen available only in the East couldnow be purchased in Edmonton. Mencould buy ready-made wool suits for$15.75 at the Bond Clothes Shop, whilethree-piece wool outfits for women were$7.95 at the Hudson’s Bay Companystore. A 10 pound prime sirloin roastcost $1.30; a pound of butter sold for$0.24.

27 Chapter 4: Growth Despite Hard Times

OMilestones

1930The RCMP begin policing Alberta

as the provincial police are disbanded.

1931The oldest section of the Rossdale

Power Plant is demolished to makeway for new equipment.

1932Rossdale Power Plant sells

51,703,200 kWh to other City ofEdmonton departments.

The price of wheat drops to $0.38 abushel. Prices were $1.60 a bushel

in 1929.

1933Edmonton’s first traffic light isinstalled at Jasper Avenue and

101 Street.

1935William Aberhart is elected premier

of Alberta.

1937On May 12, a streetcar is decoratedwith bunting and electric lights as

part of Edmonton’s celebration of thecoronation of King George VI.

Rossdale Power Plant sells 61,028,800 kWh to other City of

Edmonton departments.

BELOW: Many new streetlights wereinstalled along Jasper Avenue in 1930.


However, Alberta would not beexempt from the Great Depression forlong. By 1932, over 40,000 Albertansworked on government relief projects.By 1933, at least one out of every fiveworkers in Canada had lost their jobs tothe economic downturn. Edmonton’spower utility was faced with a set ofproblems it had never experiencedbefore. Demand for power was waning;while it did not decrease, it grew at amuch lower rate than had been custom-ary. Despite this, Rossdale struggled, andsometimes failed, to keep up withdemands; much of its outdated machin-ery was working beyond capacity.

A New BoilerEdmonton’s City commissioners contin-ued to plan for a $2,000,000 expansionof Rossdale, as recommended by Super-intendent Cunningham in the 1920s.However, this plan would proceed at a


TOP: The Rossdale Power Plant as itappeared before demolition to make room forboiler number 2 began.

MIDDLELEFT: This dated stone, whichwas on the west wall of the power plant, is theonly surviving remnant of the 1908 building.

MIDDLE RIGHT: Demolition of the oldplant began in 1931.

RIGHT: Construction of the addition to Ross-dale in 1931.

BELOW: Number 2 boiler drum was amongthe new equipment installed in Rossdale.


much slower rate than Cunningham hadadvised.

In 1931, Edmonton City Councilapproved an expenditure of $450,000for the purchase of new boiler equip-ment. This machinery was badlyneeded; as Cunningham stated in areport to council,

the boiler plant, which in 1914 was con-sidered inadequate, so much so that anew plant was actually designed andcontracts awarded, is now producingsteam to handle a load more than twoand a half times that of 1914.

The new boiler was installed and putinto operation by 1 9 3 2. It was accompa-nied by a twin stoker (the largest inCanada), and additional coal and ash-handling equipment. The south end ofthe power plant was renovated to accom-modate the new equipment. However,no new turbines were purchased.

A Catch-22The terms of Edmonton’s agreementwith Calgary Power were negotiatedbefore the effects of the Depression wereknown. It came into effect on October 1,1930, and lasted through five of theDepression’s worst years. Under theterms of the agreement, Calgary Powersold electricity to Edmonton during thesummer, and Edmonton sold surpluspower to Calgary Power during the lowwater season. Electricity was transmittedalong a line installed between CalgaryPower’s Ghost Plant on the Bow Riverand Edmonton’s Rossdale Power Plant.The deal was advantageous to CalgaryPower because its hydro plant produceda surplus during the high water season.According to Power Plant Superinten-dent Cunningham, the deal allowedEdmonton to put off the purchase ofexpensive new equipment and proceedwith expansion at a manageable pace.The Great Depression’s arrival soon



1938Clarke Stadium is opened. The

3,000-seat stadium is named afterformer mayor Joe Clarke.

The owners of Edmonton’s CapitolTheatre install the largest theatre

marquee in the British Empire. Thesign has 2,000 bulbs that can melt

snow from the sidewalk below.

On February 11, Local 1007 of theInternational Brotherhood of

Electrical Workers issues its charter.The Edmonton union has 82

members.

Number 1 pumphouse is completedalong the river at the Rossdale Power

Plant. This building has been preserved to this day.

Jewish people are attacked acrossGermany on the night of November9. So many windows are shatteredduring the violence that the night

becomes known as “Kristallnacht.”

1939On September 10, Canada declareswar on Germany. Recruitment of

soldiers begins across Alberta.

Edmonton begins its first use oftrolley buses on September 24.

Number 1 boiler, the largest stoker-fired boiler in Canada, is

commissioned at Rossdale.

The Great Depression was a devastat-ing time for the people of Alberta.The price of wheat was at its lowestpoint in history. Many farmers losttheir farms to bank foreclosures.Grasshoppers and drought destroyedmillions of acres of crops, sendingfamily farms into ruin. Thousands ofmen and boys rode the rails in searchof jobs.

In 1930, the federal governmentpassed the Relief Act, which allowedunemployed workers to receive smallamounts of financial assistance inexchange for work on public projects.“Relief workers” were paid as little as$0.20 a day for doing hard physical

labour. In 1932, some of these reliefworkers helped renovate the RossdalePower Plant to accommodate themassive boiler and stoker purchasedby the City of Edmonton.

The jobless seemed to be every-where. By 1932, over 40,000Albertans were on relief. In the fall ofthat year, a crowd of 13,000 marchedto the legislature in Edmonton toprotest unemployment. The workerswanted jobs and free medical care;they wanted to present a list of suchdemands to the premier. Instead, theywere beaten back by police. Theprotest had little immediate effect.

Relief Workers


made the Calgary Power agreementseem especially fortuitous.

The deal was not intended to replaceRossdale, but rather to supplement it.Even when electricity was flowing north

from the Ghost River plant, Rossdaleremained in operation, albeit at adecreased capacity, to operate the waterpumping and filtration plants. Rossdalealso provided a ready backup in case ofan outage on the transmission line. Inthe first two years of the agreement,Rossdale generated 44,779,800 kWh ofelectricity, while 56,479,800 kWh werepurchased from Calgary Power.

The Calgary deal worked, on paper,to the benefit of both companies; but itassumed that demand for electricitywould continue unabated. Unfortunate-ly, demand fell along with the economy.Edmonton was not able to sell its powerat the level expected. The pact betweenthe two utilities no longer seemed asprofitable as first predicted.

The agreement was due to terminateon October 1, 1935. As this dateapproached, the merits of the deal weredebated in local media. Many partici-pants in this debate felt that theagreement had cost Edmonton bothmoney and jobs. Others knew that theagreement was necessary, regardless ofthe cost. Though Rossdale had for yearsmade money for the City, relatively littlehad been reinvested in it. In a reportdated February 1934, Power PlantSuperintendent Cunningham placed thefacts before City Council: the equipmentat Rossdale was dangerously obsoleteand barely adequate to maintain powerto the city. If any piece of aging machin-ery broke down, the city would facepower outages. Basing his estimates onconservative projections of a one percentannual growth in demand, Cunninghamwrote “it is obvious that an addition tothe plant is necessary if it is to functionalone – considering even the lowest esti-mate of growth.”


BELOW: Life in the city: aboard an Edmonton streetcar in the 1930s.

BOTTOM: Vehicles like these were the prideof the Electric Light and Power departmentduring the 1930s.


March 26, 1930

His Worship Mayor J.M. DouglasPolice CommissionerEdmonton, Alta.

Sir:I am enclosing herewith copy of report ofConstable Walker covering damage doneto the South Side Ford car.

The top of the car ... was completelybroken off, and all the bows were broken.The uprights which support the wind -shield were badly bent, and thewindshield was broken ... a new top ...will be required, and the uprights sup-porting the windshield will have to bestraightened, the cost of repairing thisdamage being estimated at $35.00.

The scene of this accident was checkedup by the Deputy Chief Constable, and itappears that in the land East of 1 0 9t hStreet and running parallel with the CPRtracks are a number of telegraph poles. Onthe north side of the land where the acci-dent occurred, one of the poles has a guywire extending from part way up the poleto the south side of the lane, and there isjust barely sufficient room for a car to passunder it. The lane is in poor conditionbetween the guy wire and the post, rutsbeing very deep there, and it appears quitelikely that Constable Wa l k e r, in endeavor-ing to avoid the ruts, struck the wire.

While there may have been a certainelement of negligence in this particularcase, it would appear that the sun, at thetime or the morning when the accidentoccurred, was shining directly in thedriver’s eyes, and that the wire could notbe seen. This wire is exceedingly danger-ous ... at night time it would be quiteimpossible for the driver of a car to see it.I do not know to whom the telegraphpost belongs, but I am forwarding a copyof this report to the City Engineer, as, onaccount of its dangerous location, thiswire should be removed.

Your obedient servant,A.G. Shute,Chief Constable, Edmonton Police Department

March 28, 1930

Mr. D. MitchellCity CommissionerCity.

Re: Accident SouthSide Police Auto

Dear Sir:With further reference to our conversa -tion of recent date, re: damage occurringto Auto owned by the City Police in laneEast of 109 Street between 87th and 88Avenues, we beg to advise that uponinvestigation we find that this Guy wire isowned by the CPR Telegraph Company,and is not used by any of the City Depart-ments.

We would suggest that before writingthe CPR Co. on the subject that the Engi-neer’s Department establish whether thepresent road in on the CPR right-of-way,or whether it is part of one of the Citylanes. As this property is more or less in awild state, it is impossible for the writerto state definitely whether this is CPRright-of-way, or City’s lane.

Yours truly,W. Barnhouse, SuperintendentElectric Light and Power Department

March 24, 1930

A.G. Shute, Chief ConstableCity Police Department

Re: Police Auto No 2 d a m a g e d

Sir,About 8:50 AM this date I was drivingPolice Car in answer to a complaint ofMr. De Vall and was going North on 108A. St. and when I came to CPR tracks Iturned East on land between 87th and88th Ave. (a good traveled road). TheSun was shining very strong on the wind-shield and I did not see a loose guy wireattached to a Electric Pole and the otherend fastened to a hook close by the road.

The top of Auto hit this wire andalmost broke it off also broke the wind-shield. The wire was across the road. Itook Auto to No 2 Station and then toCivic Garage.

This wire is very dangerous to thepersons who are driving cars on this road.And some person is liable to get hurt.

Later Inspector Robinson and I visitedthis place and he corroborates my state-ment. Inspector Robinson recommendsthat the Electric Dept. be notified to takethis wire down and save further acci-dents.

Yours respectfully,U. Walker


Whose Wire Was It?

BELOW: Many Albertans could not afford tooperate automobiles in the 1930s. BennettBuggies, car chassis converted to wagons, werenot an uncommon sight by the middle of thedecade.


The City was now in a catch-22 situa-tion. If the agreement with CalgaryPower was not renewed, the city wouldbe in an extremely vulnerable position.However, to many City of Edmontonmanagers, it seemed that the pact was nolonger in Edmonton’s best interests. Thedeal was costing the City more thansome argued it was worth.

Cunningham proposed that the Citycontinue the development program ithad begun two years earlier with thepurchase of the new boiler. The predict-ed cost of the new extension was roughly$1,200,000. A few months after he pre-sented these recommendations,Cunningham died suddenly of a massivestroke. Alex Ritchie, the new actingsuperintendent, was left to carry the ballfor the Rossdale Power Plant.

A New PlayerAlex Ritchie had an impressive résumé.As an engineer, he had overseen manyimprovements to the Rossdale PowerPlant between 1913 and 1927. He leftRossdale in 1927 to work as a researchengineer with a local firm, but returned

in 1932 as chief construction engineerduring the installation of number 2boiler. In a January 28, 1927 letter toCity Commissioner Mitchell, Superin-tendent Cunningham described Ritchieas a man who gave “himself loyally andwhole-heartedly to the interests of theCity.” Ritchie is also credited with“securing operating economies, whichhave resulted in the saving of very con-siderable money [for] the City.”

Unfortunately, Ritchie walked into ahornet’s nest when he became actingsuperintendent. At the time, Edmon-ton’s City commissioners and CityCouncil were still struggling with theCalgary Power Agreement. Adding itsvoice to the debate was a lobby groupknown as the Edmonton Tax ResearchBureau. The group placed submissionsbefore City Council protesting the inter-connection agreement. One of the flyersthe group distributed proclaimed:

Taxpayers! Do Not Be Fooled. Based oninvestigations from every angle possible

the old Calgary Power Agreement provedto be — Not an interchange agreementbut a “short change” agreement. So whyrenew it?

The Edmonton Tax Bureau arguedthat Edmonton paid for its power twiceunder the Calgary Power agreement: onepayment went to Calgary Power and theother to Edmonton Power’s workers,who maintained Rossdale year- r o u n d .Ritchie disagreed with the Bureau’sassessment. He argued that the agree-ment had saved Edmonton $ 1 9 2 , 7 9 3 i nthe two-year period ending in 1 9 3 2.

“Fighting Joe” Enters the DebateA new mayor was elected during thisdebate. “Fighting Joe Clarke,” as he waspopularly called, promptly criticized thework of Acting Superintendent Ritchie.

Like his predecessor, Ritchie estimatedthat a 20,000 kW extension to the Ross-dale Power Plant would cost over$1,000,000. City Council approved thisexpenditure in June 1935. However,Mayor Clarke publicly called Ritchie’sestimate into question (along with hiscredentials), suggesting that $600,000would be more than enough to cover thecost of the plant expansion.

Clarke’s scapegoating tactics didnothing to resolve the situation. Councildecided against renewing the CalgaryPower agreement, which allowed theCity only one year to do a three-year job – updating Rossdale. Yet, no con-crete action was taken to commence theupdate.

This situation caused great concern inEdmonton’s business community.Canadian National Railways, one of theutility’s largest customers, argued that


BELOW: This railway crane was used tomove coal and ash at Rossdale.


any interruption of power would meanclosing plants and laying off workers.Newspapers fuelled fears with headlineslike “Sees Danger in Condition ofEdmonton Power Plant.”

In March 1936, an explosion demol-ished a new automatic substation locatedat 104 Street and 83 Avenue, andfanned fears about the state of Edmon-ton’s electrical utility. The explosion wascaused by a leaky transformer, and wasunrelated to the functioning of thepower plant. While the Rossdale PowerPlant provided an emergency circuit toaffected areas, power was not completelyrestored for a few days.

Too Little, Too LateOn April 13, 1936, only a few days afterthe connection with Calgary Power Ltd.was severed, the city called for tenderson a 15,000 kW turbo-generator for theRossdale Power Plant. Newspaperreports noted that “commissioners havenot yet determined how the costly exten-sion will be financed.”

Then the inevitable occurred. On May

26, 1936, a blowout in a thick feedercable leading from the main 10,000 kWturbine to the control room of the powerplant resulted in the unit being out ofcommission for nearly two hours. Acrossthe city, streetcars stopped, water servicewas cut off, and packing plants, dairies,flourmills, and grain companies stoppedwork. Power was eventually restored,but only for 24 hours – this was only thefirst of three breakdowns. On May 27, asecond feeder cable broke and powerwas cut off for 25 minutes. Then, onMay 28, trouble at the Rossdale PowerPlant led to the third breakdown inthree days.

Now Edmonton’s civic leaders were inthe spotlight. Groups like the CanadianManufacturers’ Association were askingthe mayor to explain the power break-downs. They also wanted to know whatmeasures he was taking to ensure thatthe breakdowns weren’t repeated. CityCouncil looked for someone to blame,and Alex Ritchie was singled out as theauthor of the utility’s troubles.

In August 1936, in a six to five vote

(with the mayor casting the decidingballot), City Council ousted Alex Ritchiefrom his job as acting power plantsuperintendent. Edmonton newspapereditorials condemned what was clearly apolitical decision designed to deflectresponsibility for the outages away fromCity Council.

Alex Ritchie may have found someconsolation in the elections held a yearl a t e r, which ousted Joe Clarke, hisnemesis, from office. Around the sametime, City Council backtracked andestablished a new agreement withCalgary Power Ltd. Now both utilitieswould provide each other with “standby”power for emergency use. The agreementwas effective for one year, and could beterminated with a month’s notice.

A new superintendent, Robert G.Watson, was hired to replace Ritchie.Terry Stone, a former employee,remembers Watson as a tough-minded“dapper man with an Adolf Menjoumoustache.”


LEFT: This substation, located at 104 Streetand 83 Avenue, was destroyed by an explosionin 1936.

Madame M. Dey of Madame Dey’sBeauty Parlour spoke about theimpact of the power outage on May27, 1936:

“I have been in business 12 years andnever before have I been without powerfor such a long time. It is certainly for-tunate that no one was being treated byour permanent wave machines when thepower went off.”

From The Edmonton Journal,

1936

What To Do When the Lights Go Out



Working ConditionsIn the 1 9 3 0s, industrial working condi-tions were much poorer than they aret o d a y. Terry Stone began to work at theRossdale Power Plant in 1 9 3 8 as anapprentice electrician. “It was adungeon,” says Stone. “We had to workin coal dust and dirt from bunkers aboveand the smell of coal gas. The ash pit waslike something from the industrial revo-lution.” Asbestos was still used asinsulation on pipes, and Stone recallsflakes of the substance floating in the airinside the plant. One of his jobs was toclean and sweep out the switch room on

The Rossdale Power Plant is a goodexample of the architectural design,style, and construction methods thatwere used in the late 1920s and1930s. The building was constructedusing some of the new products of thetime, including metal decking, openweb steel joists, steel-framedwindows, and pre-cast concrete. Thereinforced concrete foundations,structural steel framing system, andnon-load bearing masonry walls metthe unique design requirements formodern electrical power plants of thetime.

The building is a good example ofthe use of shop-built steelwork andreflects the high level of consistencyand precision associated with this con-struction method. This type ofconstruction lent itself to expansionover the history of the building with

virtually no modification to the con-struction system or details.

Architect David Whiting describesthe Rossdale Power Plant as havingan excellent example of notable orrare architectural style. The plantreflects traditional elements of classi-cal architectural design. Base, columnand pediment are interpreted in theRossdale design in a manner uniqueto the early 1900s.

Adapted from Historic Resource Impact

Assessment, Rossdale Power Plant, by

David Whiting, 1999

The Rossdale Power Plant

Free installation of electric ranges willbe continued in Edmonton until theend of 1939, City Council decidedMonday night after hearing a reportfrom City commissioners on results ofthe first six-months operation of theplan designed to boost power sales.

In 1937, only eight electric rangeswere installed in the city, but in 1938the total was 27, 23 of which werepurchased after the free installationplan was put into effect, the reportsaid. “The electric light department iswell satisfied with the result, and asthe load is very largely off peak, thereis a substantial profit accruing to thecity,” it added.

Under the plan the City con-tributes $10 toward the cost of eachinstallation and the manufacturerpays the rest, about $20. In this way,retail merchants in the city are able tosell electric stoves at the old pricewith free installation.


1939

Home on the Range

BELOW: The Rossdale Power Plant as itappeared near the end of the 1930s. The struc-ture that is visible in this photograph, with theexception of the coal-handling equipmentattached to the building’s exterior, remainedstanding in 2002. Note the railway tracks in thephotograph foreground; rail cars were used tohaul coal within reach of the loading crane,visible on the far left of the photograph.


Saturdays. “In the old switch rooms itwas all open bus-bars,” says Stone,shaking his head. “It wasn’t until 1 9 4 7 o r1 9 4 8 that we got metal-clad switch gear.”

Despite technological advances, muchof the work at the power plant in the1930s still involved old-fashioned physi-cal labour. “They used heavylead-covered cables at that time,” saysStone. “It took a strong man to lift a six-foot length. We had to get a truck topull the cables in.” Stone’s starting wagewas $0.33 cents an hour for a 44-hourweek. “Just having a job during theDepression was good,” he says.

RecoveryBy 1 9 3 7, demand for power was againrising. Superintendent Watson reportedan increase of 695,200 kWh for the firstfour months of the year, compared to the


ABOVE: Utility bills flowed from this office(left) and were payable at the Civic Block(right).

LEFT: Parsons generator number 1 wasinstalled at Rossdale in 1939. Chief EngineerBill Darby watched as the low pressure boilercasing was lowered into place.

BOTTOM: The 15,000 kW generator as itappeared after installation.


same period in the previous year. Wi t hthe Depression on the wane, the Cityfinally took real steps to redevelop thepower plant. By March 1 9 3 9, a new$ 2 1 5 , 0 0 0 Parsons 1 5 , 0 0 0 kW turbo-generator (number 1) had been installedin a renovated and expanded RossdalePower Plant. A $ 2 2 0 , 0 0 0 boiler (number1) capable of generating 155,000 p o u n d sof steam an hour – the largest in Canadaat the time – was also purchased.

As the 1930s drew to a close, Edmon-ton’s power plant seemed to once againbe in excellent condition to meet thepower needs of a growing city. In thecoming decade, the utility would face anew challenge: not economic decline,but wartime demand.


In the 1930s, the Billing Section ofthe City of Edmonton was located inthe Civic Block on 99 Street and 102Avenue. The section employed eightmeter readers and a bill deliveryperson. Another staff person tookapplications over the counter and wasresponsible for collecting a $3 depositfor light and a $3 deposit for water.Customers who brought the title oftheir property to the office weren’tcharged the water deposit. Businesseswere charged a $5 deposit for light.

Domestic customers could apply fora “combination rate.” To qualify, thecustomer was required to have fiveelectric appliances. It wasn’t uncom-mon for many customers to borrow atoaster and iron from a neighbour toqualify!

Each customer account included ameter sheet. Staff used these to recordmeter numbers for both power andwater, the class for calculatingcharges, the readings, consumption,and charges for the last twelvemonths. The sheets also includedremarks from the meter reader aboutthe location of meters, whether or notthe customer owned a dog, and if theoccupant was friendly or otherwise.

In a May 1935 letter, Superinten-dent Barnhouse of the Electric Lightand Power Department responds to arequest for a special meter reading:

From time to time requests are made byconsumers asking that their meters beread on certain dates to suit their con-venience. We are unable to accede tothese requests owing to the extra cost,

and the resulting disarrangement to apredetermined schedule.

All meters are read on a definiteschedule divided into 125 districts.Total meters read in January: ElectricLight Department 21,466; Water14,151 - an average of 1,148 metersper day at an average cost of 2.72cents per meter. Of the total numberof meters, only 149 are read out of theregular schedule. These special read-ings cost an average of 12.6 cents permeter, and cover the large industrialaccounts, railways, government, andare read at the end of each month.

Requests for special readings make itvery difficult for billing etc. Forexample, a reading taken several daysbefore or after the regular schedulemeans the adding to, or deductingfrom the total amount charged to thedistrict in question. Any additionalexpense is that of mailing all specialreadings and the extension of timeallowed for discount, i.e., 99 con-sumers in a certain district, thediscount may expire on the 10th dayof the month, and one special on the16th day of the month.

It will be seen from the foregoingexplanation that such requests all tendto throw the schedule of reading,billing etc. out of step, and therebyincrease the cost.

Sources: Billing Department Files, Letter

from W. Barnhouse to D. Mitchell

Meters, Meters, Meters

What is the meaning of the “600”appearing on the front of the newelectric light substation at 124 Streetand 107 Ave?

It doesn’t mean there are 6 0 0 s u c hsubstations in Edmonton, ElectricLight Supt. William Barnhouse saidF r i d a y, answering a question that hasbeen puzzling inquisitive west-enders.

“It’s just a designating number weuse in the department, but there’s noparticular reason why we call it 600rather than just six,” Mr. Barnhousesaid. There are only seven such sub-stations in the city, he added.

From The Edmonton Journal, 1938

“600” Designation Said‘Just Swank’


Chapter 5

Holding the Line

• • • • •

1940 – 1949

emand for power surged in Edmontonduring the 1940s, and Rossdale wasobliged to keep up. Edmonton, with itsbusy aviation fields, was a key part ofCanada’s war effort, and much ofAlberta’s industry was adapted towartime production. Coal and labourshortages, both resulting from the war,hampered electricity production.Edmonton itself also grew in size.Through all of these challenges,however, Edmonton’s power plantproved itself to be a dependable andinnovative source of electricity.

A New DealOnce again, an offer to exchange surplusenergy with Calgary Power was on thetable in 1939. And, as in previousdecades, debate over this offer washeated. The issue was urgent during thewar years; it was vital that electricitycontinue to flow uninterrupted to thecity and its wartime industries.

Many thought that Edmonton hadfound its own solution to the electricsupply problem when it increased total

37 Chapter 5: Holding the Line

DMilestones

1940Edmonton’s Commercial Grads

basketball club plays its last game.

The Canadian Standards Associationassumes responsibility for testing electrical equipment for safety.

1942 The Alaska Highway is constructed.

A record-breaking snowfall ties up city traffic.

1943Eight hundred and sixty planes pass

through Edmonton on September 23,setting a North American record.

1945World War 11 ends. The Loyal

Edmonton Regiment returns home.

1947Oil is discovered near Leduc.

Edmonton’s electrical utility commissions the Network

Distribution System in downtown Edmonton.

1948The Edmonton Flyers hockey clubwins the Allan Cup, the Canadian

senior amateur title.

The Northern Canada Power Commission is created.

BELOW: Jasper Avenue in 1942.

chapter 5 final 2/7/02 10:14 PM Page 37

installed capacity to 38,000 kW. Itaccomplished this with the installationof turbo-generator number 1. CityCouncil had also approved the installa-tion of a $750,000 generator in 1941.With such a capacity for production,many felt that a pact with CalgaryPower was not only unnecessary but alsoundesirable, given the negative pressthat the collaboration had been given inthe 1930s.

Proponents of the agreement wereconcerned about coal shortages, wardemands, increased population growth,and the very real threat of poweroutages. Arguing that an interchangeagreement with Calgary Power wouldassist Edmonton in times of shortage oroutage, those in favour of an agreementpressed for a decision.

That argument was given additionalweight on Saturday, August 10, 1940, at1:00 PM, when a major power break-down struck Edmonton. All over thecity, streetcars stalled and water wasshut off. The cause: a blown cable and

motor that drove a fan on a main steamboiler at Rossdale. Deputy Mayor GuyPaterson accepted an offer from CalgaryPower to provide electricity to Edmon-ton free of charge for the duration of thecrisis; in doing so, he overruled R.G.Watson, Rossdale superintendent. In theend, Rossdale was brought back intooperation before Calgary sent any powernorthward.

This outage prompted City Council toact. After a series of late-night meetingsand discussions, the council finally votedsix-four in favour of the Calgary Poweragreement on August 28, 1940.

Expansion at RossdaleDespite a renewed agreement withCalgary Power, expansion at the Ross-dale Power Plant remained an issue. InMarch 1940, City Council approved anadditional $750,000 improvement to thepower plant in the form of renovationsand new equipment. Calls for tenderswere released and SuperintendentWatson made inquiries about the pur-

chase of a 15,000 kW turbine (number2) from C.A. Parsons and CompanyLimited in England.

By the fall of 1940, however, CityCouncil had decided to delay action onthe proposed power extension programfor three months. There seemed to beserious objection to the issue; theEdmonton Taxpayers Associationargued against expansion, citing theneed to support the British war effortthrough reducing municipal taxes sothat citizens could bear a growingfederal war tax. Others countered that aturbine purchase from Britain wouldincrease British exports and help tomaintain British foreign trade.

In October 1940, just one month intothe three-month delay, another surpris-ing turn of events obliged City Councilto revisit its decision to delay. City com-missioners announced that a

representative of the Canadian andBritish governments had asked Edmon-ton to proceed immediately with a$730,000 extension to the City-ownedpower plant so as to help supply powerfor the $8,000,000 ammonium nitrateplant planned in southern Alberta as part


Subject to the requirements of the Cityto supply itself and its present andfuture customers, and to the presentcapacity of its steam plant, the Cityshall supply any kilowatt hours to thecompany [Calgary Power] which thecompany may require during the lowwater seasons; and subject only to thecompany’s ability to supply from itspresent hydro-electric plants, thecompany agrees to accept such kilo-watt hours as and when required bythe City during subsequent high-waterseasons; and during such high-waterseasons the City for such periods as

may be necessary to permit thecompany to return the kilowatt hoursdue to the City and/or to permit thecompany to establish a kilowatt hourcredit balance as provided for, agreesto operate its steam plant at loads notexceeding 4,000 kW, or at suchgreater loads as may be necessaryfrom time to time to supply itself andpresent and future customers andwhich the company is unable tosupply or may be mutually agreedupon to meet the circumstances thenexisting ....

from The Edmonton Journal

The Interchange Agreement Clause

When it agreed to exchange electricitywith Calgary Power, the City ofEdmonton expected that the net flowof electricity would be northward. Asit happened, however, Edmonton sentmore surplus energy to CalgaryPower than it received. By October1946, Calgary Power owed Edmon-ton about 100,000,000 kWh; thisfigure was reduced to 91,000,000kWh by the end of the decade.

Unexpected Ends


of the Canadian government’s wartimeexplosives program.

Ammonium nitrate is used in makingsmokeless and flameless explosives.

Though the ammonium nitrate plantwas also negotiating with CalgaryPower, it was clear that an expansion ofRossdale was necessary; war industriesall over the province would need more

electrical power. The decision to moveforward with the expansion was made.Superintendent Watson arranged for thepurchase of a new boiler and turbine.The boiler, made in Galt, Ontario byBabcock & Wilcox, arrived in the fall of1941 at a cost of $244,000. The Britishturbine cost $258,000. The balance ofthe expansion budget was spent onequipment needed to make the newturbine and boiler operational, and onan expansion of the building at Rossdale.

Portions of the British turbine weredelivered in August, 1942; however, therest went down in the Atlantic alongwith the transport ship, both victims of


BELOW: A view of the interior of the Ross-dale Power Plant. Parsons turbine-generatorsnumbers 1 and 2 are the two similar machineson the upper level. Generators commissionedbefore World War I are visible in the back-ground.

Take one small boy with a [sling-shot], a newly graveled road and alighted street lamp, and the resultoften is – a shattered bulb and costs of$5 to the City, taking into considera-tion the lamp cost and labor.

Of the 3 0 street lamps broken on theaverage week, more than 8 0 p e r c e n tare shattered by boys, an official of theelectric light department said Friday.Expense to the City runs into manyhundreds of dollars yearly. Favoriteweapons of the youngsters are stones,and in the winter, snowballs ....

When the boys are caught thedepartment makes them pay, if possi-ble, for the damage.

“Our chief trouble is to catch theboys,” the official said.

from The Edmonton Journal,

1944

Fun for Boys Costly to City

The basic chemical industry wasfounded in the province in 1941,when a plant was built at Calgary toproduce ammonia and ammoniumnitrate, using natural gas as the prin-cipal raw material. Before the end ofthe Second World War this plant wasconverted to the manufacture ofammonia and fertilizer-grade ammo-nium nitrate. In 1952, an industrialhigh explosives plant commencedoperation at Calgary, using ammoniaand ammonium nitrate from the fer-tilizer plant.

From Alberta: Province of Opportunity

Alberta’s ChemicalIndustry


Nazi submarines, in December 1942.C.A. Parsons replaced the parts, whicharrived at last in May of 1943. R.G.Watson was able to put the full systeminto operation by March, 1944.

The expansion was timely. Rossdale’soutput in September of 1942 was 36.3percent greater than output in the sameperiod in 1941. Much of this electricitywas sent south to Calgary Power underthe terms of the interchange agreement.Edmonton’s own war efforts wereincreasing consumption locally as well.Airport construction, aircraft repair,


ABOVE: Edmonton’s streets were well-lit inthe 1940s.

RIGHT: Edmonton power plant employeeFrank Prior inspecting a switchboard at Rossdale in 1944.



March 3, 1943 at 9:30 PMAnnouncer: Tonight’s “Town Topics”originate at the city power plant, theheart of Edmonton’s intricate system ofelectricity and water supply. We arestanding now at the site of the City’sefficient and up-to-date plant that sup-plies your homes, offices and industrialcentres with lighting, electrical power,and water. This plant originally operatedfrom the river’s edge at the foot of 101ststreet. It was moved in 1907 to its pres-ent location. At that time it was alreadythe property of the City of Edmontonfor three years. Since 1907, the plantgrew as the city grew, increasing itscapacity for generating electricity from4,000 kWh to 34,000 kWh. This maxi-mum capacity will be increased as soonas another 15,000 kWh generator can beinstalled. First impression we get as weenter this huge building is the immensityof the machinery coupled with the phys-ical insignificance of man in their midst.The deafening drone of the turbineshelps make the man’s position in themidst of this huge machinery even moreinsignificant. We’ll start in the boilerroom, where the resulting power in yourhome or factory passes through its firststages of creation.

Pause to reach boiler room.Towering above us for 60 feet are threeboilers, two of them now being in opera-tion, and the third, nearing completion.These are tremendous objects withgoose-walks and stairways draping thesides and ends. Running full-lengthalong the lower front side are the stokerswhich are fed by a coal hopper or “wayline” which is suspended from a rail andstretches out its crane-full of coaltowards the stokers as it supplies therequired amount of coal. The coal is

automatically weighed as it passes out ofan overhead bunker into the travelingway line. It passes through a crusherbefore it reaches the overhead bunker.Situated right behind us at a point fromwhich all three boilers can readily beseen is the control panel, which automat-ically charts water level, air flow, coalconsumption, steam pressure, and so on.This of course is the guide for the auto-matic control of the huge stokers. Now,coming out of this immense and compli-cated set-up and bringing the results toyour home, here’s what the results are:every pound of coal and every 9 1/4pounds of water used in this room sup-ply you with enough electricity to burn10-100 W bulbs for one hour. Now tosee how that tremendous amount ofelectricity is made [we go] into the nextroom.

Pause.Here we see the source of that droningnoise you likely hear, and the source ofyour electricity. We’re standing along-side the newest acquisition to your city’splant. The immense 15,000 kWh gener-ator was installed several years ago. It’s ahuge cylinder laying horizontally with aportion of the lower regions below thefloor surface. At the far end of this longroom is the 10,000 kW turbine andalongside are the 4- and 5,000 ones. Thetwo small turbines are idle now, as withthe lengthening day, the city demand forpower has receded from the mid-winterpeak. Standing in this same line of mon-ster machines is the Direct CurrentReciprocating Steam Engine, which aug-ments power for the city street railway.All these are immense machines. Stand-ing at this elevated point, they give one ascene that could well be compared witha number of dinosaurs or whales wal-

lowing in shallow water. We’ll step overto our right a short distance to see what’sbelow us.

Pause.Looking over a strong rail we see hugepipes, one about six feet in diameter andone about four – serving as a lead-in andan outlet for the water supply at theplant. The smaller pipe leads to the con-denser. That’s a bulky machine whosejob it is to change the steam coming outof the turbines back into water. It’s thepivot link in the chain which forms thewater cycle at the plant. Here’s how thewater travels. It’s heated in the boilersand is passed to the turbines, at verynear the boiling point. In the process ofgenerating electricity it changes intosteam and is passed to the condenser inthat form. The condenser changes itback to water, whence it returns to theboilers to complete the cycle. Simple,isn’t it?

Pause.Lining a high wall above us is a longseries of panels bedecked with dials,switches, buttons and numerous othergadgets. These are the switchboardswhich control the lighting and powersupply in various parts of the city. Here’sMr. R.G. Watson, plant superintendent... Thanks very kindly, Mr. Watson, andthe best of success with your regularoperations and your new installations.

Back to studio for signoff.

Note that many of the figures and some ofthe processes given in the transcript areincorrect. The generating station was relo-cated to the Rossdale site in 1902. Thegenerating capacity figures were 1907,1908, and 1943 were, respectively, 675 kW,1375 kW, and 38,000 kW.

Transcript of a CJCA Broadcast


RCAF schools and 24-hour packing-houses all called for huge amounts ofelectricity.

Two Women Hired as Meter ReadersAnother challenge that the utility facedduring the war years was a critical short-age of workers. In August 1943, planswere announced to hire two women asmeter readers. In an August 31 Edmon-ton Journal report, it was made clear thatthis move was intended to supplementmale meter readers, not replace them.Much attention was paid to the problemof outfitting the female workers; theCity hoped to provide the women withcoveralls and a cap.

Coal ShortagesDuring the early 1940s, the cost andavailability of coal provided anotherchallenge to the City’s ability to produceadequate power. North America’s warmachine consumed vast amounts of coal.It is therefore no surprise that the priceof coal had almost doubled by the end ofthe war, going from $1.58/ton in 1939to $3.11/ton in 1945. The implicationsof this shortage for Rossdale wereserious. In December of 1942 the powerplant’s coal reserve was reduced to 7,000tons, down from 14,000 tons. The possi-bility of power rationing became veryreal because the plant used 300 tonnes ofcoal per day in peak season.

In November 1943, a miner’s strikereduced coal reserves to such low levelsthat the City had to declare a “dimout”to conserve the fuel. Streetlights were offlonger, and citizens, businesses and


Edmonton’s two women meterreaders, Mrs. Verna Barnett and Mrs.Ruth Limb, like their jobs despitefierce-looking dogs, strange base-ments and dusty meters.

They’ve been on the job for threeweeks, and they don’t look at thewinter months ahead with misgiving.

“I guess some days won’t be so nicewhat with cold winds and deep snow ... but then, it’s all part of thejob,” says Mrs. Barnett. Mrs. Barnettwears blue coveralls on her job nowbut the City is making plans to equipall the meter readers, including thetwo women, with fleece-lined parkasfor the winter months.

“I find the people very nice to dealwith as I go from house to house,”Mrs. Barnett declared. “I haven’t hadany trouble with dogs yet and don’texpect any. I find that no matter howtough they look, if you speak to themin a friendly fashion they don’t bother

you.”“I suppose you see some pretty fan-

tastic basements as you go around?”asked the reporter.

“Well, I wouldn’t like to say,” shereplied. “What people have in theirbasements and how they keep them istheir own business, I guess.”

A goodly number of the meters aredusty and Mrs. Barnett said some-times she has to get a rag and wipethe glass clear so she can read them.

“The funny part of it is,” she added,“after getting this job I checked up onthe condition of my own meter andhave to admit I found it pretty dirty.You don’t realize these things untilyou become personally interested.”

The City employs eight meterreaders under foreman S. Clark. Mr.Clark thinks his two women readersare “just fine.”

from The Edmonton Journal,1943

Two Women Meter Readers Like Their Wartime Work

LEFT: Pre-World War I machines continuedto operate in the Rossdale Power Plant throughthe 1940s.


industries were asked to reduce theamount of electricity they used as muchas possible. Watson was able to obtainbetween 5,000 and 10,000 tons of coalfrom an abandoned mine near Camrose,which was expected to see the plantthrough a few weeks. By December 1,1943, Watson had built the reserve upsufficiently to ease up on the city-widedimout.

The coal shortage gave rise to the firstof many discussions about convertingsome or all of Rossdale’s boilers into gas-fired burners. In letters to and from Citycommissioners, the mayor, aldermen,coal company representatives, and R.G.Watson argued back and forth through-out July and August of 1943, sometimesquite heatedly. The need to protect themulti-million dollar coal industry, theinability of the gas company to provideenough gas, and Watson’s uncertaintyabout possible damage to the boilers all

worked together to argue against usinggas. On August 20, 1943, R.J. Gibb,commissioner of utilities, wrote toErnest Manning, minister of trade andindustry, in response to Manning’sinquiry about conversion to gas. “[T]heCivic Administration was never veryfavorable to the proposed change. Thematter seems to be in abeyance and if itis revised we will be pleased to adviseyou.” For now, the question was at rest.

By March of 1944, coal reserves hadincreased to 18,000 tons and powerplant officials were no longer concernedabout shortages.

Expansion Rossdale’s expansion in 1944 didn’tquench Alberta’s thirst for electricity. ByMay 1945, Watson was before CityCouncil with another request for expan-sion to the power plant. The need wasmuch greater this time. In the five yearssince his previous request, Edmonton’spopulation had increased from 91,723 to


Because an Edmonton hotel ownerwas bomb-shy early Thursday, theCity Electric Light Department is shyone voltage checking meter.

Shortly after 4:00 AM a guest atthe Banff Hotel, 9930 Jasper Avenue,awoke proprietor Morris Gottfriendexcitedly, telling him he had found “abomb” ticking away in the hall. Itprecipitated a bomb scare, as Got-tfriend on checking found a 12-inchby 16-inch box plugged into the elec-trical system in the hotel hallway.

When he heard the box tickingominously, Gottfriend took nochances. Instead he took the box inhis hands, ripped it away from thewall and tossed it out of a windowonto an adjoining roof.

Then he ran as fast as he could tothe police station two blocks awayand burst in to report the “bomb.”Constables Benny Wheatfield and W.A. Maloney rushed to the hotel as atwo-man demolition squad, andfinally found the “bomb” on the nextdoor roof.

It was ticking no longer. In fact,chances were it would never tickagain, which is why the Electric LightDepartment is out some equipment.The “bomb” turned out to be a clock-work meter the department uses tocheck electrical systems in Edmontonbuildings. Tossing it out of a windowonto a roof did it little good.

from The Edmonton Journal,

1949

Bomb Scare Wrecks Meter for City Light

Department

ABOVE: Roy Fitzsimmons (left) and StanHampton (right) at 350 Substation.


111,745. Power demand was continual-ly on the rise. Watson also argued that acheap and reliable power source wouldattract more industry to Edmonton. Heoutlined a $1,777,000 expansion thatincluded a new 30,000 kW turbine gen-erator and associated boiler andauxiliaries, all of which could be paid forby the end of 1949 with reserves fromrevenues.

In September 1945, City Councilapproved Watson’s expansion program,

and by 1949 generator number 3 andboiler number 5 were installed andoperational. According to employeeTerry Stone, the installation of thisequipment had some interesting chal-lenges.

On a Saturday in 1948 there was a cloudburst over the river valley, and youcouldn’t see 20 feet in front of you. Wewere bringing in some equipmentthrough an opening in the wall. The rainwas leaking in through the roof drainsand we had all of these open cables andcircuits. We had to use tarps to scoop thewater out.

Despite the dangers, no one was hurtand the equipment was safely situated in

the plant. Once things were up andrunning, says Stone, “there was the con-stant hum of machines all day long. Ifthere was a little surge in the machinesyou would pick it up right away.” Likeso many others who have worked at theplant, Stone’s ears were totally tuned into the noise of the turbines.

Power DistributionTakes a New TurnIn 1947 the Electric Light and PowerDepartment determined that it was timeto remove the lines that had long beenstrung over streets and sidewalks in thedowntown core of Edmonton. The lines

would be installed in an undergroundcomplex called the Network Distribu-


BELOW: Transformers for the new NetworkDistribution System arrived by train.

BOTTOM: Ducts such as these were essentialin the Network Distribution System.

BELOW RIGHT: Transformers werelowered into vaults below city sidewalks.


tion System. This system was designedto ensure that electricity could be sup-plied at the usual voltage even if one ormore of the transformers or supplycables shut down or failed. Theoretical-ly, just five of the eight primary cablescould supply the network load, if neces-sary.

A system of vaults and duct lines wasbuilt beneath the streets in Edmonton’sdowntown core. This system housedtransformers and cables, and was con-nected to the surface by manholes.Removable grates and concrete lids fromthis system remain visible today.

This was a reliable method of power

distribution. The underground systemput into place in 1947 would be expand-ed and improved as the City grew overthe next few decades. Subsequent poweroutages were much less serious than theywould have been with an aerial system.According to Art Baird, an engineer and

retired director of distribution engineer-ing, only three major outages (July 1965,August 1973, and March 1979) resultedfrom failures within the Network Distribution System. Other outages to


The system diagram, or dummy busboard, in the picture at right is an illustration of the city’s electrical dis-tribution system as it was between1947 and 1957. During this period,the board was mounted in a controlroom at Rossdale. Each chrome orcopper bar on the board represented afeeder coming out of Rossdale; thesefeeders led to substations around thecity, as well as large industrial cus-tomers. There were 85 switches onthe board; these switches indicatedwhich lines were active.

Circuits could not be controlledfrom the bus board. In order to acti-vate (or deactivate) a line, theoperator would select the appropriatekey from a cabinet at Rossdale, driveout into the field, use the key to closeor open the circuit, then return to thepowerhouse. The switches on theboard were then manually moved tothe “on” or “off” position.

Adapted from text by Paul Collis

System Diagram

ABOVE: Rossdale in the 1940s.


the network service area have occurredwhen all generating units shut down asa result of system faults.

Pollution the Issue asDecade ClosesAt the close of the decade, air pollutionin the form of fly ash would become amajor issue for the power plant. Lettersbegan to arrive in CommissionerMenzie’s office from Rossdale citizensconcerned about fly ash, which drifteddown the river valley and onto skatingrinks, fresh laundry, and furniture. Resi-dents wanted a solution to the problem.

Superintendent William McFarland,who succeeded Watson in 1945, submit-ted a report on the issue to City Council.According to McFarland, the problemresulted from forcing old boilers to burnmore coal than usual, and was thereforetemporary. More coal was burned in thewinter of 1948 than ever before, andnew boilers were yet to be operational.Therefore, the old boilers operated atlower efficiency and discharged morethan the usual amounts of fly ash. It washoped that installing new boilers wouldsolve the fly ash problem.

In fact, the new boilers aggravated thesituation. Because of the new design, less


April 2, 1949

Dear City Commissioners:This is not a joke – I’m just sick.

Enclosed package is only a sampleof what I have on my door steps andwindow sills every day from the citypower plant.

Can not anything be done toprevent some of this menace I surewould be very grateful. I have been aresident of this city, since 1901, andlove Edmonton and its people;

Sincerely yours(Mrs.) Christopher Spillios

April 6, 1949

Mrs. Christopher Spillios,9742 - 103 St.Edmonton.

Dear Madam,Received your letter and package asof April 2, and I am quite in agree-ment with you that the situation isnot good.

It is only during the present winterthan complaints have been made con-

cerning the power plant and the com-missioners and the superintendent, aswell as council, have been consideringmethods which would alleviate thesituation. The boiler giving the mostdifficulty is one which has to be dis-mantled and cleaned. During the pastwinter pending the use of new equip-ment, some of our boilers have beenforced in order to produce the neces-sary power and we think that thismay have something to do with thecondition.

Commissioner Menzies, who is anengineer, is following up the matterwith the superintendent with a viewto finding some remedy and I trustthat they will be successful.

We are aware of one method but itis pretty costly and in view of the dis-cussion with council concerning theinstallation of gas in our power plant,there has been some delay in decidingon a definite policy.

Yours very truly,

MAYOR

‘I’m Just Sick’

Residents of Rossdale CommunityLeague are more than just irked,they’re fighting mad, and Edmonton’sCity commissioners are ponderingways to make them mellow again.Blackened housewives’ washes, nearly$2,000 worth of unusable rinks, anddoctor’s bills for removal of cindersfrom eyes have the Rossdale residentsup in arms. Their anger is caused by

the belching grit which settles overthe district daily from the four smokestacks of the City’s power plant.

Protests against the black dust havebeen lodged with the commissionersfor the past two years. The ire of theresidents reached the boiling pointthis winter when the black cloudbecame denser. Full blast was givenCity commissioners Thursday.

Charles Simmonds, president of theFederation of Community Leagues,and Duncan Innes, chairman of thefederation’s civic committee, took thecommunities’ protests before Com-missioner Menzies and demandedthat something be done.

from The Edmonton Journal,1948

Protest Against the Power Plant


ash was trapped in the boiler and morewent up the stack! Alterations weremade with some positive results, but theproblem prevailed.

Technology that would allow theutility to burn coal without producing flyash was unavailable in the 1940s. Thus,when large quantities of gas were discov-ered near Leduc in 1947, the Cityconverted some of its boilers to use thiscleaner fuel. Number 1 boiler was thefirst to be converted, and in late Novem-ber 1949 began to burn gas. By the endof December, City Council was dis-cussing a full conversion to gas. The Citywould save money on ash control equip-ment as well as on fuel costs. However,the topic remained an open issue as thedecade closed.

Labour ShortagesA labour shortage marked 1949 for theElectric Light and Power Department.Though the war had been over foryears, there was a severe shortage oflinemen; workers were required toinstall sorely needed streetlights.According to an Edmonton Journal

report, an appeal made to the cities ofVancouver and Winnipeg failed toproduce reinforcements for Edmonton’slinemen. The department consequentlyhad to turn to all of the employmentoffices in Canada to request help in rem-edying the situation. As a result of thelabour shortage, streetlighting improve-ments planned for 99 Street and 109Street were placed on hold until moremen could be found.

Rossdale’s capacity was 38,000 kW atthe beginning of the 1940s; this wasincreased to 60,000 kW over the courseof the decade. Edmonton’s utility wasfast becoming a leader in power produc-tion technology. In 1949, Rossdale wasdescribed as being the largest plant of itskind in Canada; it was well-prepared forpost-war industrial expansion. To itscredit, the utility also responded to con-cerns about its impact on theenvironment, and took steps towardsreducing air pollution.


BELOW: Oil was discovered near Leduc in1947.

Beginning February 1947, Alberta’seconomy was no longer dependent onagriculture. The discovery of oil nearLeduc forever changed the province.

The number of producing oil wellsin Alberta increased from 418 to7,390 in the decade following theLeduc oilfield discovery, and thepetroleum industry pumped $2.5billion into the Alberta economy.New manufacturing plants went up.Within a few years, pipelines carriedoil west to the Pacific and east to theGreat Lakes. Thousands of jobs werecreated, and the population ofEdmonton grew rapidly. Edmontonhad become the sixth-largest Canadi-an city by 1956, and along withCalgary, was the fastest growing met-ropolitan area in Canada.

Underground TreasuresChange Alberta Forever


1 Chapter 6: The Rock ‘n’ Roll Generation


Chapter 6

The Rock ‘n’ RollGeneration

• • • • •

1950 – 1959

ptimism, growth, and faith in technol-ogy characterized the 1950s, a decadethat greatly contrasted with the bleakwar years of the 1940s. People looked toprogress as the answer to social ills, andto technology as a means of resolvingmaterial challenges. In Edmonton, atleast, they were not disappointed: thecity basked in oil-fed wealth.

Great strides were made in the produc-tion of electricity during the 1950s.Edmonton’s power departments becameleaders in the industry by installing thevery latest in turbines, boilers, under-ground distribution systems, oil-filledcables, aerial towers, and wires thatcarried previously unheard of amounts ofelectricity to businesses and residences.

Rossdale ExpansionThe Edmonton Journal reported thatEdmonton’s power plant remained “oneof the greatest steam generating plantsin Canada” in 1950, producing recordamounts of electricity. This recordpointed to the need for expansion. Infact, expansion would be requiredthroughout the decade: the populationof Edmonton was growing fast, nearlydoubling from 1950 (148,861) to 1959(260,733).

In 1950, the string of upgrades beganwhen a new Parsons 30,000 kW turbo-generator and a gas and oil-fired boilerwere ordered. The City of Edmontonapproved a $2,000,000 addition to theRossdale building to make room for thenew equipment. Construction was under-way in 1951. The older part of the powerplant, located on the north end of thecomplex and dating from the early teens,was demolished. A new section was builtin its place. The construction work wascompleted in 1953, and by September the


OMilestones

1950The interprovincial oil pipeline to

Ontario is completed.

The Edmonton Mercurys win theWorld Hockey Championship.

Jasper Place is incorporated as a village

1951The Edmonton Bulletin

discontinues publication.

1954CFRN-TV, Edmonton’s first

television station, starts operation. Edmonton’s electric utility works toprovide power to new television sets.

The Edmonton Eskimos win their first Grey Cup.

Many Edmontonians replace theirkitchen electrical outlets as new,

polarized (three-pronged) receptaclesbecome mandatory.

1955Construction of Edmonton’sJubilee Auditorium begins.

Groat Bridge is opened.

The Province of Alberta turns 50.

1957Edmonton’s new city hall opens.

OPPOSITE: The Rossdale site in the early1 9 5 0 s .


new turbo-generator (number 4) andboiler number 6 were installed.

This expansion was more complicatedthan preceding ones: the addition wasbuilt in the middle of the existing plant,and operations at both ends had to con-tinue during construction. Thereplacement of all existing switchgearand control panels further complicatedoperation. Despite these challenges, theexpansion was much needed and muchpraised. Superintendent Kirklandopened the new addition to the plantalong with Mayor Bill Hawrelak andPremier Ernest Manning. Before light-ing the fire that set the new boiler into

action, Premier Manning described theevent as “another milestone in theprogress of a great city.”

Though ambitious and expensive, thisexpansion proved to be insufficient evenbefore it was complete. A third 30,000kW turbine-generator (number 5) wasinstalled in 1955. This was the finalinstallation in what came to be known asthe Low Pressure Plant.

Edmonton’s growing population alsoplaced an increasing demand on theCity’s ability to provide water to its citi-zens. The pump house, long a part ofthe power plant site, now also requiredexpansion. Construction of a newpumping station on the west side of theplant at the river’s edge was undertaken

in the mid-1950s, with three 60-inchintake pipes running almost a third ofthe way into the river. Toward the eastend of the site a new water filtrationbuilding was also constructed. Accord -ing to Superintendent Kirkland, all ofthese changes and additions increasedthe efficiency of the operation, morethan doubling existing water productionwith no increase in staff.

The 100 MW MilestoneIn the mid-1950s, Rossdale’s generatingcapacity exceeded 100 MW. The firstday this capacity was utilized remains amilestone in the careers of manyemployees. George Faulder, a mechani-cal engineer at the power plant from


ABOVE: Inside the Low Pressure Plant in1952.


1954 to 1966, remembers that day well.“I remember that first time we reached100 MW around 1955 or 1956,” hesays. “Everything was just humming.”

Electrical engineer Frank Battistellawas also part of this event. “That day inlate December of ‘55,” he recalls,

we were conducting a full test on turbine-generator number 5 and its boiler,number 7, to determine if the equipmentmet the contract designs for output andefficiency. This was a large undertaking,involving not only plant personnel butalso university students, as many readingshad to be taken simultaneously. Theturbine had an overload capacity, allow-ing us to raise the output to 35 MW. We

had the machine set for a test reading of33 MW when Mr. Kirkland walked infrom the control room and said to us,‘Boys, don’t take the unit down until weadvise you to because, at this moment,the city load is in excess of 100 MW.’

Tracking Power UseIn the 1950s, Edmonton used technolo-gy to streamline another process thathad become difficult to manage due topopulation growth: billing. This was agiant step for a system that had beenevolving very slowly since the utility’sbirth.

Forty-one employees produced about39,000 bills each month in the early1950s. This was a manageable number.But Edmonton was growing; 1,573,151bills would have to be issued in 1965.


ABOVE: The fleet of vehicles used by Cityelectrical workers in the 1950s.

“The two-prong receptacle for elec-tric plugs, standard equipment inhouses for years, is on its way out asfar as kitchens are concerned,”reported the Edmonton Journal in1954. The Canadian Electrical Codecalled for the use of polarized (threepronged) receptacles, which becamemandatory in May 1954. Thesereceptacles prevented many types ofelectrical accidents. Manufacturersbegan to turn out appliances such astoasters and irons with the three-pronged plug as standard equipment.This meant that people purchasingnew appliances needed to updatetheir household wiring.

Three Prongs for Safety


The utility responded by implementinga mechanical punchcard system,powered by a Remington Rand Univaccomputer, in August 1952.

Each customer account had its ownpunchcard indexed with a nine-digitnumber. An address and meter numberwas recorded on each card, along withinformation that a meter reader mightfind helpful (i.e., is there a dog at theresidence? Is it friendly? Is the houseowner friendly?). Meter readers carriedthe punchcards with them as they madetheir rounds.

Working in the 1950sAccording to George Faulder, workingat the power plant in the 1950s requireda range of different skills. “It was morehands on-involvement and [involved] abroader scope of work than it doesnow,” he says.

We had a finger in every pie. When Ifirst started in 1954 they put a lot of trustin a very young and inexperienced engineer. But I never screwed up any-thing big. Everyone worked together –there was a good camaraderie.

This camaraderie extended beyondnormal working hours. According toFaulder, the social club began during the1950s. The coffee canteen in the plant’smachine shop financed the organization.

The social club held functions every Christ-mas at the Hotel Macdonald for all of thepower plant employees. It was a dress-upaffair, a formal gathering. There was ameal, then dancing to a band, and everyemployee was given a turkey.

The club also organized curling eventsfor employees. This sense of friendship,as well as concern for one another inhard times, characterizes so many of thesocial and working associations of theutility’s employees to this day.

New PolesIn 1953, the Electric Light Departmentattempted to make an improvement tothe poles that held streetlights andtransit system lines over city streets. Thewooden poles that had long served thispurpose lasted only about 30 years. Con-


How much did electrical service costEdmonton families? In 1952, the sub-urban domestic rate was $0.05 perkWh for the first 40 kWh. From1936 until some time in 1957, a five-percent discount was given toencourage prompt payment of bills.This discount was eliminated in1957, which brought in over$1,000,000 in extra revenue. Tele-phone accounts were used toencourage payment after the discountwas phased out; phones were easy todisconnect and reconnect without aservice call.

The Price of Power

William I. McFarland was superin-tendent of Rossdale for seven years,from 1945 to 1952.

According to an Edmonton Journalaccount, Mr. McFarland was born inNew Brunswick, where he was edu-cated as a teacher. After coming toAlberta, he enrolled at the Universityof Alberta and graduated in 1929with an education that qualified himto work in the electrical industry.After working in Ontario for a fewyears, McFarland returned to Edm-onton as an electrical engineer withthe Light and Power Department. Heworked for the street railway as elec-trical engineer and assistantsuperintendent until he was appoint-ed power superintendent in October1945. He resigned to take a job witha consulting firm in Calgary. WilliamKirkland succeeded him.

Adapted from The EdmontonJournal, 1952

William I. McFarland

ABOVE: A Univac punchcard for the accountof a William Smith, who owned a dog.


crete poles, though more expensive ini-tially, seemed more cost effective in thelong term. Not only that, but they werealso much neater in appearance. Thus,in December 1953, the completion ofthis changeover marked the end ofwooden streetlighting poles for much ofthe city.

According to Art Baird, however, theconcrete poles were not immune tostructural degradation. They could bedamaged, for example, when struck byvehicles, especially during severe temper-ature conditions in Edmonton’s winters.The concrete poles were eventuallyreplaced with the familiar metal ‘davit’poles that bend gracefully over city road-ways to hold lamps in place today.

A new type of lighting was alsoinstalled on some city streets. Whileincandescent lights remained in residen-tial areas, mercury lighting was installed

on principal thoroughfares in the down-town area. Mercury lamps providedtwice the illumination of incandescentones, but left people with pallid com-plexions. This, too, was a concern, andby the end of 1959, 12,407 “colourimproved,” high lumen, low mainte-nance mercury lamps had been installedthroughout the city.

From Coal to GasThe rising price of coal and the suddenabundance of oil and gas obliged theCity of Edmonton to again considerswitching the fuel of its coal-burning

boilers to gas. The power plant wasunder continual pressure to reduce costsand air emissions.

All of the boilers at the Rossdale Plantburned natural gas by the end of 1955.It was reported that the plant was usingabout 7 billion cubic feet of natural gasyearly by 1958, at a cost of more than$1,000,000 per year. Most of the gascame from Viking, and about 15 percentof the volume sales of the City’s fuel gassupplier went to the Rossdale Plant tofire the boilers. The coal companies thatonce sustained the plant either closedtheir doors or found other contracts.


In 1955, the City experimented withan alternative fuel for Rossdale’sboilers – recycled automotive oil.

At present, the oil, dumped in theCity’s south side oil pit, creates a dis-posal problem. This was highlightedrecently when the pit caught fire andsent heavy clouds of black smoke overthe city ... The City is carrying outstudies to see if it can be used in thepower plant. Mr. Fisher [from thetesting company] said he tested the oilin an Edmonton area plant using acrude oil burner and found it burnedwith “amazing” ease. He said it has amore intense heat than crude.

Source: The Edmonton Journal,1955

Experimental Use ofWaste Oil as Fuel E d m o n t o n ’s Electrical Distribution

Department changed its late nighttrouble service in the early 1 9 5 0s. Thischange improved customer service andsmoothed out employee relations. Thesystem that had been in place since thelate 1 9 2 0s required that some employ-ees work overtime; those employeesreceived desirable overtime pay. Thus,on January 2 4th 1 9 5 1, a 2 4- h o u r, s e v e nday a week trouble service was imple-mented. A dedicated staff inspectedstreetlights, responded to customercomplaints, and did repairs that weredifficult to do during the day.

Ed Carson worked on the troubleservice shift from 1 9 5 6 until his retire-ment in 1 9 8 5. During this time, theutility experienced expansion, and Edfound himself working with a grow-ing team of employees that he found tobe “very dedicated.” Ed also experi-enced adverse weather conditions thatsometimes complicated his job.

My most frightening experience hap-

pened during a lightning storm inApril 1956. I found a line on the sideof a transformer burned. I went upthe pole and with rubber gloves andbull cutters, I tried to clear it. As Iwas in the process of cutting, Itouched a messenger cable and I wassuddenly in the centre of a huge ballof fire. All the wires for two spanswere burnt. There was a policemanbelow me, and two more a span away.They looked up the pole and saw mestill alive! They were so scared theycould hardly talk. I contacted thepower plant and got permission fromBob McClary [former engineeringmanager] and the assistant superin-tendent to dump the circuit at thenearby substation so I could clear thede-energized line. I was then able toclose the circuit back in and call for aline crew. My rubber gloves werebadly shrunk up and the sleeves of myjacket were burned, along with a feweyelashes.

Source: Interview with Ed Carson

Looking for Trouble


New Gas TurbinesIt was forecast that yet another expan-sion of Rossdale’s capacity would beneeded by the late 1950s. It was thendecided to add this capacity using gasturbine generators. These machines usedjet engine technology to produce power.A new building adjoining the west sideof the Low Pressure Plant was con-structed to house two 30 MW gasturbine generators, at that time thelargest gas turbines in the world. Units 6and 7 were commissioned in 1958 and1959, respectively. The two gas turbinescost well over $2,875,000, and thebuilding built to enclose them — theGas Turbine House — cost $525,000.This expansion brought the utility’s pro-duction capacity to 180 MW.

A short distance north of the GasTurbine House, a new 72,000-V switch-yard was also constructed. Theswitchyard tied all of the power outputof the plant together, then sent it totransformers and substations throughoutthe city where it fanned out to everylight bulb and electric socket in homesand industries.

A new control room was also neces-sary. This was built at the south end ofthe Gas Turbine House, and included$250,000 in panels, switches, instru-ments, and wires. It would not be longbefore this control room would also


TOP LEFT: Construction of the new GasTurbine House.

TOP RIGHT: The new gas turbines wereassembled on site.

MIDDLE: The Gas Turbine House was builton the west side of the Rossdale plant.

BOTTOM: The 72 kV switchyard is visible inthe foreground of this photograph; the complet -ed Gas Turbine House is directly behind theswitchyard.


contain boiler controls and electricalpanels to serve the High Pressure Plantin the sixties.

Cinders or Nitrogen Oxides?Soot and cinders, byproducts of coalburning, had dirtied everything fromfresh laundry to ice rinks in Rossdale’svicinity for decades. City Council hadbeen receiving letters of complaint foryears. It was hoped that the completeconversion to gas in 1955 would allevi-ate this problem and bring an end tocitizen’s concerns.

Switching to gas did eliminate sootand fly ash from the boiler stacks.However, Rossdale’s new gas turbinesintroduced a different type of pollutionto city skies. Oxides of nitrogen (NOx), abyproduct of burning gas, now gave theair over Rossdale Power Plant a yellow-ish tinge. This haze was characteristic ofgas turbines at the time.

The provincial health departmentmoved to investigate the yellow smoke

coming out of the Rossdale gas turbinestacks. Officials continued to insist thatthe smoke was harmless and non-sulphurous; they adjusted the tempera-ture at which the gas turbines operatedfor further reductions. Further testingwas required. This issue would remainunresolved until future decades.

Distribution and TransmissionWhile Frank Sinatra crooned and Elviswas rocking his way to the top with BlueSuede Shoes, members of the Distribu-tion Department put on steel-toed bootsand hard hats. It was time to find betterways to deliver electricity to the hotelsand industrial plants that were poppingup all over Edmonton. Demand wasincreasing, and improved technologyseemed the only way to address theproblem.


The power plant’s new gas turbinesproduced more than yellow-tinged air.Soon after the turbines were startedup, a noise problem became evident.The high-pitched whine was bothannoying and penetrating. We beganresearching to come up with a solution.

One day I received a call from Com-missioner Menzies; he said that he hadanother complaint about the noise fromthe Rossdale Plant. Although he knewwe were working on the problem, hewanted immediate action.

Art Baird, George Knowles, GeorgeFaulder and I rushed over to the com-plainant’s address. We found a tinyhouse perched on the riverbank with aclear view of the power plant. Theinhabitant, an elderly woman, invitedus in to discuss the noise problem.

We were struck by the tomblikesilence in the house. There was noradio, no ticking clock, no furnace fan,none of the usual sources of noise.

We tried to assuage the woman’s con-cerns by telling her we were workingon the problem. She was unimpressed;it was apparent that we had to do some-thing to alleviate the situation.

As we were discussing the problemon our way back to the plant, someonesaid, “She needs something to breakthe silence.” Out of this came an idea.We purchased a canary and delivered itto the house. The lady was impressed;we heard nothing more from her.

We subsequently addressed the noiseproblem by changing the air intake atRossdale, which reduced the noiselevel considerably.

Adapted from text prepared by Frank Battistella

The Birdie Solution

BELOW: A redesigned distribution systemallowed linemen to work on energized lines.Note the insulation wrapped around the con -ductive surfaces in this photo.


By 1954, distribution voltage wasincreased to 4,160 V, up from 2,300 V.Substations featuring modern failsafesand designed for high voltages werebuilt.

The utility’s aerial distribution systemwas rebuilt starting in 1957. The newsystem included larger space clearancesbetween electrified wires and non-ener-gized components. This allowed“Rubber Glove Hand Contact” mainte-nance on energized conductors;previously, lines had to be de-energizedwhen maintenance was done, whichinterrupted service. The new systemallowed linemen to do repairs withoutinterrupting service. The Alberta Gov-ernment Electrical Protection Branchapproved this practice in 1958.

In 1958, technological changesdemanded higher voltage in the primarydistribution line. This voltage wasupgraded to 13,800 V after the installa-tion of Namao Substation on 127Avenue in north Edmonton. The

Namao, Hardisty, Strathcona, andWoodcroft substations were designed tooperate at 60/80 MVA, and were sup-plied by a transmission system operatingat 72 kV. A substantial innovation wasthe use of oil-filled pipe-type (OFPT)cable, which operated at 72 kV and60/80 MVA. OFPT cable carried currentfrom Rossdale’s 72 kV switchyard toNamao.

While the Namao substation wasbeing designed and built, it was decidedto operate an aerial transmission ringaround the periphery of Edmonton toact as a standby for the substations.

Another FirstAnother distribution “first” followedquickly on the heels of the OFPT cableto Namao. An 850-foot OFPT cablewas installed under the NorthSaskatchewan River. Encased in a con-crete-covered pipe, the cable wasinstalled the same way as the cable toNamao had been (see Installation, page

57), except it was buried in the riverbedrather than under a street. According toa November 2, 1957 Edmonton Journalreport, the

cross-river electrical power pipeline is thefirst to be built in western Canada, andis the longest in Canada. A considerablyshorter span is strung across the DonRiver at Toronto.

Back to Coal?The use of coal again became an optionas the decade came to a close. Gas priceshad begun to rise, the demand for powercontinued to increase, and the City againneeded to explore expansion. In 1958,building a new power plant on an alto-gether new site was considered. CalgaryPower had built a plant at Wabamun,where coal was close at hand. It wasunquestionably more cost-effective tobuild a plant near a coal mine than totransport fuel for long distances.

Genesee, not far from Wabamun, had


Year Station Number Location1950 450 119 st. & 114 ave.

650 135 st. & 103 ave.

1955 540 86 st. & 95 ave.

1956 520 115 st. & 76 ave.

1957 550 80 st. & argyll rd.

250 97 st. & 118 ave.

1958 Namao 97 st. & 127 ave.

Strathcona 99 st. & 51 ave.

1959 350 135 st. & 115 Ave.

Numbered substations operated at 15 kV; named substations (such as Namao, right), operated at 72 kV.

Substations Built in the 1950s


attracted the attention of City officialsand the power plant superintendent.The Genesee site had rich deposits ofeconomical and relatively clean-burningcoal. Cooling water would be availablefrom the North Saskatchewan River,and the site’s proximity to Edmontonwould keep the cost of transmission lowrelative to other mine-mouth sites. Con-

sequently, coal leases were purchased inanticipation of the day when vast coalreserves would be needed to meet theCity’s demand for electrical power.Those days were fast approaching.

A New Garage in 1959The number of repairs that the ElectricLight and Power Department needed to

make to transformers, poles, relays,switches, circuit breakers, and otherequipment grew along with the size ofthe utility’s infrastructure. A garage andwarehouse were needed to service suchequipment. By 1955, the existing facili-ties were small and outdated; a newbuilding was clearly needed. However,Superintendent Monaghan had to


The Light and Power Department,under the leadership of Superinten-dent Monaghan, used innovative newtechnology to build a transmissionsystem capable of handling increasedloads. One of the most significantnew developments used in this newsystem was OFPT cable, which couldcarry previously unheard of amountsof electricity.

In April 1957, work was begun toinstall four miles of undergroundOFPT cable from Rossdale to thenew Namao substation. An EdmontonJournal report of April 22, 1957 givesthe details:

[The] first phase of the project will beto lay the cable along 104 St. under-neath the east-west tracks near 105thAve. Twelve-inch pipe will be drilledunderneath the tracks from both sides,meeting in the middle. The 5 9/16 -inch cable will then be placed throughthe casing pipe.

C.Z. Monaghan ... said that powershould be flowing through the 72,000-volt line by next November. It will becapable of delivering 60,000 kilowatt-hours of power to the substation. The new system will tie in with the

gas turbines being installed at thepower plant. The cable to be laid thissummer is the first step in a new dis-tribution system for the city to provideabout 30 miles of the new type cablelaid at a cost of $2,500,000.

The cable is insulated with oil under200 pounds pressure per square inch,the first time this type of cable hasbeen used in Canada. Ultimately, therewill be six substations, on the city’sp e r i m e t e r, similar to the Namao one,supplied with power by the new lines.

The present system, at 13,800 volts,becomes uneconomical to operate overa long distance because of theunwieldy size of the cable in relationto the power carried, and the relative-ly high proportion of power loss.

The OFPT cable installationprocess was fascinating. Lengths of 5 1/2-inch diameter pipe were laiddown along 102 Street. A thin linewas blown through each pipe; thisline was used to pull a small cablethrough. This in turn was used topull three high-tension cables throughthe pipe. The 2,000-foot pipe sectionshad to be spliced together and sealed.

Dry nitrogen was used to keep out airand moisture.

Public curiosity was piqued whentransparent polyethylene tents beganpopping up along streets heading intonorth Edmonton. Set over manholes,these tents provided shelter from rainbut permitted light to enter themanhole in which teams of expertline splicers were hard at workinstalling the OFPT cable. The art ofline splicing was acquired throughyears of experience and training.Although it might have looked like asimple matter of wrapping tapearound wire, it required considerableskill in obtaining the right tensionthickness and number of wraps.

Once the splicing job was complete,high-grade oil was put through apurifying machine to remove mois-ture and gas, then pumped into thepipes. The oil used was very thin andmanufactured especially for electricalinsulation. This meant that more voltscould be passed through the lineswithout risk of fire. Despite its ambi-tious scale, the cable installationproject was completed two weeksahead of schedule.

Sources: The Edmonton Journal,1956, 1957

Installation of Oil-Filled Pipe-Type Cable


present many arguments to the mayorand City commissioners to get a newgarage.

According to a letter SuperintendentMonaghan wrote to the mayor in 1955,the old garage had been made hopelesslyinadequate by the utility’s expandinginfrastructure. The increase in thenumber of transformers and streetlampsillustrates this expansion. In 1945, therewere 1,580 distribution transformers inservice, which meant that approximately100 transformers needed overhaulingand repair every year. By 1950, thenumber of transformers in service hadincreased to 2,264, and by 1955 thatnumber had climbed to 3,673. Of these,800 required repair and testing every


Wes Knutson was chief engineer atRossdale during the 1950s and 1960s.Wes was a most competent engineer,not only in the area of plant operations,but also in dealing with major plantexpansions. The plant mechanical crewnot only looked after maintenance, butalso carried out turbine installation.Wes was in charge of all this work.

Knutson served on the British cruiserHMS Sheffield during World War 11,and was in on that vessel’s engagementof the Bismarck. Wes had a cutting wit,and never took himself too seriously.He was a very warm and colourfulperson. As a young mechanical engi-neer right out of school, I had a lot tolearn from Wes.

The following incident tells a lot

about Wes. It was 1955. We had justcompleted the installation of a largediameter cooling water piping systemthat ran east from a new pumphouse.The day came when number 2 pump-house was to be started for the firsttime. Things didn’t go all that well ...someone reported that water wascoming out of the ground betweennumber 1 pumphouse and the turbineroom. All attention turned to the spot,and sure enough, a leak of somenature was evident. We shut downthe pump and arranged for a backhoeto dig the area.

After the pipe was exposed on top,[I] went [and] looked for the leaksource. Be darned if it wasn’t from ahalf-inch coupling that had been

welded to the pipe to attach a pres-sure gauge used in testing the line.Someone had forgotten to place aplug in the coupling. While I wasdown in the hole, Wes was standingon the stairway platform at the end ofthe turbine room awaiting the verdict.[When I called my report to him,] heretorted back with his fist held high,“Faulder, your father wasted hismoney on your education!”

That incident was one of a numberof memorable events that punctuatedour days with Wes. Everyone heldhim in high esteem, and was alwaysanticipating his colourful reactions inthe course of conversation.

Told by George Faulder

Wes Knutson

LEFT: Until the late 1950s, Edmonton’s elec-trical utility used a small shed attached to theRossdale plant for maintenance. This wasreplaced with a modern facility in 1959.



year. Similarly, 2,621 streetlights wereoperated and maintained in 1945. By1955, there were 7,500 streetlights tolook after. Maintenance of the street-lights alone required both workspaceand storage facilities. Spare parts for allof this work had to be on hand and yet,at the time, equipment and supplies

were stored at various locations aroundthe city.

Monaghan got his wish. The ElectricLight and Power Department movedinto new facilities in early 1959. Thenew location, located at 108 Street and121 Avenue, included a warehouse,shop, storage, and a garage.

The 1950s marked the beginning ofrenewed need for technological advance-ment and innovations withinEdmonton’s electric utility. New ideas,technologies, and demand increasespressured the utility to respond in waysthat were progressive and met customerneeds. In an almost breathless flurry of

Good afternoon, fellow citizens! LastSunday, on my first broadcast of thenew year, I reviewed briefly the out-standing events of 1954. It was animpressive year for the City ofEdmonton in all respects – in sports, inindustrial and commercial growth, inconstruction, and particularly inimprovements and expansion ofmunicipal services to fill the growingneeds of our people.

As many of you know, Edmonton isthe only city in Canada of comparablesize where so many public utilities aremunicipally owned and operated.

This means that services can be pro-vided at little more than cost, onlyallowing for operating expenses, taxes,and sinking funds for expansion andimprovement.

Furthermore, results of profitableoperations are used to provide moreand better services and to reduce theburden of taxation.

Since these utilities are owned by thecitizens, there is greater interest intheir operation, resulting in betterservice for everyone.

Because our population continues toincrease at a faster rate than any othercity in the Dominion, greater demandsare being made on the city’s servicesthan ever before. New residential and

industrial districts are being developedwhich must be provided with publicservices.

...Basic necessities of any modern city

are power to turn the wheels of indus-try ... electricity to light homes andstreets ... water for domestic andindustrial use and for fire protection.

In Edmonton, these services origi-nate in the municipally-owned andoperated power plant and water treat-ment station located at the north endof the 105th Street Bridge.

...[In 1912,] the total value of the plant

was just over one and a quartermillion dollars, and the cost to the cityof generating one kilowatt of powerwas about three cents.

Today, because of the use of lessexpensive fuel, automatic machineryand bigger units, this figure had beenreduced to less than half a cent.

...Today, capital investment in the

plant is estimated at $6,700,000 andfurther extensive additions are evennow underway or on the planningboard.

Since the end of the war annualpower sales have doubled every sevenyears, with recent indications that this

rate is accelerating all the time....Because revenue from operations

is increasing by 12 – 15 per cent annually, while operation costs aredecreasing, the department is able toput aside appreciable sums each yearfor reserves out of which it will financeits own expansions as it has done in thepast.

...As part of the celebrations marking

the city of Edmonton’s golden anniver-sary last October, many of ourmunicipal departments were opened tothe public. In all cases this proved verysuccessful and particularly at thepower plant where the superintendent,William Kirkland, reports [that] morethan 10,000 citizens toured the prem-ises as well as the adjoining watertreatment station.

Members of the staff were stationedthroughout the plant to answer ques-tions and offer information of interest.Pamphlets explaining operations werealso prepared and distributed.

It was gratifying to note the interestexpressed by our citizens who visitedthe plant.

From a CFRN radio broadcast madeby William Hawrelak, dated

January 9, 1955

Meet the Mayor


expansion and addition of equipment,Rossdale Power Plant’s peak capacitygrew from 60 MW in 1950 to 180 MWin 1959. This would not be the last dra-matic increase in capacity; futuredecades would see the utility grow evenfaster.


Waldemar (Goldie) Lehmann, aged28, was toppled from a pole duringthe storm. He had climbed one poleadjacent to another that had fallen ona house. As he was disconnecting thedamaged lines, the broken pole shif-ted, knocking over the one Lehmannwas on. He received a broken armand two broken ribs. He chuckleswhen he tells the story today, but hewasn’t laughing when it happened!

Most on-the-job accidents in the1950s were not fatal; however, a fewtook the lives of employees of boththe power plant and the Light andPower Department. For example, aCity Safety Department report revealsthat between January 1956 and Sep-tember 1958, three employees werekilled on the job, a reminder that theutility’s employees are always exposedto danger.

Source: Interviews and The Edmonton Journal, 1958

E d m o n t o n ’s electrical utility continuedto be reliable throughout the 1 9 5 0s, inpart because it effectively responded topopulation growth and technologicalchange. The design of the distributionsystem ensured that faults could becompensated for; thus, service inter-ruptions were rare and brief.

Occasionally, though, MotherNature reminded the utility that shewas really in charge. One weekend inearly August 1958, a huge stormdamaged power lines, toppled about25 poles, and damaged at least twotransformers. So many lines had beendowned by falling trees and branchesthat customers were warned to watchfor energized wires in their yards.The utility responded to over 2,500reports of power disruption after thestorm. Some households were withoutpower for 24 hours.

The weather also took its toll on theutility’s human assets. Lineman

Dangerous Work

L E F T: Meter maintenance at the NorthService Centre.


Chapter 7

Electricity Sparksthe ‘60s

• • • • •

1960 – 1969

he babies born in the postwar glow ofthe late 1940s came of age in the psyche-delic 1960s. Many rejected conventionalcareers and values. Long hair, kaftans,love beads, and sandals identified thisnew generation. Driven by values otherthan material success, they wanted toshape Canadian society in fresh andexciting ways. One of their many con-cerns was the environment.

In 1964, Rachel Carson’s controversialbook Silent Spring was published. Itfocused on growing concerns about theenvironment and the effect of pesticideson wildlife. The book was a sign of thetimes – fewer people were willing toaccept pollution as a necessary byproductof industrial society. This was relevant tothe Rossdale Power Plant, and Edmon-ton’s electrical utility continued to findways to reduce emissions.

Smog was not the only challengefacing the utility. The demand for elec-tricity was expanding as a result of abooming economy, a growing popula-tion, and the utility’s own promotionalefforts. William Kirkland, superintend-ent of the power plant during thetumultuous 1960s, helped the utilitymeet many of these challenges. Heoversaw the expansion of the RossdalePower Plant and advised City Councilabout the best approach to take in build-ing a new power plant on the city’soutskirts, to expand the generation ofpower beyond the sturdy brick walls ofRossdale.

Demand IncreasesDemand for power increased in the1960s. Thanks to a post-war baby boomand an influx of people seeking work inthe province’s oil-fed industries, Edmon-ton’s population reached 371,265 in

61 Chapter 7: Electricity Sparks the ‘60s

IMilestones

1960An OFPT cable using aluminum

(rather than copper) conductors linksRossdale to Woodcroft Substation.

This aluminum cable is the first of itskind to be used commercially in

North America.

Power rates for domestic electricalpower are $0.04 per kWh for 40kWh, $0.02 for 110 kWh, and

$0.015 for 150 kWh or more. Theaverage consumption per domestic

customer is 2,950 kWh.

By year’s end, there are 36,496electric ranges and 1,586 dryers in

Edmonton.

1961Edmonton annexes the town ofBeverly, extending the eastern

boundary of the city to 34 Street.

1962Edmonton celebrates its first

Klondike Days.

Canada launches a scientific satelliteand becomes the third country in the

world to launch a satellite.

1963 Power lines distributing power tonew residential areas are installed

underground, following a new City policy.

1964There are 88,565 meters in service in

Edmonton, and 28,425 electricalinspections are carried out.

Chapter 7 final' 2/7/02 10:18 PM Page 61

1965, up from 209,353 in 1955. Butthere weren’t just more people to buypower; people were buying more elec-tricity than ever before.

The City of Edmonton aggressivelymarketed the consumption of electricity.Electricity was a profitable commoditywhose benefits were proclaimed on bill-boards emblazoned with the words“Live Better Electrically.” This became ajingle that was broadcast on both televi-sion and radio. City-employed homeeconomists advocated the use of electri-cal appliances.

These promotional efforts resulted inhigher sales of electrical power. Between1961 and 1969, domestic consumption ofelectricity increased by 5.5 percent yearly.Power sold to City departments wouldalso rise – from 363,387,600 kWh in1955 to 1,035,095,900 kWh in 1965.

City residents weren’t the only cus-tomers drawing on Rossdale. In the1960s, Edmonton’s electrical utility and

Calgary Power had an agreementwhereby they paid fixed rates for emer-gency use of each other’s generatingfacilities. Between 1960 and 1971,Calgary requested emergency aid 68times and Edmonton made 26 requestsfor assistance.

ExpansionAn expansion strategy involving bothgeneration and distribution departmentswas developed to meet increasingdemand. Rossdale was to be expandedonce again. Plans were made to build analtogether new power plant. And foursubstations were built in the 1960s todeliver electricity to new suburbanneighborhoods via buried distributionlines.


ABOVE, RIGHT: The City of Edmontonadvertised the use of electrical appliancesthroughout the 1960s.

For CFRN TVWho says the good old pioneer daysare gone forever! Man is constantlysearching new horizons for betterways to live.

Take electricity, for example ... nowthere’s a field of great potential! Dis-covered ... yes ... but not exploited tothe fullest extent. Yesterday – anunharnessed element of nature ...today – an energy we profit fromboth physically and economically.Look around your home ... you’ll findthe advantages in every room.

Electricity for light ... safe foodstorage ... meal preparation ... cleanli-ness ... daily household chores ... andmany more conveniences. Some as-yetundiscovered ... scientific research isconstantly exploring new ways to useelectricity for an easier, more conven-ient way of life.

Your City of Edmonton ElectricalSystem invites you to pioneer withprogress ... LIVE BETTER – ELEC-TRICALLY.

For CBXT TVIf you were forced to part with all

but ONE electrical appliance ... whichwould you keep ... one of yourkitchen appliances ... or one of yourhousekeeping appliances? It wouldn’tbe an easy decision, because youdepend on ALL of them. Your Cityof Edmonton Electrical Systeminvites you to LIVE BETTER –ELECTRICALLY.

Audio portions of television commercials

prepared by Nattall & Maloney Ltd.,

advertising agency in the 1960s.

Advertising on Television


Between 1960 and 1966, three gener-ating units were purchased. Each unitwas comprised of a turbine and a boilerthat operated at higher steam pressuresthan the machines in the Low PressurePlant could. These high pressure unitswere labeled numbers 8, 9, and 10.“Putting in number 8 was a real chal-lenge,” remembers George Faulder, amechanical engineer at the plantbetween 1954 and 1966. “It was twiceas big as the other units and operated ata higher pressure and temperature thanthe low pressure turbines.”

According to Faulder, there wereother challenges as well.

In the Low Pressure Plant there wereseven boilers in a row, feeding steam to acommon header located at the rear of theboiler room. All the turbines took theirsteam from a common header. The con-sequence of that was that any boilercould supply steam to any turbine. In the

high pressure steam plant, one boiler sup-plied steam for one turbine.

To accommodate these large units, awest wing was added to the north end ofthe power plant. The High PressurePlant was born. Its three turbines had atotal generating capacity of 225,000 kW.Each of the new turbines used less fuelper kWh generated than the turbines inthe Low Pressure Plant. The Low Pres-sure Plant contained five turbines with atotal generating capacity of 120,000 kW.

Environmental ConcernsWhen they were first installed in the1950s, Rossdale’s gas turbines seemed tobe everything the City was looking for:their jet-engine technology offeredquick-starting capability for peak loads.However, the limitations of this



1965This year, 1,573,151 electrical bills

are produced.

1966 Rossdale’s generating capacity reaches405 MW, up from 225 kW in 1902.

Ninety-five percent of Alberta’s farmshave electrical power.

1967The stacks above Rossdale’s HighPressure Plant are elevated about

30 m to better disperse gas. Devicesare installed in the plant’s gas turbine

stacks to reduce the formation ofnitrogen oxides in the flue gases.

Canada celebrates its 100th birthday.

Workers installing a gas line near theRossdale Power Plant unearth ancient

human remains.

Edmonton’s Provincial Museum ofAlberta opens.

Work begins on the Clover Bar Generating Station.

1968Ernest Manning retires from politics

after 25 years.

1969This year, 1,923,900 electrical bills

are produced.

Apollo 11 lands on the moon onJuly 20. The spacecraft begins its

voyage home on July 24.

BELOW: Exhaust plumes from the shortstacks over Rossdale.



A shaft for Edmonton’s deep sewersystem was being dug at BordenPark. In June of 1960, we were expe-riencing a heavy rainstorm that wasto last three days. On the first day ofrain, an accident happened in thesewer shaft at Borden Park. We werecalled out to provide temporary light-ing in the shaft so doctors couldperform emergency medical proce-dures. Upon arriving at the site, wefound that the lighting was no longerrequired. We had a crew of eightlinemen plus a truck driver andforeman. Our foreman decided wewould take a tour of the north side ofthe city.

While traveling, us linemen rode inthe back of the truck, in the “doghouse.” It was difficult to see outside,especially with the pouring rain.However, we were aware that the

truck was speeding up. We peeredthrough the lone window into the caband found that we were chasing asteer down a muddy street. This steerhad apparently escaped from thestockyards; our foreman had evident-ly decided that we should catch theanimal. One of the crew decided heshould lasso the steer. He took one ofthe ropes on the trick and made alasso. He then stood on the back ofthe truck and prepared his throw. Atthis time another crewman decided tohave a look; he was lassoed in errorand nearly thrown off the truck. Thiswas taking pace on the RearsonEstates, east of 82 Street, where theYellowhead now exists. Many of theresidents had two or three lots inwhich they grew vegetables. Afteravoiding the lasso, the steer decided toleave the street and stampede through

these vegetable gardens. We left thetruck to chase down the steer ... untila lady, furious at the destruction ofher garden, chased after us.

We broke off our pursuit andreturned to the service centre, wherewe were met by the general foreman.He asked where we had been; ourforeman replied that we had answereda call to Borden Park. The generalforeman said that he had received acomplaint about a City crew chasing asteer through a woman’s garden northof Borden Park. He was puzzled: whocould it have been? Our foreman sug-gested that it must have been atelephone crew. It was agreed that thiswas possible. The call was deferred.Management is none the wiser to thisd a y.

From notes submitted by a utility lineman

Sewers, Steers, and Vegetable Gardens

In the early 1 9 6 0s, Edmonton’s powerutility had a terrible safety record. Soa safety supervisor was appointed; hecreated safety rules. Many had troubleadapting to these rules; one employeehad particularly bad luck with them.In the course of one week, he walkedthrough a pane of glass beside an opendoor and broke his nose; then, whilewalking off a trailer, he missed thet r a i l e r ’s steps and broke his arm andcollar bone. This employee was incharge of enforcing safety for all fieldpersonnel! To d a y ’s safe environmentwas not achieved overnight!

As told to Lyn McCullough

Inspector Safety


technology were becoming apparent in1960, when nitrogen oxide, a potentiallyharmful product of combustion, seemedto be present in the exhaust of a turbinepurchased in 1958. Mayor Roper main-tained that the gas turbine producedemissions only when going “full out” tosupply the emergency needs of CalgaryPower. An unfortunate choice of words,considering that the gas turbines had

cost the City substantial tax dollars.“Have the taxpayers of Edmonton beensaddled with a $1,500,000 expenditurechiefly for the profit and convenience ofthe Calgary Power Company?” won-dered editors at the Edmonton Journal.The troublesome turbine was eventuallyrelegated to supplying power at emer-gency and peak periods only. The flametemperature in the turbine was also

lowered, reducing the production ofnitrogen oxide.

In 1964, new challenges arose. Nowthe emissions were coming from thesilver stacks that towered above the newHigh Pressure wing. Staff at the gener-ating station worked with themanufacturer of its turbines to find away to burn fuel with fewer visibleemissions. However, the problem


It all began when Gary Paul went to anjob interview. It was 1963, and Paulwas a lanky 19-year old with slicked-back hair, fresh out of high school andlooking for a job. He responded towhat he believed was a help-wanted adfor telephone workers (the telephonecompany was then City-owned). By theend of the interview, he was surprisedto be offered a job as an apprenticelineman with the Electrical Distribu-tion Department! Somehow, Paul hadgotten his wires crossed and accidental-ly applied for work with the City’selectric utility. Despite the surprise, hetook the job and has never looked back.

Paul was fortunate to join thecompany when he did. In 1960, a newtraining scheme was developed by theutility in partnership with the provin-cial government’s ApprenticeshipTraining Board. Electrical apprenticesattended the Northern Alberta Insti -tute of Technology (NAIT) as part oftheir training. “It was a four yearapprenticeship,” says Paul. “I workedin the field and spent eight weeks ayear in the classroom studying theoryand doing lab training.”

Linemen–then as now–were calledupon to install, repair, and maintain

power lines. The growth of newsuburbs in the 1960s meant that thiswas demanding work. In 1963, the yearthat Paul began work as a lineman,1,133 rotted poles were replaced, andan additional 68 poles were replaced asa result of car accidents.

Although Paul was stationed at theNorth Service Centre, he was sent outon jobs across the city, often in sub-zero weather. Those were the dayswhen crews traveled in an unheated“dog house” perched on the box of aflat-nosed International Truck.

Once a lineman was ready to startwork on a line, he would strap steelspurs on his legs. He would shimmyup the pole by jamming the spurs intothe wood and propelling himselfupward. Once he reached the line, thelineman would lower a rope and haulup a “nose bag” full of equipment.

One of the most important itemshauled up the pole was a “divingboard.” “We didn’t have bucket trucksat that time,” says Paul. “Divingboards were insulated planks that wechained to the poles and then stood onwhile we did work on the line.” Otheritems included rubber line hose to slipover energized power lines.

The work could be uncomfortableand at times dangerous. Energizedpower lines have blown across Paul’sfeet. He has worked in temperaturesso cold that sweat has frozen inside histhick rubber work gloves. But hewouldn’t trade his job for any other.“I’ve worked with the best people Ican imagine,” he says. “This job has letme work in different parts of the cityevery day. It’s never boring. I’ve beenproud to be a part of this company.”

With notes prepared by Lyn McCullough

The Life of a Lineman

ABOVE: A lineman on a diving board.



persisted, and Alberta’s health ministerordered the City to address its pollutionproblem by December 31, 1966.

City Council commissioned a $20,000study to determine the composition ofRossdale’s emissions. Joseph Lukacs, Dr.A. Rossano, and Dr. W. Oldham con-duced 24 different tests from the roof ofthe generating plant. The results werenot encouraging: the gas was beingemitted at a rate of 90 to 200 parts permillion. Safe concentrations rangedfrom 5 to 40 parts per million.

Meanwhile, City aldermen and Ross-dale Superintendent Kirkland continuedto argue that the pollution emergingfrom the stacks was quickly dispersedinto the air and therefore posed no sig-nificant health threat. Consultantsultimately supported these arguments.City Council approved an extension ofthe exhaust stacks over Rossdale. Thestacks over the Gas Turbine House werefitted with devices that helped toprevent the formation of nitrogen oxide.

The Road to Clover Bar Edmonton had experienced growth inalmost every decade of its history. There-fore, it seemed reasonable to forecast thatE d m o n t o n ’s population and its powerconsumption would continue to increase.Expanding the Rossdale Power Plantw a s n ’t the only way to address thisgrowing need. A companion plant,burning either coal or gas, at an altogeth-er new site, was a possible alternative.

The Genesee area, located about 80km southwest of Edmonton, had beenfirst considered as a generating site inthe 1950s. This site remained attractivein the 1960s. Test drilling indicated thatthe coal beds contained 45,000,000 tonsof coal with a heating value of approxi-mately 7,800 BTU per pound, roughlyequivalent to 3.8 billion gallons of oil. In1961, Power Plant SuperintendentKirkland advised Edmonton CityCouncil that coal reserves in the Geneseearea made building a 1,500 MW coal-fired plant possible and economical.

Not everything about Genesee (orexpansion in general) was right,however. First, coal-fired generatingplants were expensive. Second, Calgary

An offer to city residentsSome older homes don’t have enoughelectrical outlets for all the applianceswe use today. This deficiency temptspeople to overload a single outlet withseveral two-way plugs and a jumbleof cords and flexes. Result: an unsigh-tly and very dangerous “octopus.”

There’s a better way to meet thedemands of modern living ... use theCity of Edmonton ResidentialRewiring Plan to provide additionaloutlets ... to relocate existing outlets orto re-wire your home completely,ensuring high safety standards.

Here’s how the plan works:You call an electrical contractor and

have him estimate the job. If the esti-mate is acceptable to you, then youand the contractor complete a three-part agreement with the City ofEdmonton. After the work is done,the City pays the contractor in full.Any amount up to $300.00 can befinanced, with as long as 35 monthsto repay. The interest rate is low –and monthly payments can be includ-ed in your electric service account. Nodown payment is necessary. Ofcourse, you may pay off the wholeamount sooner, if you wish. To “LiveBetter – Electrically” – make sureyour home’s wiring is adequate.

For further information about theresidential rewriting plan, consultyour electrical distribution systemcommercial section – main floor, cityhall. Call 424-0211.

From copy prepared for publication in Alberta Community Life Magazine

in late 1963

Is There an Octopus in Your Home?

BELOW: In 1963, distribution departmentworkers demonstrated the dangers of electricalshort circuits. Over 2,000 people attended thedemonstrations.


In the 1960s, motorists on Stony PlainRoad may have had their attentionmomentarily diverted by a gleamingdisplay of modern appliances in theglassed-in verandah of 650 Substation.The display was part of EdmontonElectrical Distribution Department’spromotion strategy – a strategydesigned to attract the attention offemale consumers.

In the 1960s, women were seen asdecision-makers when it came tochoosing from the more than 80 dif-ferent household appliances then onthe market. In 1962, the ElectricalDistribution Department hired RoseFaryna, a home economist, to giveadvice to “questioning housewives”about the economical and efficient useof household appliances. From anoffice and auditorium (used fordemonstrations and courses), Farynaprovided interested groups with “tipson cooking, menu planning, laundry,and home management.”

The faded green scrapbook createdby the home service department in the1960s contains clippings and photo-graphs documenting Faryna’s efforts,and those of her successors. It includesrecipes for such dishes as “macaronisauté” and “polka dot chili.” Clippingschronicle cooking demonstrations withimprobable new appliances such as an“infra red cooker.” Thank you cardsfrom 4-H clubs, schools, and women’sgroups and associations indicate thatFaryna’s efforts were welcomed andappreciated.

While the work of the home servicedepartment may seem dated now, atthe time it was part of an overall effort

by Edmonton’s Electrical DistributionDepartment to not only increasedemand for electricity, but to educatethe public. The utility’s home econo-mists actively promoted safe residentialwiring. And while few of us wouldneed to be instructed in the careful useof electrical appliances today, in the1960s, many still needed Faryna’sadvice. Home economists would

continue to provide information to thepublic on behalf of Edmonton’s electri-cal utilities until the late 1990s.

Live Better Electrically

BELOW: Modern electrical appliances weredisplayed in 650 Substation on Stony PlainRoad.

BOTTOM: Rose Faryna, the Electrical Distribution Department’s home economist,demonstrated appliances in this auditorium.



Power was planning new, competingventures. It embarked on a majorexpansion of its Wabamun plant, andhoped to build a hydro-electric plant onthe Brazeau River within two or threeyears.

The Alberta Power Commission, abody that regulated the development ofelectrical utilities in Alberta, recom-mended that Edmonton delay building


Competition was in the blood ofmany Edmonton Power employees inthe 1960s. “In the old days, they hada ball diamond at the North ServiceCentre,” remembers Ron Donaldson,a former director of aerial distribu-tion, now retired. Substation workers,meter readers, and waterworksemployees formed teams and compet-ed in tournaments.

Competition wasn’t limited only tothe ball field. In the 1960s, a smallgroup of volunteers established one ofEdmonton’s most famous annualrivalries,” says Walt Badowsky aformer training supervisor.

We wanted something else to do, soone of us came up with the idea thatwe should get on the river and have araft race. The plan at that time was tostart in Devon. You’d go down thereFriday night and build your raft fromthe wood on the river bank andlaunch this thing and have a race toGroat Bridge.

The entry fee for the first raft racewas a bottle of whisky, with thewinner taking all. In the first year ofcompetition, the prize was 12 bottles.

Badowsky recalls many hijinksamong the competitors in the earlyraft races. “A guy named AndyWatson was pretty involved in therace,” he says. “[The night before thecompetition] a few guys took a roll ofguy wire and anchored one end to atree. They reeled the wire out andtied it to the bottom of Andy’s raft.Then they buried the exposed wireunder the sand.” When the startinggun was sounded the next morning,competitors scrambled to get theirrafts out onto the water. Unfortunate-ly for Watson, his raft managed tomove out only a few yards before thewire prevented it from going anyfarther. “Everyone was on the vergeof falling off the raft and Andy justthought he had run into a sandbar.”

After a few years, organizers beganto open the race to other groups, such

as workers from Edmonton Tele-phones. By 1966 a core group ofvolunteers registered the “SourdoughRaft Race Association” under theAlberta Societies Act. The racebecame an official Klondike Daysevent. Themes were established forthe races. Rafts became more elabo-rate. “We’ve had two person rafts,York boats, freighter rafts, andcomedy floats,” recalls Dave Walker,now director of systems developmentat EPCOR and a longtime volunteerwith the race.

By the late ‘70s, over 100,000people lined the river valley to watchthe annual race. In 1979, over 200floats participated in the event. Whathad once been a fun way to spend aweekend for a few utility employeeshad become an Edmonton institution.It’s still one of the premier eventsduring the Edmonton festival season.


A Competitive Spirit

LEFT: Rossdale Central Control Room elec-trical board with John Simpson at the controlboard and John Hodgson in the foreground.The mimic board on the right was later movedto the North Service Centre.


its Genesee plant and instead purchasepower that it needed from CalgaryPower. The power would come fromCalgary’s Wabamun plant, and eventu-ally from the Brazeau development.

The Alberta Power Commission’s rec-ommendations did not sit well with theCity. Mayor Elmer Roper declared thatit was much cheaper for the City toproduce its own power than to buy itfrom a privately-owned company. SomeEdmonton aldermen also argued thattaxpayers of Alberta were unfairly subsi-dizing Calgary Power, which receivedinterest-free loans, while the City ofEdmonton received no such assistance.

Power Commission Chair James G.MacGregor countered these argumentsby stating that Edmonton’s proposed

expansion would create an unnecessaryand uneconomical duplication of servic-es. “We want to get the three companies(Calgary Power, Canadian Utilities, andthe City of Edmonton) to voluntarilylook at this as if they were operated byone authority and as though they wereone company,” MacGregor told the

Edmonton Journal. MacGregor said hefelt that the companies should considerforming an independent generatingcompany that would sell power to all thedistribution networks.

This debate raised fears that the Citywould not get approval for its plansunless it submitted them within a short


RIGHT: George Faulder, left, points out asteam jet air ejector on Rossdale number 8steam turbine generator to a local journalist.

At about 3 : 0 0 AM on a cold Februarymorning in 1 9 6 9, technician Walt Bad-owsky was jarred awake by his ringingtelephone. “It was Roy Fitzsimmons,the substation supervisor,” says Bad-o w s k y. “He told me there was troubleon the system.”

Fitzsimmons told Badowsky to getto the plant as quickly as he could. As ableary-eyed Badowsky drove his truckdown 1 0 9 Street, he was struck by thealmost mystical darkness blanketingthe city. Reaching the top of Wa l t e r d a l eHill, his impression changed to one ofw o n d e r. In front of him were Alberta’slegislature buildings, blazing withlight. The legislature, powered by itsown electrical generator, looked like afairy castle. The buildings were

covered in snow and bathed in acreamy yellow glow. A red clearancelight shone from the tip of the domelike a cherry on a well-frosted cake.

After reaching the Rossdale PowerPlant, Badowsky was immediately senton to the Strathcona Substation, thesource of the problem. The brickbuilding was belching dark smoke intothe cold night air. “The fire depart-ment was already there,” saysBadowsky. “They were spraying downthe red hot switch gear. Steam waseverywhere.” That was bad.

Badowsky finally persuaded the fire-fighters to stop spraying the electricalswitch gear. Rubber and insulation onall the cables were burning. Thestation was shut down by remote

control from the Rossdale Power Plantand the fire died down. A crew fromthe Distribution Department was leftto clean up what remained of theStrathcona Substation.

The cause of the explosion was adeadly combination of water and elec-tricity. Part of the substation had beenunder construction. Water frommelting snow had dripped through anopening in the roof onto a circuitbreaker. The resulting explosion had aricochet affect, knocking out breakersat the Rossdale Power Plant. Powerwas off for one hour in some parts ofthe city and fourteen in others. “I’llnever forget it,” says Walt Badowsky.

From interviews conducted by Debbie Culbertson

City-Wide Black-Out


timeframe. Despite this, the City took itstime in exploring all possible options.Over the next three years, Plant Super-intendent Kirkland would fill a specialfiling cabinet with estimates on futurepower requirements and potentialoptions for meeting the City’s powerneeds. It seemed that the City was

inching towards the Genesee alternative:by 1965, it had spent close to $250,000on surveys and research at Genesee.Hopes were high that Edmonton couldbuild a $50,000,000 power plant atGenesee by 1969, with provisions for anadditional $15,000,000 expenditure ona later expansion.

Just as it seemed that the City waspoised to move forward, a new proposaltook the shine off the Genesee alterna-tive. The Dynamic Power Corporationproposed that the City of Edmonton,Calgary Power, and Red Deer operate athermal power plant on coal supplied byreserves at Ardley, 20 miles east of RedDeer. According to surveys, Ardleycould produce twice the amount of coalneeded for the economical operation of agenerating station. Despite its initialpromise, however, this proposal fellthrough when Calgary Power withdrewits support for the plant.

Initially, this power-sharing proposalseemed to offer the most economicalsolution. In a 1965 report, Power PlantSuperintendent Kirkland recommendedthat the City consider building a powerstation adjacent to the Ardley coal field.


The Edmonton Power Curling Clubis the oldest curling club of its kind ... in Edmonton. The club was originallyorganized late in the curling season of1945, [but] only succeeded in playingfour games [that year]. In the 1946season, however, the club got intohigh gear, with four teams entered inthe schedule.

Very little is known about the [club’s ]first three years as no records were kept.The backbone of the club at the time wasNobby Clark, who always managed tocome up with fantastic first place prizes,such as used meter dials and “antiquelamps.” All were very original and veryhard to find.

Some of the prominent members atthe time were: Dave Raitt, who waswell known for his knock out game;Jack Torrance, who always played adraw game; and Bill Allan, who isstill an active member of the clubafter 25 years.

Edmonton Power curled originallyat the Granite and was [the Granite’s]first ice renter on a regular basis. Theclub then moved to the Thistle forthree years and finally to the Sham-rock.

The Sangamo Cup came into exis-tence in the 1949 – 1950 season, andwas presented to the first place rink

of that year. Skip S.L. Clark, Third, J.Torrance, Second, N. Christophers,and Lead, H. Kinloch.

Two other trophies were added inthe 1 9 6 7 – 1 9 6 8 season. The 1 0 0 7IBEW (International Brotherhood ofElectrical Workers) trophy for the “ASection” winners and the Union 5 2trophy for the “B Section” winners.

The skip whose name appears themost on the Sangamo trophy is StanHampton. Since he started dominat-ing the winning circle it was obvioussomething had to be done. He wasgently eased out of the EdmontonPower Department and up to theCommissioners Department.

Every skip’s ambition to join the “8Ender” Club became a reality forNorm Simmons and his rink, TomLuchka, Howard Walsh, and BobMcClary on February 4, 1967. Theyalso won the league trophy in thesame year. Their success obviously gotthe better of them; the next seasonthey won the booby prize.

The end of the 1969 – 1970 seasonsaw Sam McGregor’s rink emerge aswinner of the Sangamo LeagueTrophy and the “A Section” trophy.

From Watt’s New,October 1970.

Oldest Curling Club

A B O V E : Jim Curry, Wes Knutson, PeteTuchsen and, in the doorway, Rudy Delmaroverhaul turbine number 4 at Rossdale in 1969.


However, the City was now consider-ing a gas-fired plant. Gas fired plantswere less expensive at that time. TheAlberta Power Commission was con -cerned that there were not adequate fuelsupplies for a gas plant, but this concernwas addressed by subsidies. Frank Bat-tistella, manager of engineering at thetime, recalls highlights of the debateover fuel. “A federal governmentincome tax rebate on gas-fired powergeneration ... lowered operating costs.”Finally, a gas-powered plant would be abetter “fit” for the load patterns of the1960s. “The approximately 150 MWunits in a gas-fired plant were more


William Kirkland was a fixture at theRossdale Power Plant for almost thirtyyears. After graduating from the Uni-versity of Alberta with a degree inelectrical engineering in 1937, heworked for Toronto Hydro for eightyears. In 1945 he returned to Edmon-ton and began his career at the City’spower and water treatment plant as adraftsman and junior engineer. Kirk-land became superintendent ofRossdale in 1952.

Having worked his way up in theutility, Kirkland had a special appreci-ation for those who were beginningtheir careers at the plant. “Bill Kirk-land was extremely conscientious,responsible, and concerned aboutpeople,” says George Faulder. Fauldersays that Kirkland put a lot of trust inthe small group of young and inexperi-enced engineers that were working at

the plant in the 1950s. Others who knew him described

Kirkland as a “hands-on” manager.During the search for a site for the newgas-fired plant, he wondered whether asite in the river valley flatland might besuitable. Henry Kasten, then a structur-al consultant with the utility, suggestedthat Kirkland take a look at the sitehimself. “It was mid-winter and thethought came to me that I had a snow-mobile that could easily travel down thehill into the valley,” recalls Kasten. “Isuggested to Bill that I’d be pleased totake him on a reconnaissance trip onmy snowmobile.” Kirkland agreed toK a s t e n ’s offer.

On the appointed day, Kastenwaited at the top of the hill with hissnowmobile. When Kirkland arrived,Kasten was flabbergasted. “Bill hadcome straight from the office wearing

his dark blue business suit, overcoat,gray fedora, driving gloves, and blackoxfords with toe rubbers,” says Kasten.“I, on the other hand, was wearing aparka and mukluks.” Kasten nervous-ly drove the power chief down the hill,all the while having visions of “rollingmy client into deep snow.” Fortunate-ly, they had a good run down the hilland Kirkland quickly determined thatthe available area was far too small toaccommodate a modern power plant.

Kirkland would soon oversee thebuilding of the new Clover Bar Gener-ating Station. When the water plantand power plant were separated in1970, he became the general managerof the newly formed “EdmontonPower,” serving until his retirement in1974. He died in 1985.

Sources: interviews and The Edmonton Journal, 1985

William D. Kirkland

LEFT: The North Service Centre was extend-ed to house the Distribution Control Centre inthe 1960s.



suited to the demands of the 1960s; acoal-fired unit would be more economi-cally sized in the 300-400 MW range,”says Battistella.

Despite the foot dragging, CityCouncil approved the building of a newgas-fired generating station in January1966, and the government gave its go-ahead to the project. The Clover Bar siteon the east side of the city was chosen tobe the building site. By January 1968,the major pieces of equipment had beenordered, and in March of that same year,construction began on the plant.

As Canada entered its second century,Edmonton’s electrical utility was anexpanding utility with a growing infra-structure. It seemed that the utility wasready for any challenge. Few could haveforeseen, however, the crisis that domi-nated the energy markets in the 1970s,when the price of gas rose dramaticallyand called the West’s reliance on fossilfuels into question.

Following City Council’s approval ofa new gas-fired power plant, a sitehad to be determined and ... pur-chased. We looked at four possiblesites and finally narrowed it down toClover Bar. The land was owned bytwo older women who lived in theNew York area. They were contactedand the land was purchased forapproximately $125,000.

The portion of the land next to thesteep river bank was the remainder ofa worked-out gravel pit. The landwas reclaimed ... and the initial plantlayout was drawn up. Tenders weresent out for the building construction,the boiler, the turbine generator,switchyard equipment, transformers,and all the other components neededto run the plant.

Construction began early in 1968and the first 165,000 kW unit wascommissioned in August 1970. Theerection of equipment was carried outby Edmonton Power personnel, withthe assistance of supervisory represen-tatives of Canadian and foreignsuppliers. Edmonton Power staffacted as general contractors for theproject. The building contractorswere Smith Brothers and Wilson andForest Construction Limited. Kasten,Smith, and Eadie Ltd., assisted byShawinegan Engineering Ltd., didthe building design.

Frank Battistella was manager of

engineering for Edmonton Generation,

and later became production manager of

Edmonton Power. He retired in 1984.

Building Clover Bar The City of Edmonton greatly

expanded its trolley bus system duringthe late 1 9 5 0s and early 1 9 6 0s. Tr o l l e yfeeder lines were installed over dozensof city blocks and over uneven terrainaround the river valley. The utility hadno aerial lifts in those days; linemenused extension ladders to access thelines. We carried our three laddersover the total distance of the trolleyline installation four times. Once onthe ladder, we were relatively exposedto the hazards of electrocution. Canyou imagine asking anyone to performthis today for $ 2 . 5 0 an hour? I can’t.

However, because of jobs like this,the utility started to consider aeriallifts. We graduated from ladders tosquirt booms – telescopic booms thatwere insulated. This led to the pur-chase of the first double bucketinsulated aerial truck in 1965. One

such truck was purchased every yearfor the next few years. These unitsprovided a much safer working envi-ronment for linemen; linemen couldalso be transported to work sitesinside the trucks, where it was warmand dry. Today’s personnel may take

these conveniences for granted, but in1965 they were a great advance.

As told to Lyn McCullough

Bucket Trucks, Please!


Chapter 8

A New Generation

• • • • •

1970 – 1979

dmonton gained much stature in the1970s. The city successfully hosted aninternational sporting event – the Com-monwealth Games – in 1978. Thefollowing year, it celebrated the 75thanniversary of its incorporation as a city.Much of its downtown core took on theform familiar to Edmontonians today, asmany office towers took to the skies.And its electrical utility remained thelargest municipally-owned generatingoperation in Canada.

The 1970s were not free of challenges,however. The energy crisis made a vitalcommodity both scarce and expensive.Motorists, manufacturers, and electricalutilities across North America experi-enced crises. Several strikes madeoperations at Edmonton’s utility diffi-cult. Despite this, the utility continued togrow – and to generate returns for thecity.

Clover BarGold miner Henry Clover arrived inEdmonton in the summer of 1860.Clover had participated in the famousCalifornia Gold Rush of 1848. Now hewanted to seek his fortune in the watersof the North Saskatchewan River.Clover worked the sand and gravel barsnear what is now known as Mill Creek,as well as a large bar further down river.This became known as “Clover’s Bar.”

The generating station built nearHenry Clover’s claim inherited thisname. By 1970, the first 165 MW unitwas commissioned at Clover Bar. Thefourth and final 165 MW unit at theClover Bar Generating Station was com-missioned in March 1979. This finalinstallation brought the combined gen-erating capacity of the Clover Bar andRossdale generating stations to 1,050


EMilestones

1970The Electrical Distribution and

Power Plant departments combine toform Edmonton Power.

Edmonton’s water plant separatesfrom Edmonton Power and becomes

Edmonton Water and Sanitation.

Calgary Power’s wartime debt to Edmonton Power is finally wiped out.

1971Peter Lougheed becomes premier

of Alberta.

Edmonton Power completes a city-wide switch from incandescent to

more efficient mercury vapor street lights.

The Province of Alberta passes an actthat stipulates that the Energy

Resources Conservation Board mustapprove of all changes to Alberta’s

electrical system.

1973The oil-producing countries of the Middle East raise the price of oil.

1976Edmonton’s power plant

operators strike.

1977Tall steel poles designed to support

high-voltage transmission lines maketheir debut in Edmonton. These arethe first poles of their kind installed

in Alberta.

CHAPTER 8 FINAL'' 2/7/02 10:19 PM Page 73


TOP LEFT: Clover Bar in 1973.

TOP RIGHT: A disassembled turbine atClover Bar.

ABOVE LEFT: Inside Clover Bar; turbinenumber 3 is in the foreground.

ABOVE RIGHT: George Mitchell workedthree months past his 65th birthday so he couldsay that he had worked at Edmonton Power for40 years.


MW. The two plants served a popula-tion of roughly 478,066.

The Clover Bar Generating Stationquickly became the jewel in EdmontonPower’s generating network. The plantproduced power more efficiently andwith less pollution than any previousEdmonton Power installation. As oneengineer wrote,

Edmonton Power’s Clover Bar Generat-

ing Station, environmentally speaking, isamong the cleanest thermal plants on theNorth American continent. Because weuse sulphur-free natural gas as a boilerfuel, the problems associated with pollu-tion from sulphur dioxide arenon-existent.

Learning from its experience at Rossdale in the 1960s, Edmonton Poweralso ensured that the plant’s two stacks

75 Chapter 8: A New Generation


1978 Edmonton hosts the CommonwealthGames. The symbol for the games, ablue and red maple leaf, is proudlyemblazoned on the west side of the

Rossdale Power Plant.

Edmonton Power field tests an automated meter reading system.

The Edmonton local of the International Brotherhood of

Electrical Workers goes on strike inJuly and August.

1979Construction commences on the

South Service Centre. As the city’sland area grew in the 1970s, the loca-tion of a major service facility on eachside of the river became a necessity in

order to operate efficiently.

The fourth and final 165 MW unit atEdmonton’s Clover Bar GeneratingStation is commissioned in March.

This brings the utility’s installed gen-erating capacity to 1050 MW.

Sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) gas insu-

lated switchgear is used in Edmontonsubstations for the first time.

Edmonton Power has 186,115 cus-tomers, up from 175,249 in 1978.

Edmonton’s 240 kV transmissionsystem is expanded in the southernand western parts of the city using

two underground oil-filled pipe-type cables.

Many cutting-edge innovations wentinto the design of Edmonton’s CloverBar Generating Station. One exampleis the “spring mattress” foundationtable that supports the station’sturbine-generators; it is the first of itskind to be installed in NorthAmerica.

Clover Bar’s turbine-generatorunits each have a common shaft thatturn at 3,600 RPM. Due to tiny errorsin alignment and balance, each ofthese revolutions sends a shockthrough the unit’s supporting struc-ture. Until Clover Bar, NorthAmerican plants required that thesupporting structure – called thepedestal – be several times heavierthan the turbine-generator units. Thepedestals were then able to absorb theshocks without subjecting the gener-ating units to vibration. However, thepedestals had to be extremely massive,and thus took up valuable space.

At Clover Bar, a decision was madeto purchase turbines from EscherWyss Oerlikon of Switzerland. Thiscompany had developed a muchsmaller pedestal that included spacesfor ancillary equipment. This was a

desirable innovation. This new pedestal uses springs to

absorb shock. The turbine-generatorunits rest on a heavy concrete slab,called a “table.” A pedestal consistingof concrete posts and beams supports

this table. Between the table and thepedestal, however, is a set of 126specially-designed springs. Thus, thepedestal, table and springs offer uni-formly stiff support, and aresufficiently elastic to absorb vibrationsfrom the machine.

Clover Bar’s spring-mounted foun-dation has operated successfully forover 30 years. Similar installationshave since been used in Canada andother countries.

Adapted from text by Henry Kasten

First in North America

ABOVE: Detail from the “spring mattress.”



In times of stress, Edmonton Poweremployees used great creativity tosolve dilemmas. They also witnessedincredible events. Willi Viehmann, aformer shift engineer at the RossdalePower Plant, recalls an incident thatoccurred in March, 1973:

In the early 1970s, the City ofEdmonton’s electrical load require-ments were increasing rapidly andsupply was provided from the tenunits at Rossdale and the one unit atClover Bar. At that time, turnoverrates for employees were high. Forthat reason a great number of operat-ing personnel within the twogenerating stations had limited servicetime and could not be considered fullyexperienced. In addition, generatingunits were operating continuously andsome personnel had not experiencedthe shutdown and start-up of units.

Weekends were considered “easy shifts”because no maintenance personnel

were on site, and shift personnel wereconcerned only with operational dutiesand some training. Such was the caseon Saturday March 17, 1973.

Routine operating duties were carriedout until approximately 10:00 whenthe lights dimmed in the power plants.This was followed immediately by thetotal loss of all generating units. Noone on shift at Rossdale and perhaps atClover Bar had ever experienced atotal plant shutdown, so the entire citywas without electrical power.

O p e rating personnel scrambled to copewith this unfamiliar situation. Back-up direct current power (provided bybatteries) was insufficient to allow safeand proper shutdown of the genera t i n gunits. Hydrogen from the genera t o r sescaped into the turbine hall, settingup a potentially explosive condition.Start-up power from Clover Bar wasunavailable, as the only unit at CloverBar had also tripped. Communication

with the distribution control opera t o rconfirmed that a fault had occurred atthe Hardisty Substation which wassevere enough to shut the system down.

Start-up power to the generatingstation was eventually provided byCalgary Power through a small tietransformer at Rossdale. Electricalpower was first provided to the cityshortly after noon; however, totalrestoration for the entire city tookplace late in the day.

Good cooperation between the gener-ating and distributions sectionsresulted in a relatively short [poweroutage] when considering the severityof the failure and the limited resourcesof personnel.

This was the last time in the twen-tieth century that all of Edmontonwas without power.


An Explosive Situation

We were about to start up Clover Barfor the first time. A group of commis-sioning engineers from the generator’smanufacturing company were inattendance. One of them had a parcelunder his arm: he pulled out this bigbottle of alcohol and put it on thegovernor pedestal. At this time, ofcourse, prohibition reigned atEdmonton Power: no drinkingallowed. So we said, hey, we can’thave that alcohol on site. “Oh,” theyreplied, “we need this for the com-

mission – we look at the meniscus todetermine if the vibrations are okayon the turbine.” Okay, we couldaccept that.

I’ve never ever had a turbine runup so smoothly in my life. They set itto Auto Run Up, they pressed thebutton, and the thing started. At dif-ferent speeds, while the temperatureequalized, it synchronized itself ...quite a feat. The engineers put ablock load on the turbine, and it justsat there, because that was what it

was supposed to do. But I don’t knowif they paid any attention to themeniscus.

When it was all done, they lookedat me: I grinned and gave a “twothumbs up” gesture. What was I sig-nalling? Next thing I knew, the topcame off the bottle. The thoughtcame to me: “Good God, what are wegoing to do?” But it was too late.They had passed the bottle aroundand drained it, as quick as that.

Al Pettican

Good God, What Are We Going To Do?


were tall enough to disperse pollutantsadequately and keep ground level con-centrations low. Before constructionbegan, tests were done to determine theexisting levels of nitrogen oxides in theatmosphere. The results would later becompared with levels measured after theplant was fully functioning. Flue gasrecirculation equipment was installed toreduce nitrogen oxide emissions fromthe plant boilers.

From Promotion to ConservationIn 1973, the oil-producing countries ofthe Middle East raised the price of theoil they sold. It was the beginning of the“energy crisis.” Between 1974 and 1980,the average cost of natural gas purchasedby Edmonton Power rose from $0.195cents per million BTUs to $1.207 cents.In 1976, the department took steps tokeep costs down. Twenty-two percent ofEdmonton’s energy requirements weresupplied through the Alberta Intercon-nected System (the provincial electricitygrid); this electricity was cheaper thanthat generated using gas-fired units atClover Bar or Rossdale.

No longer would Edmonton Powerpromote “living better electrically.” Nowthe utility began advocating energy effi-c i e n c y. Educational materials weredeveloped to show people how to lowertheir energy costs. Even City Council gotinto the act. They established an energyconservation committee and studied waysto reduce energy consumption in the


RIGHT: Danny Poleszchuk lighting offburners on number 1 boiler at Rossdale.

BELOW RIGHT: Edmonton hosted theCommonwealth Games in 1978. EdmontonPower constructed the electrical infrastructureneeded to make the event a success.


buildings that City departments thenoccupied.

The provincial government scrambledto adjust to the new situation. It offereda rebate program to consumers whoheated their homes with natural gas, butelectricity consumers were offered only apartial rebate. The government announ-ced that “the use of such a valuable fuelas natural gas for the generation of elec-tricity is wasteful when other viable fuelsare in plentiful supply. ”

Coal was back in vogue. In 1976, theprovincial government introduced apolicy that encouraged the use of coal asfuel. At this stage, the Clover Barproject was only partially complete. TheCity was committed to completing theproject, however, because all the equip-ment had already been purchased.

Back to CoalIn the midst of the energy crisis,Edmonton Power’s primary fuel sourcewas gas. Generating costs were difficultto control. The utility turned to a plan ithad considered several times in the past:a power plant on the coal fields ofGenesee. With its own supply of fuel,the Genesee plant would be less subjectto fluctuations in energy markets thanits gas-fired siblings. And the GeneseePower Project would not just be aresponse to the energy crisis: EdmontonPower’s managers had forecasted thatdemand for electricity would outstripthe supply from Rossdale and CloverBar by 1981 or 1982.

With this forecast in hand, EdmontonCity Council began exploring expansionoptions in the late 1970s. EdmontonPower could embark on expansion plansindependently, or it could work coopera-tively with such privately-owned utilities

as Alberta Power or Calgary Power. Theshort-term advantages of cooperationwere obvious; building the plant wouldinvolve a huge capital expenditure of atleast $1 billion.

However, City Council was persuadedby the long-term benefits of an independ-ent venture. Aldermen supporting soleownership argued that a joint-ownershipagreement would destroy the City’sautonomy in managing the utility. Theyalso argued that the new plant wouldprovide greater revenues if owned bythe City than if it was operated jointly.

Genesee was on a much greater scalethan Edmonton Power’s earlier projects.The proposed plant site would cover3,000 acres, half of which would bedevoted to a cooling pond. The plant


Edmonton Power’s automatic supervi-sory control and telemetering systemwas fully operational by the 1970s.The system allowed one operator tocontrol Edmonton’s electrical distribu-tion from a master console locatednear the municipal airport. Faults any-where in the network could beidentified from this console. Thesupply to the city could be switched onor off by simply pushing a few buttons.The new control system found itselftested on a busy night in August 1973:

It’s 12:15 AM Sunday at the controlcentre of Edmonton Power’s distribu-tion system. Extra men called in duringthe evening’s electrical storm are sittingaround shooting the breeze. It appearsthe excitement for the night is over. Butthe flashes of lightning off to the north-west move closer. The thunder rumbles.

And at 12:35 the alarm bell on the hugeconsole rings. “We’ve lost Clover Bar, ”shouts the opera t o r. It rings again withinseconds. “We’ve lost the [downtown]network.” And once again. “We’ve lost ag e n e rator at Rossdale.” And then almostthe entire city is without power.

Alex Bowie, supervisor of the controlcentre, moves in front of the console,getting a comprehensive idea of theextent of the failure. “Take it easyboys,” he says. Then he and his mengradually restore power to all areas ofthe city. By 1:10 the only area withoutpower is a small segment of Delwoodin northeast Edmonton ....

Source: The Edmonton Journal,

1973

Crews Battle Power Failure Vic Kondrosky was born and raised

in Edmonton. He graduated from theUniversity of Alberta with an engi-neering degree in 1960, and joined

the power plant shortly after. Hemoved up the ladder at the depart-ment until he became generalmanager of Edmonton Power uponthe retirement of Bill Kirkland inMay 1974.

Vic held this position until Decem-ber 1976, when he moved on toanother City department.

Victor Kondrosky



For some Edmonton Power employ-ees, the summer of 1 9 7 8 was filledwith more than backyard barbecuesand camping trips. In the heat of Julyand August, Local 1 0 0 7 of the Inter-national Brotherhood of ElectricalWorkers (IBEW) went on strike. Fornearly two months, most of the elec-trical workers employed by the City ofEdmonton walked the picket line.Two City departments were affected:Edmonton Power and EdmontonTelephones. Distribution and trans-mission workers, control operators,substation workers, truck drivers, andtelephone linemen shouldered picketsigns together.

According to Kelly Budge, thenassistant business manager of theunion, the main issue in the strike waswages. “The City was not prepared topay an increase in wages equivalent tothe cost of living,” says Budge. Wi t hover 1 , 3 0 0 members, the union feltthat it was in a good position to forcethe City to respond to its demands.

The timing couldn’t have beenbetter for a strike. In the summer of1 9 7 8, Edmonton was hosting theCommonwealth Games. Athletes andtourists from all over the world wereflooding into the city to participate inand observe the events. And thegames weren’t the only attractions intown. The annual Klondike Days cel-ebration brought thousands of visitorsto the city. Leaders at Local 1 0 0 7knew that many eyes would be onEdmonton. How would the city copeif there was a power outage and itselectrical workers weren’t there torepower the city?

Ron Donaldson, then director ofaerial distribution, was a member ofthe management negotiating teamduring the strike. Donaldson, likemany Edmonton Power managers,had worked his way up in the depart-ment. A former power lineman, hehad been “off the tools” for about tenyears. Due to the strike, he and othermanagers had returned to the field,stringing power lines and laying cable.

“ We worked 1 2 hours on and 1 2hours off,” remembers Donaldson.“ We had no breaks and no weekendsoff. If there was trouble, I was some-times called in.” On one memorableoccasion, Donaldson worked 4 8 h o u r sstraight, stopping only for a quickmeal and a change of clothes. “Weinstalled transformers, fixed cable fail-ures, and even did some limitedconstruction,” says Donaldson. Wi t honly a skeleton crew, EdmontonPower rescheduled any non-essentialmaintenance work for 1 9 7 9.

Meanwhile, on the picket line, thestrikers were coping with challengesof their own. “We had electricalworkers who worked on the trolleybuses,” says Budge. “And becausetransportation was important to theCommonwealth Games, we decidedto picket the Westwood Bus Barns.On the first morning we were there, aguy from outside the city decided todrive his car straight at our picketers.”Fortunately no one was hurt in theincident. However, the demoralizingexperience would set the tone for therest of the strike.

As the weeks passed, it was hard totell which group was going to “blink”

first – Edmonton Power or the strik-ing electrical workers. However, whatmay have been the deciding factor inthe strike was beyond the control ofboth groups. The weather in July andAugust was warm and sunny. Therewere few electrical storms or otherweather hazards that could havethrown the department’s overtiredand overworked managers into chaos.With no electrical crisis on thehorizon, union leaders began torealize that Edmonton Power was notgoing to back down.

After seven weeks of picketing,members of Local 1 0 0 7 held a vote toend the strike. The outcome reflectedthe ambivalent feelings of theworkers. “There were only four orfive votes more in favour of endingthe strike,” recalls Kelly Budge. “Inthe end we settled for only 0 . 1 or 0 . 2percent more than what we had beenoffered at the beginning of the strike.”

Although the workers lost thestrike, Budge says that the experiencewas a powerful lesson for both unionand management. “We learned thatwe had to find better ways to resolveproblems,” says Budge. “Although ittook time, the union eventually devel-oped a better relationship withEdmonton Power and we developednew forms of negotiation.”

Those methods of negotiation mustbe working. The strike of 1 9 7 8remains the one and only strike byelectrical workers in the history ofEdmonton Power.

Source: Interview with Kelly Budge

Strike!


would create more than 100 new jobsand generate millions of dollars of taxrevenue for the County of Leduc.During the building of the proposedplant, 700 construction workers wouldalso be employed.

Opposition to GeneseeProgress on Genesee was halted anumber of times as land owners, envi-ronmentalists, other power utilities, andthe provincial government raised con-cerns about the new generating station.

Genesee-area farmers were among thefirst to protest the plant. Some of thosewhose farms would be purchased to makeway for mining and plant constructionwondered if they would receive fair pricesfor their land. Some long-term residentsresisted moving – they didn’t want to

leave the farms that they had worked sohard to establish. Those farmers whoexpected to continue farming in the areanear the plant wanted to know if their airwould still be clean, and if water qualitywould be affected by the plant.

Environmentalists also raised con-cerns. In one newspaper, they arguedthat existing coal-burning power plantswere “raining down on central Alberta asoup of heavy metals and organic com-pounds which may cause cancer andbirth defects.” Scientists at the Universi-ty of Alberta also raised concerns aboutsulphur dioxide and its impact on soil.Groups like Save Tomorrow OpposePollution (STOP) and the Sierra Club ofAlberta also challenged EdmontonPower and the provincial government toadvocate conservation rather than build

new power plants.In 1978, the Genesee Agricultural

Protection Society (GAPS) was formed.The group represented some of thepeople that would be affected by theproposed power plant. Group memberslined the walls of Leduc County’scouncil chambers and attended publicmeetings between Edmonton Power andlocal residents.

While some local residents wereraising concerns about the proposedpower plant at Genesee, other Albertautilities were coming up with competingproposals. Alberta Power wanted theEnergy Resources Conservation Board(ERCB) to approve construction of a750 MW coal-fired power plant atSheerness, near Hanna. The ERCBdecided to hold back any approval until


We meet the guys on 103 Street, justnorth of Jasper Avenue, west of theold Hudson’s Bay store. The safetyguy hands me a monkey suit, hardhat and safety glasses. Says there areno ifs, ands or buts – just put it all on.They all look at me like, well – seemslike a woman in a vault is like awoman on a ship – bad luck ahead,no doubt about it.

I descend the steel ladder, thinkingabout all those old crypts I’d seen inEuropean cathedrals. Dark, wetstones, but no bodies. Hopefully thereare none in here.

Dale Grimoldby tells me that this10 by 30-foot vault was built around‘57, and originally may have had onlytwo transformers in it. Today I seefive transformers and a spidery mazeof cables and tape. “So, what is all this

stuff?” Dale points out with greataffection which buildings each trans-former services, and where each andevery cable goes to. How does thisguy know all this? “Twenty-nineyears working for this company,” hesays, “and I’m one of only three orfour in the company who knows howto splice cable.”

My eyes are finally adjusting to thegloom. “What’s all the black on theroof?” I see soot and burnt concreteabove my head and on the wall.“Blew up,” says Dale. “Yup, in ‘72, orwas it ‘74? Anyway, one transformerblew up completely, another caughtfire. Took us four days working 24hours to fix the whole thing and get itback up and running. We put in allnew cables, and got the mess untan-gled from previous installations.”

Looks good to my inexperienced eyes.“Everything okay down there?”

says a voice from above. “Noproblem,” says Dale. “Just taking onelast look and a few pictures.”

I climb the ladder into the mid-morning light. No chivalry here – theguys just let me climb out myself, nohand up. I turn in the suit, shakehands, thank the guys for showingme around, and head back to myoffice. As far as I know the vault isstill there, transformers hummingaway beneath the feet of passingpedestrians. Only one thing haschanged as far as I know, and that’sthe way I look at those heavy steelgrates in the sidewalks around town.I know what’s down there.

Told by Heather Marshall

Descent into the Vault



“It’s the best damn looking powerplant in North America,” GeneralManager William Kirkland is reputedto have said about the Clover Barplant. Like an industrial castle, thebuilding has three five-storey towers.These towers house the plant’s fourboilers. These are connected to thecentre tower by two wings thataccommodate the administrationoffices and act as corridors to theturbine hall. The turbine hall housesthe four turbines. A central controlroom overlooks the giant turbines.

White insulated steel panels coatedin permanent baked enamel curtainthe steel girders that compose theb u i l d i n g ’s frame. Floodlights shinedown from extended parapets on therooftops, accentuating the gleamingwhite walls. “The overall result was afine looking building that gave the

impression of very clean operation,”says Henry Kasten, a structural con-sultant for Edmonton Power duringthe design and building of Clover Bar.

From notes prepared by Henry Kasten

A Clean Design

BELOW: The core construction team for units3 and 4 at Clover Bar. Note the racks suspend-ed from the ceiling: these held miles of cable.

BOTTOM: Clover Bar after completion.



When is a house not a home? When it’s asubstation! Substations are distributioncentres where electricity is transformedto lower voltages for distribution. In thefirst few decades of the twentiethc e n t u r y, substations had a capacity of upto 1 , 0 0 0 k VA. Today the largest substa-tion has a capacity of 2 0 0 M VA (2 0 0 , 0 0 0k VA). The equipment that distributesthis power is housed in small buildingsscattered throughout Edmonton.

“Substation buildings are designed toblend in with their local surroundings,”says Art Baird, formerly of EdmontonPower. “Special finishing techniques areused so that they resemble the neigh-bourhood they’re in.” Modernsubstations may be disguised as subur-ban bungalows, dignified brick offices,or high-tech industrial buildings. Earlysubstations were solidly built of utilitari-an red brick. However, even in theseearly industrial buildings, white brickwas used to create decorative geometricpatterns on the front facings of thebuildings.

The Garneau substation is a particu-larly outstanding example of sensitivesubstation design. In 1979, expansion atthe University of Alberta and a residen-tial and commercial building boom inthe Garneau area was increasingdemands on the distribution system. Asubstation had to be built. However, itwould need to fit in with the brick andcedar homes that were popular in theuniversity area. Following consultationwith local residents and the city’s Real

Estate and Housing Department thesubstation’s name, exterior design, andlandscaping were selected.

Choice of appropriate switchgear wasalso part of the design considerations.Sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) gas-insulat-ed switchgear was selected for thestation because of its space-saving quali-ties. It required only 40 percent of theland needed by conventional switchgearand equipment was totally enclosed.

Today, few people passing the hand-some building on 111 Street and 85

Avenue, which has been in service since1982, even realize that it is an electricalsubstation. Its exterior blends in with thewarm tones and materials used in manyof the homes and apartments in theneighborhood. The spruce and moun-tain ash trees planted in the late 1970shave matured and are kept trimmed andneat. The EPCOR sign is the only cluethat the building is home not to a familybut to the equipment that provides elec-tricity to neighborhood homes.

Source: Interview with Art Baird

A Good Neighbour

TOP RIGHT: An example of early substationdesign: 600 Substation on 124 Street.

RIGHT: The Garneau Substation.


it debated the merits of EdmontonPower’s proposals.

In July 1 9 7 8, in a noisy meeting roomat the Grove Motor Inn in Spruce Grove,Edmonton Power representatives placedan eight-volume application beforemembers of the ERCB. Despite itslength, the proposal was essentially asimple one. Edmonton Power wanted toconstruct and operate a 7 5 0 MW coal-fired generating station near Genesee.The application proposed that plant con-struction begin in 1 9 8 1 with two 3 7 5MW units coming into service in 1 9 8 5and 1 9 8 6. Edmonton Power respondedto questions about these proposals bystressing that the Genesee Power Projectwould produce electricity at less costthan any other new Alberta powerproject proposed or under construction.It was also pointed out that, unlikeAlberta Power’s proposed Sheernessplant, Genesee could be expanded into af o u r-unit station because of the extensive

coalfields in the area.Despite Edmonton Power’s argu-

ments, there was much to be said forSheerness. Edmonton Power had runinto community opposition to theproject in Genesee, while Alberta Powerseemed to be facing less opposition inthe Hanna area. The County of Leduchad been swayed by local concerns tosuch an extent that they had deniedEdmonton’s application for a develop-ment permit for the site. PremierLougheed had also expressed interestand support for the Sheerness project.

Calgary Power was represented at theERCB hearings. In its five-page submis-sion to the board, the company made itclear that it wanted a stake in whicheverproject the ERCB approved. Thecompany came out in favour of AlbertaPower’s proposal as long as they couldhave extensive equity participation inSheerness. They also argued that if theERCB did approve Genesee, then

Genesee should be jointly owned. For four of the seven days of the

ERCB hearings, representatives ofEdmonton Power were cross-examinedabout the social and environmentalimpact of its proposal, as well as techni-cal and commercial matters. When themeeting was over, the ERCB decided todefer approval of the plant, although itdid indicate that the Genesee projectwas satisfactory from a technical, conser-vation, environmental, cost-benefit, andsocial impact point of view. The Cityrescheduled Genesee, and the depart-ment made plans to continue lobbying tohave Genesee approved. As an interimmeasure to meet expanding demand,Edmonton Power arranged to purchasecoal-fired power from Alberta Powerfor five to seven years from its BattleRiver Unit 5.

Edmonton Power gained an unexpect-ed advocate in August 1978, when oneof its former opponents decided to back


The success of Edmonton PowerGeneration’s Social Club can bedirectly attributed to such enthusiasticsupporters as Mrs. Rosalind Hodson.

Rosalind has served EdmontonPower Generation as Kardex clerkfor 11-odd years. Since the amalga-mation of Edmonton PowerDistribution and Generation she hastransferred to Edmonton Water.

It is not surprising to find out thatRosalind served on almost all socialclub committees and through herefforts the annual banquet, dance,and children’s Christmas party werealways a success. She promoted theKlondike Dance and summer bar-

beque, which have become annualevents.

The World Championship Sour-dough Raft Race became anotherchallenge for Rosalind. Along withher good friend Gloria Storey, shedesigned her own raft and hasentered the race for many years. It issaid that the Chilcoot Chicks will beentered again next year: watch forthem!

Being the mother of two youngchildren, Rosalind has found time tolend active support to the Girl Guidesand Brownies. As Den Mother, shehas collected many items of interest toBrownies; most curiously, she had

Bob Murphy of Edmonton Power-Generation hunting for a deadmouse!

Besides being active in bowling, it isrumored that she is interested inscuba and sky diving. The staff atEdmonton Power Generation decidedthat she should take up the moresophisticated sport of golf; they pre-sented her with a golf cart and bagupon her departure for EdmontonWater.

Good luck, Rosalind, and may yourdrive be long and straight and yourputts few.

From Watt’s New,October 1970

“Watt’s New” Personality of October 1970: Rosalind Hodson



from pre-concept ...Bill Kirkland had been very supportiveof the Genesee concept years beforeanyone had seriously thought about it.He wanted the City to buy coal leases inthe Genesee area, to secure the resourcesfor the City. But the City wouldn’tapprove his request. So Bill, forward-thinker that he was, bought the leasesanyway, with his own money – $20,000 – a huge amount of cash inthose days. Eventually his hunch paidoff; the City bought the coal leases fromBill ... for $20,000!

Lyn McCullough

to planning ...Al Pettican saw Genesee through fromconception to completion; he was thearchitect of the thing. During his firstyears at Edmonton Power, his ambitionwas to finish Clover Bar and move on –he didn’t see any future at the City for ageneration guy like himself, becausethey weren’t planning new plantsbeyond Clover Bar.

One day in 1977, though, he wasclearing out an office he’d just inheritedwhen he found drawings of coaldeposits in a field near Genesee’s presentlocation. At the time, Vic Kondroskywas general manager; Al went to him toask for a budget to do a little bit ofresearch into the field. Vic said, “No, wearen’t going to waste money on that.” Alwouldn’t take no for an answer. Hestarted to look into Genesee on his owntime and on his own dime. “Back then,”Al says, “we weren’t allowed outsidecity limits in any City vehicle, so we hadto put in the work in our spare time andgo out to Genesee in my car to cook up

future plans.” Then Ed Kyte took over and things

changed. Al’s team had a budget then –$60,000 – to do the initial study.

Al’s group presented its findings toCity Council. Council asked the groupto jump through some hoops, but, in theend, Genesee was built. So Al’s extratime and effort paid off in the end.

Lyn McCullough

to design ...There was a person on City Council whohad always thought that we shouldn’t bedoing our own design work. He thoughtthat we should be going to a consultant ...not just any consultant, but one consult-ant in particular. He was always trying toshow us up with negative comments.One day, I was presenting the proceduresfor a particular contract to Council, andthe councilor kept on and on with hisridicule. So I said: “It’s all very well tomake all these comments, but why notcome and have a look at the way we’reset up. If you still think we’re incapableof doing our design work, then by allmeans, say what you want, but at leastgive us a chance – come and see us.”

So he comes in to the office. We had awhole floor – about 125 to 130 people,all on that one floor. He looks at it, seesall the lines of people working – it wasopen-concept with rows and rows ofpeople. They all had their heads downover plans, working away. He walksaround the outside, looking at all this.Then he says, “Wow, this looks veryimpressive. How many people you gotworking here?” And, of course, I’mthinking, he’s an engineer, he’s devel-oped some sense of humor, so I say,

“Oh, about half of them.” And that wasit: from then on, every time I appearedin front of council, he made hay out ofit. “Have you upped the average yet,from half those people working?” Thatwent on for years. He went on tobecome a Liberal MLA!

Al Pettican

to contracting ...I was in Chicago to meet with Sargent &Lundy, a firm we were considering todo engineering work on Genesee. Wehad the meeting in their offices, thenwent across the street to our hotel, theidea being that we were going to go incars to a restaurant in the HancockTower for dinner.

A few of us got down to the lobby abit early, so while we were waiting, AlPettican and I stepped out onto thestreet just to look around, that sort ofthing. One of the local engineers says,“Don’t stand out there, it’s not safe.You’re in Chicago – don’t take anychances, wait inside.” Okay, fairenough. We waited inside and gotferried off to the restaurant, where wehad a nice meal.

At the end of it all, one of the vice-presidents says, “How would you like tosee a little bit more of the city?” We say,yes, of course. He took us to a“speakeasy” where we stayed ‘till threeor four in the morning. At that time,feeling none the worse for wear, wewandered down the street, back to ourhotel, no fear, with nothing happening.We’ve laughed at this ever since – fouro’clock in the morning is okay – six inthe evening isn’t!

Ken Warren

Genesee From the Inside


to public relations ... The City had allocated a number ofpeople to us to work in our public rela-tions department during the Geneseeplanning stage. They were all very goodPR people, too – for customers in thec i t y, that is; they couldn’t deal with thefarm population. One fellow went tovisit the farmers wearing tailored suitsand shoes you could see your face in,which went over like a lead balloon. Thefarmers couldn’t relate to the guy. Hewas more concerned with keeping hisboots clean than he was about going intothe houses and talking about cattle. Thepeople out there had shut us off, evenformed a group to oppose the project.

I was just starting, at that time, tobuild a house out in the Tofield area. I’dcut a little driveway into my property,and space just big enough to fit a tenttrailer into and to get a little fire going.We’d been in there all of Saturday, mywife, the kids, and I, cutting down treesto make a bit more room, trying todecide where to build the house. At theend of the day, I was tired – I sat lookingat the fire, feeling miserable because I’dbeen thinking about the Genesee issue. Ineeded dialogue with the people in thearea, and they didn’t want to talk. Thekids knew I wasn’t happy; they were tip-toeing around dad, keeping out of hisw a y, not a happy bunch.

Then Tony Vilcsak comes along in histruck, sees us, backs up, jumps out, chatswith us for awhile, gets some willowtrees, and shows the kids how to makewhistles. In a while, he’s got everybodyorganized, told us that his brother livesone lot down from us, and introduces usto them. He’d got us so comfortable

with him and things organized so fastthat I figured he might be the ideal guyfor rural public relations.

I asked him if he’d ever done anywork like that. He says, “Yes, I ran myfather-in-law’s campaign when he ranfor MLA in the BC government.”

So, on Monday, I called him, had himup to my office, and offered him the job.

From there on, we had our work cutout for us but we were moving in theright direction. And, do you know howwe got ‘em on our side?

We were driving around one day, chat-ting with various farmers, when we cameacross Steve Lorincz, a local, in the field,lying under his tractor, trying to get itrunning. We were in To n y ’s truck, so westopped and went over to have a look,saying, “What’s the trouble, Steve?”

He said, “There’s something wrongwith the differential on this tractor – Ican’t move it to get it serviced.”

Tony backed his truck in and openedthe back – it was just like a mobileworkshop, with trays of tools, jacks, andequipment, as anyone who knows Tonywould expect. He pulls out a couple ofpairs of overalls, we put them on, andspend eight hours working with this guyon his tractor. We released the differen-tial, got it running, repacked it, put ittogether, and away he goes, cutting hay.

Within two weeks, Steve had formedan alternate Genesee association that allthe farmers joined because they didn’tlike the fellow running the ‘anti-Genesee’ one. Within a few months, itbecame the dominant group in the area,and the other one – that was opposed towhat we were doing – died out.

Al Pettican

Genesee From the Inside the Genesee Power Plant Project. STOPannounced at an August 6 meeting ofthe ERCB that it supported EdmontonPower’s proposal. STOP president PaulMcGaffey said that Edmonton Powerwas publicly owned and thereforeaccountable to the people it served. As aresult, the City department would bemore open to environmental concernsexpressed by local citizens than mightprivately-owned companies.

Despite this support, the decade cameto a close without a resolution to theGenesee debate; it would continue intothe next decade.

Edmonton Power profited from theefforts it made in the 1970s, thoughmuch of what it had begun would notbe completed until the 1980s. Besidesbuilding an efficient new generatingstation, Edmonton Power developedstrategies for coping with fuel shortages,which proved valuable in comingdecades.





1 Chapter 9: The Me Generation


Chapter 9

The Me Generation

• • • • •

1980 – 1989

he 1980s were challenging years forEdmonton Power. A natural disasterendangered its employees and ravagedits infrastructure. A new industrial regu-latory system threatened its expansionplans. A slump in the economy meantdecreasing profits. Through carefulplanning and rate adjustments, however,Edmonton Power persevered, and con-tinued to supply revenues to City coffers.

GeneseeEnvironmentalists, competitors, regula-tory boards, and local citizens derailedthe progress of Edmonton Power’s $1.1billion Genesee Power Plant project inthe late 1970s. But Edmonton Powercould not afford to delay constructionfor long; demand for power continuedto rise and the utility had to ensure thatit remained competitive.

In 1980, Edmonton Power represen-tatives appeared in front of the EnergyResources Conservation Board (ERCB)to do battle on behalf of the Geneseeproject. Again, Genesee faced a compet-ing project: Calgary Power had a newproposal on the block. It wanted toexpand its new power plant in the Keep-hills area 16 km north of Genesee.Despite this, and despite continuedopposition from environmentalists andsome local farmers, the ERCB formallyapproved the construction and operationof the Genesee Power Plant in 1980.Detailed planning of the project beganalmost immediately, and site preparationstarted in February 1982. The targetedcompletion date was 1987 for a firstgenerating unit and 1988 for a secondone.

In 1983, foundation and steel frameconstruction began on the Genesee site,located 80 km southwest of Edmonton.


TMilestones

1981West Edmonton Mall opens; the mall

expands throughout the 1980s.

1982Edmonton becomes Canada’s second

largest city by land area.

The City of Edmonton investigatesthe purchase of a gas-producing

company.

1983Edmonton hosts the

World University Games.

Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeauintroduces the National Energy

Program.

The Electrical Energy MarketingAgency (EEMA) is established.

1984The Edmonton Oilers win a

Stanley Cup.

The Edmonton Space and Science Centre opens.

Pope John Paul 11 visits Edmonton.

1986Edmonton Power employees supplyfood hampers to 16 families during

the Christmas season. The utilitymatches these donations.

OPPOSITE: Desmond the Dragon, Edmon-ton Power’s famous mascot, came to life in the1980s. At left, Desmond smites a garbage-can-lid wielding knight.



While assessing the Genesee projectarea, archeologists discovered a verylarge number of pre-historic sites.Approximately 50,000 Native arti-facts were uncovered; these specimensranged in age from 250 to 12,000years. The artifacts were collected bythe provincial government and pre-served at St. Stephen’s College on thecampus of the University of Alberta.

Source: The Edmonton Journal, 1982

Artifacts Uncovered

Edmonton Power did not turn a blindeye to public concerns about the Gene-see project. The Genesee PowerProject Advisory Committee (GPPAC)was formed in 1981 to listen to resi-dents’ concerns and incorporateresponses to those concerns in theGenesee planning process. The com-mittee included representatives fromthe Genesee area, the County of Leduc,Edmonton Power, Fording Coal, andprovincial government bodies.

Many residents were concernedabout the strip mining operation, whichwas Fording Coal’s responsibility.GPPAC’s efforts allowed EdmontonPower and Fording Coal to develop amining and reclamation plan thatremoved only 300 to 500 hectares ofland from agriculture at any time.Land was returned to an equal orbetter condition than it was in beforemining. The time between miningand reclamation was to average sixyears. Land not being mined was tobe used as community pasture.GPPAC was also responsible for thedesign of a new community hall in1983, and the creation of a recreationarea on the west shore of the “lake”formed by the cooling pond.

The generating station was built toaddress concerns about air pollutionand other environmental issues. Astate-of-the-art emission monitoringsystem aided operators who ensuredthat emissions were properly con-trolled. Edmonton Power’s responseto environmental concerns demon-strated its commitment to communityneeds.

Concern for the Environment


Following an internal review of theproject schedule, commissioning dateswere advanced to 1986 and 1987. By1984 the powerhouse was complete andwork on the cooling pond and switch-yard had begun.

Progress was not to be made for long.In late 1984, Alberta Power, backed byTransAlta Utilities (which had beencalled Calgary Power until 1981),applied to the ERCB to have Geneseedelayed. In December 1984, TheEdmonton Journal reported that “theERCB ruled in favour of the privatecompanies over the objections ofEdmonton Power and recommendedthe start-up dates be delayed 18months.”

The private companies were con-cerned that the Genesee project’s capitalcosts would increase power rates for allAlberta consumers. This was possible; in1983, Edmonton Power became part ofa provincial power pool. The ElectricalEnergy Marketing Agency (EEMA)purchased power from Alberta’s utilitiesat a price that reflected production andtransmission costs. The utilities thenbought back the electricity. EEMA wascreated to ensure that all electrical con-sumers paid the same for their power,apart from local distribution costs.

The 18-month delay forced Edmon-ton Power to lay off 300 tradespeopleand engineering consultants. Costs esca-

lated, perhaps at a rate of $7,000 perday.

When work resumed, the completiondate for the first unit of Genesee was setat October 1989. Work progressedquickly. In 1987, boiler constructionresumed, the chimney was constructed,the cooling pond was filled, and electri-cal installation had begun. As EdmontonPower’s business was to produce anddistribute electricity, it was necessary tofind another company to mine the coalat Genesee. A joint venture agreementwas signed with Fording Coal Ltd.Fording began to produce coal in 1988.

In 1988, 500 kV transmission lineswere built from the Keephills and Gene-see plants to the Ellerslie substation.That substation’s switchyard was ener-gized to 240 kV, with a possibility that itwould be operated at 500 kV at a laterdate. Finally, by July 1989, the firstGenesee unit was operating at full load.Electricity generated at Genesee wascommercially available through theAlberta Interconnected System by Octo-ber that same year. The project hadcome in well within budget. By the early1990s, Genesee was producing moreelectricity than any other plant operatedby Edmonton Power.

Rising Costs and City GrowthThe cost of natural gas rose throughoutthe early 1980s. Power rates roseaccordingly. The average monthly elec-tricity bill increased 12 percent in April1981.

Edmonton Power gained 4,700 newcustomers in the following year, whenthe city’s area doubled to 34,818hectares. Despite this, 1982 was a finan-cially difficult year for Edmonton Power

due to a combination of poor economicgrowth and warm winters. Rising inter-est rates made financing more expensive.High gas prices continued. Thus, billswent up again in 1982, this time by 13.2percent.

These rate increases complicated theintroduction of Edmonton Power’s newlogo in 1982. A bright blue turbinesymbol had been adopted because it wasassociated with electricity, and alsobecause it symbolized the flow of elec-tricity outward to customers from acentral point. Public concern was rousedwhen vehicles were repainted to incorporate the new logo. It was there-fore decided that vehicles would berepainted only when it was necessary forother reasons.

The rate increases also obliged the



1987A tornado kills 27 people

in Edmonton.

1988Wayne Gretzky marries Janet Jones.

1988A 230 kV direct current transmission

line links Canada’s eastern and western power systems for the

first time.

1989Rossdale’s Low Pressure Plant

operates for the last time betweenAugust 22 and September 29.

OPPOSITE TOP: Bruce Cropley, a coun-cilor for the County of Leduc, did the honoursat a Genesee ground breaking ceremony in1982.

OPPOSITE MIDDLE: Genesee under con-

struction.

OPPOSITE BOTTOM: Genesee’s extensivecooling and settling ponds.



Edmonton Power Service Area in 1984


utility to cut costs in ways that did notsacrifice reliability. In 1981, a 240 kVtransmission line around Edmonton wascompleted. The lines installed in 1981connected the Jasper Terminal at 170Street and 105 Avenue to the TransAltaUtilities substation in northwest Edmon-ton. The new lines allowed for moreefficient use of the Clover Bar Generat-ing Station, as existing 72 kV cables nolonger limited the plant’s output into thecity. This cut costs because power fromClover Bar replaced more expensiveenergy from Rossdale. This transmissionline would also provide for better distri-bution of electricity from Genesee.

In 1985, Dome and Castle Downs240 kV substations came into service,bringing the total number of substationsto 35. Dome had fibre-optics for com-munications and included a new circuitbreaker system. In 1987 the Jasper 15kV substation was expanded to incorpo-rate 15 kV SF6 breakers.

Also in 1987, TransAlta Utilities com-missioned a 500 kV tie with BC Hydro.This created an electrical link fromAlberta all the way down the WestCoast to California. Edmonton Powercould utilize this tie to improve systemstability and to exchange energy.

Edmonton Power found ways tostreamline its streetlight system. By1987, 63,000 streetlights on Edmontoncity streets had been converted fromolder mercury vapor lamps to high-pres-sure sodium. Though the cost ofreplacing the bulbs was $120, each new


ABOVE RIGHT: The South Service Centreopened in 1980, bringing 200 employees closerto customers in south Edmonton.

RIGHT: Linemen started to wear insulatedsuits in the 1980s.


light saved about $29 in energy costs peryear, so they would pay for themselvesin less than five years. Additionally, theycast a pleasant golden glow rather thanthe bluish white light of the older lamps.

Computer technology greatlyincreased and improved in the 1980s. In1988 the Supervisory Control and DataAcquisition System (SCADA) was putinto operation, with hookups to theAlberta Interconnected System controlcentre. This allowed remote monitoringof transmission and distributionthroughout Alberta. For the first time,operators had access to real time infor-mation on capacity availability, loaddemands and system status; this enabledthem to better respond to customerdemand and to problems in the net-work. It was also conducive to proactivesystem planning.

PCBsPublic concern was raised over 240sealed drums of toxic polychlorinatedbiphenyls (PCBs) stored at the down-town substation in the summer of 1983.A voltage regulator had ruptured somemonths before; the recovered PCBs andPCB-soaked rags were stored in drumsat the substation until disposal could bearranged. People were concerned aboutfurther spills or leaks in this heavily-populated area of the city.

Though amounts of PCBs in thegravel under the downtown substationwere at levels below industry standards,the utility decided to move the barrels toa less populated area in west Edmonton.After many unsuccessful attempts tofind an acceptable site, another City


Born in Kentville, Nova Scotia, EdKyte was educated at Acadia Universi-ty and the Technical University ofNova Scotia. Following his gradua-tion, Kyte worked for NorthernTelecom. There, he felt like a smallcog in a big machine. So he came toEdmonton in 1967 looking for profes-sional opportunity. He soon beganworking on the City of Edmontonelectrical distribution system as a proj-ect engineer on substations.

Kyte thought he would work forthree or four years to pay off his stu-dent loans, and then see where lifetook him. Marriage came in 1969,along with a promotion. He decided tostay with Edmonton Power. He made

the right choice: promotions followeduntil 1977, when he became the Gen-eral Manager of Edmonton Power, theman in charge.

“[Being General Manager is] a chal-lenge,” he said in an interview in 1991,“but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it all thetime.” There were numerous chal-lenges and changes during the yearsthat Kyte was at the helm, includingthe long battle over Genesee. He ledhis team with confidence and resolve.

Kyte is quick to praise the employeeshe has worked with over the years,and is appreciative of the friendshipthat developed among them. Edretired in 1993.

Ed Kyte

LEFT: The core of a power-hungry city:downtown Edmonton in the 1980s.



• The turbine shaft is bolted to theshaft of the generator rotor, whichis a powerful electromagnet. Spin-ning the magnet within thestationary windings (wound wire)of the generator causes an alternat-ing electric current to flow in thesewindings. The electricity producedflows out to the switchyard.

• In the switchyard, the voltage of t h eelectricity is increased to 2 4 0 k V soit can be efficiently transmitted overlong distances. The voltage isreduced by the distribution systembefore it is used by the consumer.

• After moving through the turbine,steam condenses to water in thecondenser and is returned to theboilers. Water extracted from thecooling pond is used to condensethe turbine exhaust steam.

• A massive machine equipped witha 50 m3 bucket lifts coal fromGenesee’s mine to a stockpile on thesurface. This stockpile is subse-quently transferred to the plant. A450,000-tonne reserve stockpile isalso maintained to provide a 45-dayemergency supply.

• Trucks transport the coal to theplant, where it is dumped into anunderground compartment. Fromthere it is conveyed to a crusher.The crushed coal is fed into pulver-izers that grind the coal to theconsistency of fine talcum powder.The coal is now suitable for use asboiler fuel.

• In the boiler, a combustion chamberis pre-heated using eight giantblowtorches. These torches raise thetemperature until it is sufficientlyhigh to ignite the coal dust. Thiscreates a continuous fireball. Ash isa byproduct of the burning process.Some of the ash falls to the bottom

of the boiler where it is collected ina water-filled trough. This ash isremoved for disposal in the mine.Other ash, called fly ash, is held bythe flue gases from the boilers, andrises along with the gas. Flue gasesare forced through an electrostaticp r e c i p i t a t o r, where the charged ashparticles are attracted to a largegrid. This ash is collected for use incement production, or is disposed ofin the mine. Each boiler consumes 230 tonnes ofcoal per hour. The stack is as tall asa 40-storey building.

• In the boilers, thermal energy heatspure water within the boiler tubes.The water boils and forms steam.The steam is then at a temperatureof 538ºC, and at a pressure of 16.9megapascals.

• The steam is piped to the turbine.Nozzles direct the steam onto theturbine wheel blades, causing themto rotate at 3600 RPM.

A Look at the Genesee Operation


department, Edmonton Telephones,provided the location.

A metal building with an imperviouspaved floor was built. The building satatop a dike, which was sealed where itmet the structure’s floor. Liquids storedin the building were kept in closed-top

heavy-duty barrels, which sat in seam-less containment trays. The building wasmonitored and alarmed for fire, and wasinspected weekly. Provincial and federalenvironmental agencies licensed thebuilding. The public was invited to tourthe $12,000 facility upon its completionso they could see that the matter hadbeen taken seriously and dealt withappropriately. By the decade’s end, thesehazardous chemicals had all been sent toSwan Hills Hazardous Waste DisposalPlant to be incinerated.

Edmonton Power commenced a long-term response to public concern overPCBs. The Network DecontaminationProgram involved replacing all PCBswith another type of oil that providedinsulating properties similar to those ofPCBs, but did not present the same haz-ards. During the 1980s, EdmontonPower became known for being volun-tarily proactive on environmental issues,says Dave Walker, director of systemsdevelopment at EPCOR.

Public EducationIn 1985, Edmonton Power employeesremoved 187 kites from power lines. Atthe same time, per-capita power con-sumption rates were rapidly increasing.Edmonton Power responded to theseproblems with public education pro-grams.

City safety officers visited schools todemonstrate the effects of electrocution.Wires from a high-voltage (4,000 V)hazard demonstrator were attached to awiener. The wiener burst into flames, areaction much less dramatic than thefate a child would suffer upon contactwith high-voltage lines. The studentswere much impressed, and swore theywould never fly their kites near power

lines again!Edmonton Power’s home economist

presented many power-saving innova-tions to consumers, including powersaver cords and vehicle block heatertimers. Customers enthusiasticallyembraced such devices. An expandededucation program included teacherseminars, materials for primary schoolstudents, presentations on energy man-agement and appliance purchasing, andcustomer consultations on energy use.

The TornadoLate in the afternoon of July 31, 1987,the skies over Edmonton darkened as afunnel cloud developed south of the city.Disaster struck at around 3:00 PM. Thefunnel cloud, with winds reachingspeeds of 416 km/h, touched down insoutheast Edmonton, throwing vehicles,sheet metal, and trees into the air. Thetornado released its final blast of furyover the Evergreen Trailer Park. In all,27 people died as a result of the storm.Homes, businesses, vehicles, power lines,and poles were damaged.

The impact on Edmonton Power’sinfrastructure was considerable. Morethan one quarter of the utility’s clientele,or 73,000 customers, were withoutpower. A 240 kV transmission line inthe eastern part of the city was com-pletely down and the surrounding areawas blacked out. Trees and debris short-circuited power lines. Transformer fuseswere blown. Crews replaced 155wooden poles and straightened and resetanother 83. In addition, 36 distributiontransformers were destroyed, 42.5 km ofwire went down, and two 240 kV trans-mission towers were reduced to scrapmetal. There was also some damage tothe Clover Bar Generating Station, but


Edmonton Power operators are goingsquirrely over a rash of minor powerfailures in the Laurier Heights area[which have been] blamed on inquisi-tive rodents.

Power went off three times in two-or three-block areas Monday and againTuesday as squirrels running alongpower lines caused short circuits, saysEdmonton Power dispatcher Ben Hes-selink.

“The squirrels climb up the polesand sit on the transformers. Whentheir tails hit a high-voltage line, theyshort themselves out and cause a littlepower bump that lasts two or threeseconds.

“They fry themselves; usually youjust find a little ball of fur at thebottom of the pole,” says Hesselink,who received about 25 complaintsTuesday ...

Short of trapping all the squirrels inthe area, there’s little that can be done.Power failures may continue until thecritters go into hibernation, he says.

[According to one resident, thepower] “goes out for 20 or 30 secondsand comes back on again. You runaround and re-set all your clocks and itgoes out again.”

From The Edmonton Journal,1984

Critters Blamed for Power Hiccups


it was insufficient to halt production.The disaster caused a total of $2.3 mil-lion damage to Edmonton Powerproperty.

Employees from TransAlta, AlbertaPower and Edmonton Power, as well asnumerous volunteers, worked togetherto repair the damage. The City of Cal-gary provided a 13-member work crew,Alberta Power sent materials, andTransAlta sent workers to get the systemback into operation. In spite of themajor damage, power outages lastedonly between 20 minutes and 3 1/2hours. By Saturday morning, almost allof the affected area had its power backon. Nevertheless, employees working onadrenaline and long overtime shifts con-tinued making repairs for weeks after.Some worked shifts as long as 48 hoursstraight.

Like most Edmontonians, EdmontonPower employees were deeply affectedby the disaster. Seeing the destruction oftrees and buildings is one thing; witness-ing human tragedy is quite another. Theemotional impact of the disaster remains

with those who were involved to thisday. Ron Donaldson has particularlyvivid memories of the disaster:

I had taken my car to work that daybecause I was leaving right from workon holidays. I remember being in thecontrol room and looking down at thehailstones bouncing off my Oldsmobile. I


TOP LEFT: Rushed repairs were made toEdmonton’s electrical distribution system afterthe tornado.

TOP RIGHT: Jim Williams and Ed Kyte inthe field after the tornado.

ABOVE RIGHT: The tornado flattenedtransmission towers.


heard on the radio what had happened. Icouldn’t get down the Yellowheadbecause of traffic, so I headed southwhere I actually met Doug McAvoy[substation director]. We couldn’t movefrom there because of traffic and powerlines, so we ended up helping the firedepartment and police look into vehiclesthat had been turned over in these park-ing lots. I will never forget it in my life.While we were doing that there was acounty guy who was dead and they hadpulled him out and covered him with atarp. We were working but you couldn’tkeep your eyes off him. Soon we heardthat the tornado had hit Evergreen Trail-er Park. Someone came on the radio andsaid you would never believe it – every-thing is gone. He was hysterical. Itlooked like a war zone.

Clinton Keates, a troubleman for theutility, was touched personally by thedisaster. He and three or four otheremployees were in the Evergreen area atthe time the tornado hit. They weath-ered the storm in a bathroom in theSouth Service Station. When theyemerged, they began to search for onetrailer in particular: Clinton Keates’home. It was nowhere to be seen. Clin-ton, knowing that his wife would havebeen in the trailer when the tornado hit,was distraught. Yet nothing could bedone. Employees started work on thecleanup and hoped for the best.

At about 4:00 in the morning, theEvergreen crew received a call for Clin-ton Keates. It was the Royal AlexandraHospital. Clinton was nowhere to befound, so another employee went to the


TOP: Linemen take a breather after the storm.

LEFT: The tornado stripped foliage from trees.


hospital to see about Clinton’s wife. Helearned that the Keates trailer had beenblown half a mile before coming backdown. Miraculously, Mrs. Keates hadsurvived, though she had been badlybruised. The employee was able to trackdown the Keates family and Clintonhimself. The family had survived theordeal.

The dramatic events of July 31, 1987will not be forgotten. Edmonton Poweremployees can take pride not only in theprompt and efficient way they restoredelectricity to thousands, but also in thecompassion they showed to people inextreme distress.

Working LifeEdmonton Power employees started afitness club in 1982. After having theirphysical status appraised, 225 workersunderwent a nine-week fitness programto see if they could improve their assess-ment.

Despite being physically fit, utilityemployees had higher than normal stresssymptoms according to a survey con-ducted in the 1980s. In response,Edmonton Power introduced the Quali-ty of Work Life and Stress Managementprogram in 1986. The program was ini -tiated to help employees deal with stressin the workplace. It allowed employeesto address some of the issues that createdstress, and worked with management tomake changes necessary to reduce stressin the workplace.

Desmond the DragonAt the 1985 Grey Cup Parade in Van-couver, a giant green dragon made itsfirst public appearance outside of Alber-ta. “Desmond,” a giant lizard made ofwire mesh, metal strapping, automotive

insulation, and fibreglass primer, wasthe brainchild of David Fraser, thendirector of substations and control.Fraser had believed that Desmondwould be a fun volunteer activity thatwould build camaraderie among work-ers and also promote the department.

“Dave did the original artwork and was the chief design consultant onDesmond,” recalls Dave Wa l k e r. “Lots ofpeople volunteered to work on the proj-ect. They spent about 2 0 0 0 h o u r sbuilding Desmond.” By the time thedragon was complete, he had a tail andwings that moved up and down, and anose that blew “smoke.” He had an e i g h t -inch thick skin and could float on water.Using traditional Edmonton Power inno-vation, volunteers used an old washingmachine transmission, hydraulic pistons,a 5 0 horsepower engine, and 2 4 f i r eextinguishers to create these impressiveeffects.

Between 1 9 8 5 and 1 9 9 8, Desmondparticipated in all Grey Cup parades asan ambassador for Edmonton Power andthe City of Edmonton. He was transport-ed by a crew of six to eight volunteers ona special trailer to games in Montreal,C a l g a r y, Va n c o u v e r, Ottawa, Wi n n i p e g ,and Toronto. Desmond also appeared inthe annual Sourdough Raft Race and inYe l l o w k n i f e ’s Canada Day parade.

The only time that the fearless dragonappeared to be in peril was on a triphome from the United States in 1992.Desmond had participated in theShriner’s Parade in Billings, Montana.Edmonton Shriners had hoped that hispresence in the parade would encouragethe international organization to hold itsnext annual convention in Edmonton.

According to Dave Walker, AmericanCustoms stopped Desmond at the

border and demanded that his crew pro-vide proof that the dragon had not beenbuilt or purchased in the United States.“That’s when I started smoking again,”says Dave Walker ruefully. “I was that


A short circuit in electrical wiringunder a south side intersection causedan explosion Wednesday, whichthrew a manhole cover into the air.

Heat created by contact betweenunderground power cables sentflames and smoke billowing from themanhole at 99th Street and 52ndAvenue, about 4:50 PM, said Edmon-ton Power trouble lineman JimMcCrank.

“I was just sitting here servingcustomers and then there was a bigexplosion,” said Dylan Parry, a cashier ...

“I looked over and the manholecover was just coming back to earthand there was a big cloud of greensmoke pouring out,” he said.

Police arrived quickly but backedaway when another blast of air fromthe manhole blew an officer’s hat offhis head, Parry said.

“After that they got a little moreserious about it.”

A police spokesman said a car wasstruck by the manhole cover, butParry and other witnesses said thecover didn’t hit anything.

McCrank said the cause wasn’tknown and added it caused onlyminor power interruptions.


1985

Electric Blast ThrowsSouth Side

Manhole Cover



worried that we weren’t going to getDesmond back to Canada.” Fortunately,Walker and his crew were able to con-vince American Customs that Desmondwas 100-percent Canadian made. Offi-cials finally waved the giant lizard acrossthe Canadian border towards home.

In 1998, Desmond was retired. Butold dragons never die; today, Desmondis in storage, waiting for the time whendragons like him are needed once again.

Edmonton Power would face unexpect-ed challenges in the last decade of thecentury. These challenges would make itnecessary to fundamentally change theway the utility operated. However, theprogress the utility made in the 1980senabled it to face these new difficultieswith confidence.

In the early part of the twentieth century, electrical clocks would some-times begin to run either too fast ortoo slow. But the clocks themselvesweren’t faulty; timepieces in perfectworking order were as subject to thisproblem as any other. What, then,caused the problem?

Frequency instability was the cul-prit. Turbine generators tend to runat inconstant speeds; this causes theelectricity they produce to change fre-quency. Thus, when a just a fewgenerators are running in isolation, aswas the case in Edmonton in the earlypart of the century, frequency canchange considerably over time. Thiswas remedied by maintaining the

speed of generators, which wasaccomplished using an accurate clock.

Later, when Edmonton was con-nected to Calgary Power’s generationgrid, frequency stability was only aconcern when that connection wassevered. In the 1980s, subsequent tieslinked Edmonton’s grid to those ofBC Hydro and a number of Ameri-can utilities. Thus, the clock that oncekept time for Edmonton still proudlyhangs in Rossdale’s boardroom, but isno longer needed.

Adapted from text prepared by Paul Collis

RIGHT: This is the clock once used tomaintain frequency stability in Edmonton.

Hey, Buddy, Do You Have the Time?

ABOVE: Desmond blasts his enemies withsimulated smoke.


Chapter 10

A Decade ofChange

• • • • •

1990 – 1999

he last decade of the twentieth centurybrought less technological change toEdmonton Power than previous decadeshad. However, it presented the utilitywith significant political and social chal-lenges. A public debate over privatizingthe utility raged in the media and at CityCouncil. Further, the provincial electri-cal industry changed in fundamentalways.

While Edmonton Power could dolittle to respond to the privatizationdebate, it had to address the shifts in itsindustry if it wished to remain a viableentity. Thus, it completely reworked theway it operated. It could no longerappear or act like a municipal depart-ment. By the end of the decade, it hadshed its old name, it had begun a processof rapid expansion, and it investigatednew ways to market electricity to cus-tomers. In short, it operated as abusiness competing in a difficult market.

RestructuringThe changes made to Alberta’s electricalindustry in the 1990s resulted from gov-ernment efforts to alter its regulatorypractices. Edmonton Power and otherstakeholders had input into this restruc-turing process.

Under the system that prevailed inAlberta before restructuring, a companythat wished to generate and sell electrici-ty had to demonstrate that there was aneed for new generating capacity –hence Edmonton Power’s long struggleto win approval for Genesee. Theprovincial government regulated thegeneration, transmission, distribution,and retail sale of electricity. Albertastarted a review of these policies in1993; this resulted in the Electric Utili-ties Act of 1995, which called for a

99 Chapter 10: A Decade of Change

TMilestones

1990The Edmonton Oilers win their fifth

Stanley Cup in seven years.

1992 Jack Cressey is appointed chair of

Edmonton Power (now EdmontonPower Authority). A board of

directors is also appointed.

1993 Edmonton’s new city hall opens.

David Foy replaces Ed Kyte as president and CEO of

Edmonton Power Authority.

1994 Bob Phillips replaces the late Jack

Cressey as chair of Edmonton Power.

1995Bill Smith becomes mayor of

Edmonton.

1998 Don Lowry is appointed

Edmonton Power Authority’spresident and CEO.

1999EPCOR buys 18,000 tonnes of

emission reductions.

EPCOR begins selling natural gas.

EPCOR receives an award for itsenvironmental initiatives.


restructuring of the electrical industry.Under the Electric Utilities Act, genera-tion and retail of electricity would nolonger be subject to government regula-tion, though transmission anddistribution would be. Residential con-sumers would be free to choose a makerbut not a distributor of electricity.

On January 1, 1996, the Electric Utili-ties Act created the Power Pool ofAlberta. This pool differed from the onethat had existed previously. The PowerPool of Alberta acted as an “electricity

store”; generators offered blocks ofpower for sale and the pool matchedthem with retailers. The pool matchedretail bids with the generators’ priceoffers.

The new shape of the electrical indus-try had far reaching implications forEdmonton Power: its customer base wasno longer comprised of just its owners –the citizens of Edmonton. The utilitywould have to compete in a regional,national, and international marketplace.The former City department was reor-

ganized and changed its attitude aboutcompetition.

These changes were phased in duringa long and complicated transitionalperiod. First, the utility became Edmon-ton Power Authority. In 1992, a boardof directors was established. The mayorsat on this board, though the City’s pri-mary role was to ensure that its interestswere being protected. In 1995, Edmon-ton Power became a fully incorporatedcompany, no longer a department of theCity of Edmonton. Eventually, themayor no longer sat on the board ofdirectors, though City Council stillapproved annual business plans, budg-ets, and received quarterly updates.

Edmonton Power had a number ofsubsidiaries during this transitionalperiod. Eltec was responsible for non-regulated activities such as streetlightmaintenance. Edmonton Power wasmade responsible for water supply anddistribution in the city; a subsidiarycalled Aqualta was created to operatethe waterworks.

Another organizational changeoccurred in 1996, this time involving acomplete change of name. A new corpo-rate umbrella, EPCOR, was formed. Allsubsidiaries were now under thisumbrella. Eventually, Aqualta becameEPCOR Water Services Inc., and Eltecwas renamed EPCOR Technologies Inc.EPCOR continued to be governed by aboard of directors, and the City ofEdmonton continued to be the soleshareholder. Encore Energy Solutionswas formed, initially with other energycompanies, to market electricity pack-ages outside of Edmonton.

EPCOR was given a new logo and anew image a few years later. A newsrelease issued on October 4, 1999 read:


Ed Kyte began his career with the Dis-tribution Department in 1 9 6 9. Hebecame general manager of EdmontonPower in 1977, when it was still a cityd e p a r t m e n t. When Edmonton PowerAuthority was established in 1 9 9 2, Edbecame the first president of the emer-ging corporation, and served in thatcapacity until his retirement in 1 9 9 3.

Ed KytePresident and CEO

June 1977 – May 1993

Following City Council’s decision in1 9 9 2 to create a Board of Authority asan interim step to full incorporation,A.J. (Jack) Cressey was appointed asEdmonton Power’s first chair. A grad-uate in arts and law, Cressey hadpreviously served in executive posi-tions in a number of companies.

Unfortunately, Jack’s dream for thecompany had to be passed on toothers. Jack passed away following acycling accident in July 1994.

Jack CresseyChair

September 1992 – July 1994


New Look EPCOR Launches OneBrand, Many Services

In a news conference with a definite cus-tomer focus, Don Lowry, president andCEO of EPCOR, today announced thateffective immediately, Edmonton Power,Aqualta, and Eltec will all be known asEPCOR – a single, unified source foressential residential and commercial util -ity services.

EPCOR’s Initial Public Offering, orIPO, in the summer of 1999 marked animportant milestone in the company’stransition to the private business com-munity. EPCOR offered $150 million oflong-term debt to private investors; thedebt sold quickly. Brian Vaasjo, execu-tive vice president and chief financialofficer at the time, remarked that theIPO was a “tremendous success,” andcredited

the obvious quality of the company’sassets, strategies, and people. The organi-zation absolutely impressed the financialcommunity including both dealers andinvestors. This is yet another example ofthis company’s ability to perform withthe very best.

ExpansionDemand for electricity increased rapidlyduring the 1990s. To meet the demand,a second unit was installed at the Gene-see Power Plant. On December 2, 1993,the new unit was synchronized with theAlberta Interconnected System for thefirst time, and was fired with coal onDecember 7. It began commercial oper-ation in early 1994.

In the 1 9 9 0s, EPCOR added to its gen-

erating capacity by building new plants,with or without partners, or by purchas-ing existing plants. Due to rapid demandgrowth and the newly competitive gener-ating market, growth took place muchfaster than in previous decades. Forexample, in 1 9 9 8 , EPCOR entered into ajoint venture with two other utilities tobuild a $ 3 2 0 million 4 1 6 MW co-genera-tion plant in Joffre, Alberta. This becameoperational early in the new century.

PrivatizationEPCOR, in all its iterations, had longprovided the City of Edmonton withrespectable returns. The utility wasviewed by many Edmontonians as notjust a source of revenue and a valuableasset, but also as an object of civic pride.However, in the new operating environ-ment of the late 1990s, otherEdmontonians began to question theCity’s involvement in the electricalindustry. The regulatory protections thathad insulated the City against risk weregone. EPCOR was competing in a freemarket, and was therefore subject to notonly greater returns than before, but alsogreater risks. Additionally, the utilitywas worth a great deal of money; if itsold EPCOR, the City would not onlybe protecting itself from risk, it wouldalso experience a revenue windfall.

In an effort to come to a decision onwhether or not to sell EPCOR, the Cityof Edmonton hired analysts from RBCDominion Securities to assess whetheror not it would be financially wise toproceed with the sale. The report con-cluded that EPCOR would be attractiveto private investors, and that the Cityshould sell it. According to Kevin Taft,an independent researcher, the RBCreport was contradictory – telling the


• • • • •

• • • • •

• • • • •

• • • • •



TOP: The cogeneration plant at Joffre, Alberta was a product of cooperation betweenEPCOR and other Alberta companies.

Citizens were mad as hell about thepossible sale of EPCOR Thursday andsaid so loudly outside city hall, whilecouncil debated the future of the utility.

More than 100 protesters from seniorcitizen groups and labour organiza-tions, as well as New Democrat MLARaj Pannu, braved cold winds to tellcouncil not to privatize EPCOR.

One senior carried a placard promis-ing to “haunt” Mayor Bill Smith atelection time should he support sellingthe utility.

Another protester bore a sign thatsaid, “Keep EPCOR: Sell Bill Smith.”

Many people took the possible sale ofEPCOR personally, saying it wouldbetray Edmontonians and leave them atthe mercy of a faceless corporation thatwasn’t accountable to the public.

“To our generation, it’s somethingwe’ve built.”

Many protesters called for aplebiscite, while others questioned themotives of councilors who supportedprivatization, accusing them of beingtoo cozy with business.

“It would be selling off our heritage.”“This is the most valuable asset we

have in this city and it belongs to its cit-izens. I find it strange that City Councilshould consider selling it without con-sulting citizens.”

From The Edmonton Journal, 1999

Seniors, Labour ProtestSale of Utility

ABOVE: Edmonton Power added a generat-ing unit to its Genesee Power Plant in the early1990s.


City that the utility was a risky business,while recommending to investors thatEPCOR was a secure company with awonderful long-term future.

Edmontonians protested the sale ofEPCOR when the issue came to light.Many of them called the Citizen’sAction Centre, a call centre that allowedpeople to voice their opinions. Accord-ing to one report, within the first half ofthe year the Citizen’s Action Centrereceived 251 calls from people who wereagainst the sale, 59 from people whowere looking for more information, andonly 2 from people who were in favourof the sale. In one day, 189 calls werereceived, 172 of which were opposed tothe sale. Meanwhile, the near-century-old municipally-owned utility, whichhad committed itself to accepting what-ever the public decided, sat tight andwaited for an outcome.

Finally, after much public and internaldebate, Edmonton City Council defeat-ed a motion on Thursday July 15, 1999to “have City administrators andEPCOR’s board look at market interestfor privatizing EPCOR.” It was felt bymany that too little was known aboutthe restructuring of the electrical indus-try, and that a more cautious approachwas in order.

Rossdale Depowers Much of the Rossdale Power Plant hadbecome obsolete by the early 1990s. In1992, Edmonton Power began theprocess of decommissioning the LowPressure Plant and the Gas TurbineHouse. From 1992 to 1998, the two gasturbines, five steam turbines, and sevenboilers were taken out of service andremoved from the building. With theexception of three operational units,

Rossdale stood empty, waiting for deci-sion makers to determine how best touse the building shell.

EPCOR wanted to make better use ofone of the three existing units. It pro-posed the installation of a gas turbine.At least part of the Low Pressure Plantwould have to be demolished to accom-modate the new turbine; however, inaddition to producing 170 MW of elec-trical power, the new turbine would

produce exhaust gases hot enough togenerate steam. This steam would operate number 8 steam turbine.EPCOR also wished to change theappearance of the High Pressure Plantso it would match the addition to theLow Pressure Plant building. City


TOP and ABOVE and OVER: Last looks:the Rossdale Low Pressure Plant was depow-ered in the 1990s, and its generating equipmentwas removed.




Council approved this plan near the endof 1999.

Once it was made public, this plansparked a storm of controversy; citizensand environmental groups spoke out inopposition to EPCOR’s proposal. Manyfelt that the historic Low Pressure Plantbuilding was worthy of preservation.Others felt that the method of powergeneration was inappropriate. Onceagain, the electrical utility sought a wayto respond in a way that addressed citi-zen’s concerns.

The matter came to a close early in thenew century. A number of significantarcheological finds had been made on theRossdale site, including the remains of anearly Fort Edmonton and a burialground. To many, these finds addedweight to earlier arguments about Ross-d a l e ’s historical significance. On October1 7, 2 0 0 1, the provincial government des-ignated the Low Pressure Plant, theAdministration Building, and number 1pumphouse as historical resources. OnOctober 2 5, EPCOR announced that itwas no longer interested in repoweringRossdale.

Distribution and Transmission EPCOR’s distribution and transmissionsystems required renovation in order totake advantage of the latest technology,to improve efficiency, and thus to betterserve the customer.

In 1993, the underground distributionsystem in the Westbrook (southwestEdmonton) area was completely rebuilt.

LEFT and OPPOSITE B O T T O M R I G H T:Full circle: remnants of an early Fort Edmon-ton were discovered on the Rossdale site. Therow of stumps shown are believed to be remainsof a wall at the fort.


In October 1993, David Foy joinedEdmonton Power as its president andchief executive officer. Foy came toEPCOR with a broad background ofexperience, including three years aspresident and CEO of Phillips Cables, aleading manufacturer of wire and cable.

David FoyPresident and CEO

October 1993 – September 1997


This involved special tunneling equip-ment and about 24,000 meters of cable.Edmonton Telephones and Videotron, aprivate company, assisted in the comple-tion of the project; the general publicalso helped by enabling the utility tocomplete work without causing disrup-tion to the community. Two maintransformers that served downtownwere also upgraded to handle 15 percentmore capacity.

Throughout the decade, response tocustomer demand was both efficient andeffective. By 1999, the utility was able toboast of 565 km of transmission lines(278 km aerial, 287 km underground)and 9,117 km of distribution lines.These lines provided services to 270,000customers, 242,000 of which were resi-dential and 28,000 were commercial.

Focus on the Environment The environmental movement wasextremely influential in the 1990s. Soci-ety had become aware that it wasproducing huge amounts of garbage andair and water pollution, and that “green-house gases” could be causing theEarth’s climate to change. Industries andconsumers around the world foundways to save energy, to reduce waste,and to recycle what waste couldn’t beeliminated. Environmentally friendlyproducts appeared on store shelves.

In preceding decades, Edmonton’selectrical utility had often taken steps toprotect the environment. Starting in the1990s, the utility advanced its leadershipposition in environmental matters with a


NEWSFLASH!

December 4, 1996

Power Crews Return from Lending Emergency AssistanceStateside

Edmonton power crews returned home late Tuesdaynight from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, after pitching inwith emergency power restoration efforts. A seriesof ice storms in Washington and Idaho caused suchsevere damage that local power companies sent outrequests for assistance from neighbouring utilities,including Edmonton Power.

“Given the severity of damage in the states of Wash-ington and Idaho, with tens of thousands of peoplewithout power, when the request for assistance camewe were pleased and proud to be able to respond,”said David Foy, president and chief executive offi-cer of Edmonton Power’s parent company EPCOR.

Three aerial crews, one service crew plus a supervi-sor, totalling ten employees, were sent to the areaon Friday, November 22. Together they returned tiredbut very proud of their efforts. “We worked withcrews from all over the northwestern United Statesand some from British Columbia,” stated Gary Paul,supervisor of the crews in Idaho. “The weather con-tinued to work against us, hampering efforts for thelongest time, but all of us persevered and the stateof emergency in Idaho has now been lifted.”

“Pitching in to help other utilities in the face ofcrisis is part of our business,” commented Foy.“Some of our crews remember the help that was neededwhen the tornado struck just outside Edmonton, theywere eager to be there for others.”

“Our crews are highly skilled and well trained foremergency situations; this unfortunate circumstancealso provided them with the opportunity for hands-onexperience in an emergency situation,” concluded Foy.

LEFT and OPPOSITE: EPCOR adoptednews releases and other public relations strate -gies typical of large companies as it became acorporation.


number of new initiatives. One was theuse of landfill gas (LFG) as a fuel in itsboilers.

LFG is produced when organic wastesdecompose in landfills. As organicwastes comprise a large proportion ofany landfill, a great deal of LFG is pro-duced each year. The primary ingredientof LFG is methane gas, one of the morepotent greenhouse gases. Burning LFGnot only helps to conserve fossil fuels, italso converts methane into less damag-ing gases, and improves air quality nearlandfills.

Edmonton Power partnered withEnvironmental Technologies Inc. todevelop an extraction and refiningprocess for LFG. In 1992, the CloverBar Landfill Gas Recovery and Treat-ment Plant was opened. A series of wellsdrilled into the landfill collected LFG,which was then conveyed to the treat-ment facility via a network of pipes.There, it was prepared for use as boilerfuel. Approximately 0.9 percent ofClover Bar’s fuel is LFG. As of 1998,the project had recovered 93 million m3

of LFG from the landfill. In 1997 alone,sufficient LFG was recovered to meetthe electrical needs of about 4,200homes.

Edmonton Power published its firstenvironmental policy in 1992. Thispolicy expressed a commitment to envi-ronmentally sensitive and efficientapproaches to power production thatresponded to public concerns.

This new policy would provide abackdrop for the various programsEdmonton Power and EPCOR devel-oped and implemented over theremainder of the decade. Not onlywould the company comply with legallimits placed on emissions, it set goals to

exceed government expectations. In fact,environmental concern would be a largefactor in the company’s response torestructuring as the century came to aclose.

In 1993, as Edmonton Power was

“getting its feet wet” with its new envi-ronment policy, some very practical,customer related activities were under-taken. One of these was the “Old FridgeRoundup.” Three thousand, three hun-dred and eighty four used fridges and


ANOTHER FIRST!

October 25, 1999

TRADING PROCESS PROMOTES CARBON DIOXIDE REDUCTIONSIn keeping with its commitment to help Canada meetits carbon dioxide reduction targets, EPCOR Utili -ties Inc. announced that it has completed theworld’s first carbon dioxide trade conducted througha commodity exchange.

EPCOR purchased 18,000 tonnes of emission reductionsfrom TransAlta Utilities through the newly formed,Alberta-based KEFI Exchange. The 18,000 tonnes ofcarbon dioxide represented in the trade is equal tothe annual emissions of about 3,000 automobiles.

“The fact that EPCOR and TransAlta have come forwardto make the deal demonstrates their commitment tohelping create innovative, market-based approachesto managing greenhouse gas emissions,” says SheldonFulton, president of KEFI Exchange.

For EPCOR, emission trading represents just one ele-ment of an integrated climate change program, whichalso includes:* Commitment to renewable and alternate energy(i.e., landfill gas, solar, small hydro projects)* Energy efficiency at our generating stations * Working with our customers to reduce energy consumption* Carbon sequestration (i.e., using trees and soilsto capture carbon dioxide from the air)

This emission trade would be the first of several. Look for further discussion on thistopic in the Afterword.


freezers were collected from individuals,and from these 918 kg of chloro-fluoro-carbons (CFCs) were recovered, alongwith 382 tonnes of recycled metal. This

was beneficial because CFCs contributeto the destruction of the ozone layer, andthe estimated future savings in electrici-ty use came to nearly 3.9 million kWh

per year.The PCB elimination program

continued with the removal or deconta-mination of 208 transformers and 33capacitors in 1993. By 1999, after test-ing 2,774 transformers, only 37contained PCB concentrations higherthan 150 parts per million (PPM). Gov-ernment regulations allow 200 PPM,while EPCOR’s standard is 150 PPM.Contaminated oil from these 37


In November of 1994, City Councilappointed Bob Phillips as chair ofEPCOR. Educated in engineeringand law, Phillips had previouslyserved a number of large corpora-tions, including Husky Oil, as vicepresident. He was also a Trustee ofthe Canadian Parks and WildernessSociety.

Phillips is a strong supporter of life-long learning. “It’s something I believein and something I’ve instilled in mychildren. People may look at my back-ground and say, ‘This guy changesjobs a lot; he must get bored easily, ’but that’s not it. I like new challenges,new things to learn.” And that is howhe saw his work with EPCOR.

Phillips was born and raised inEdmonton. He and his wife and two children now reside in BritishColumbia.

Rob PhillipsChair

November 1994 – December 1998

LEFT: A group of scouts tours the GeneseePower Plant in the 1990s.

• A well-managed energy resource,where energy is rationalized tototal community needs now and inthe future.

• Efficient approaches to the produc-tion and distribution of energy thatconserve, protect, and respect theenvironment.

• A global perspective on the issue ofenergy, to ensure that our activitiesand policies are consistent with theenvironmental welfare of theworld.

• An open mind and a willingness totry new ideas.

• A relationship of trust with mem-bers of our community.

• An involvement and commitmentby our staff to work together indeveloping environmental solu-tions.

• A recognition that concern for theenvironment is every individual’sresponsibility.

From the Edmonton Power 1992Annual Report

Edmonton Power’sEnvironmental Policy

As part of its environment policy,Edmonton Power endeavored to maintain:


transformers was disposed of at theSwan Hills Waste Treatment Facility.

In 1997, the Canadian governmentagreed to follow the terms of the KyotoProtocol, which committed the countryto reduce its greenhouse gas emissionsby six percent of 1990 levels. Thisposed a major challenge to fossil fuel-based industries such as EPCOR.Carbon dioxide (CO2), which is emittedwhen fossil fuels are burned, is one ofthe main contributors to greenhousegases. Consequently, Rossdale, CloverBar, and Genesee needed to be assessedin terms of the possibilities for furthercost-effective emissions reductions.

As a step toward meeting the Kyototarget, EPCOR voluntarily committeditself to reduce its CO2 emissions by onemillion tonnes annually by the year 2 0 0 0.To achieve this, generating stations weremade more efficient, landfill gas use wasincreased, wooden poles were recycled,trees were planted, and solar electric gen-eration was introduced. The combinedefforts of numerous programs allowedthe company to state “our overall


In January 2000, Edmonton CityCouncil appointed Hugh Bolton asEPCOR’s third chair of the board.Bolton is a respected senior businessexecutive who recently retired fromPricewaterhouse-Coopers in Toronto,where he had a six-year term as chairand chief executive partner of Coop-ers and Lybrand Canada.

Bolton has a wealth of seniordomestic and international businessexperience. His experience is particu -larly valuable as EPCOR expands itscustomer base beyond Edmonton’scity limits, beyond the provincialboundaries, and into the NorthAmerican market.

Hugh BoltonChair

January 2000 – present

As past chair of Alta Telecom Inc.and the president and chief operatingofficer of Telus Communications Inc.,Lowry came to EPCOR with a strongbackground in leading companiesthrough the transitions of a restruc-turing market. When he accepted hisnew position, he was quoted assaying:

I am impressed with the many accom-plishments that EPCOR and itssubsidiaries have achieved over thepast few years. I look forward toworking with the EPCOR team astogether we face the challenges of[restructuring] ....

Lowry, his wife, and their two chil-dren live in Edmonton.

Don LowryPresident and CEO

February 1998 – presentBy the end of the twentieth century,EPCOR had been a consumer of nat-ural gas for decades: many of itsburners used the fuel. But in October1999, the utility also became a suppli-er of natural gas when it beganoffering the fuel to industrial andcommercial customers. Then, inDecember of the same year, EPCORpurchased Alberta Natural Gas Sav-ings Corporation (ANGSC) andgained access to that company’s cus-tomer base of 30,000 residentialconsumers.

EPCOR and Natural Gas



Have you ever wondered what is ontop of the glass, steel, and concretetowers that loom over Jasper Avenue,Edmonton’s main downtown artery?Probably not. But if you enteredEPCOR Centre and took the elevatorall the way up to the rooftop, you’d bein for a bit of a surprise. There, bask-ing in the sun every day of the year, isa series of photovoltaic cells that pro-vide 13 kW of power to the PowerPool of Alberta. Not only does thissystem produce power to EPCOR’sGreen Power program, it also pro-vides heating, ventilation, andair-conditioning savings to the build-ing by shading the roof in summerand providing between R15 and R20insulation in the winter.

When it was installed in November1996, the system achieved some mile-stones for building-integratedphotovoltaics (BIPV):

• It was the highest elevation BIPVproject ever mounted on a building;

• It was the largest BIPV project inCanada, and the third largest pho-tovoltaic system in Canada.

EPCOR’s BIPV project was a success-ful – and profitable – venture.

Solar Power Tops the EPCOR Tower

ABOVE: The solar array atop EPCOR’scorporate offices in downtown Edmonton.

RIGHT: The solar array under constructionin November, 1996.


program of reductions and offsets nowtotals 1 , 1 4 9 , 8 0 0 tonnes per year to bedelivered in 2 0 0 0.” Not only hadEPCOR reached its goal, it had exceededit.

The International Standards Organi-zation (ISO) wished to encouragecompanies to work on their environ-mental performance. It established aninternationally-recognized environmen-tal standard called ISO 14001.Compliance with these standards is vol-untary. In 2000 EPCOR became thefirst utility in Canada to have all of itsgenerating plants meet ISO 14001 stan-dards; distribution and transmissionoperations became registered in 2001.

The late 1990s also brought about theintroduction of the Green Power Pro-gram. This allowed customers topurchase energy from such sources assolar, wind, small hydro, and biomass

(wood wastes) combustion for $10 to$40 per month over their conventionalpower bill. For every unit of GreenPower used, less fossil fuel was used. Bythe end of 2000, 3,100 customers hadsigned up.

The first decade of the twenty-first cen-

tury would herald EPCOR’s second cen-tury of operation as a municipal utility.It would also usher in a completelyrestructured marketplace. With anaggressive expansion plan in place alongwith a sound environmental policy,EPCOR was well-positioned to competesuccessfully and responsibly in this


The fastest animal on the planet –and one of Canada’s most endangeredspecies – has flourished at Genesee formore than a decade.

The peregrine falcon has never beencommon; populations are naturallysparse because a breeding couple willjealously defend a large territory.H o w e v e r, the birds were once found inevery part of Canada except a few highArctic islands and Newfoundland; itsrange also extended south to theUnited States-Mexico border. Unfortu-n a t e l y, they vanished from most of thisrange in the mid-twentieth century,victims of DDT, a pesticide used inagriculture. By the late 1 9 6 0s, pere-grines could no longer be found inmost of southern Canada; the specieswas listed as endangered in 1 9 7 1.

Bob Joyes, a maintenance foremanat EPCOR’s Genesee plant, suspectsthat peregrines first began nesting atthe station in 1989. That’s when stafffirst noted nests built near the sta-tion’s fresh air intake. It wasn’t until1993 that a security guard positivelyidentified the raptor’s distinctivemarkings.

It is not a complete surprise that thebirds choose a generating station as aplace to raise their young year afteryear. The air intake is well protected

from the elements and is hidden fromview. Another draw could be theplant’s cooling ponds; gulls, ducks,and pigeons, all peregrine prey, livearound the water’s edge. Bob Joyeshas watched the birds hunt in pairs:one bird flushes out the prey, and theother swoops in from a hiding placeto kill the unsuspecting victim.

After discovering the raptors intheir midst, Genesee staff installed anexpertly-designed nesting box on theplant’s giant smoke stack. From thisvantage point, the birds had an excel-lent view of their hunting grounds,and could raise their young in seclu-sion. Joyes speculated that as many asthree or four chicks were raised mostyears. He noted that the young some-times try to return to Genesee, but theparents, territorial birds that they are,drive their grown-up offspring away.

Genesee’s peregrines starred in“The Return of the Peregrine,” a doc-umentary aired on CBC’s The Natureof Things in December 2001. Asidefrom this attention, the peregrineshave been allowed to hunt and raisetheir young in solitude.

Sources: Alberta’s ThreatenedWildlife and an interview with Bob

Joyes. Prepared by David Strand

Peregrines at Genesee


1 Chapter 11: New Beginnings




Afterword

NewBeginnings

• • • • •

2000 – 2002

byKen Warren

PCOR adapted to Alberta’s restruc-tured power market quickly andeffectively; just a few years into the newcentury, the utility had doubled its cus-tomer base and vastly expanded itsgenerating capacity. Yet EPCOR contin-ued its environmental leadership anddid its utmost to address the concerns ofthe general public.

Boosts to EPCOR’s Generating CapacityEPCOR continued to add to its generat-ing capacity as the new century began. Itoften cooperated with other energy com-panies so it could incorporate a varietyof different generating technologies intoits portfolio. This expansion was part ofthe utility’s strategy to compete in globalpower markets. Most of EPCOR’s newacquisitions were far from the compa-ny’s traditional Edmonton stronghold,but the company worked to keep itslocal stations up-to-date.

A project that the utility began in the1990s, the cogeneration plant located onthe site of NOVA Chemical’s petro-chemical site at Joffre, Alberta, becameoperational in the middle of 2000.EPCOR had a 40% share in this plant,which had the capacity to produce morethan 400 MW of electrical power, aswell as steam that is used for the pro-duction of ethylene and polyethylene.

On September 15 of the same year,EPCOR and Canadian Hydro Develop-ers celebrated the opening of theTaylor’s Coulee Chute Hydro-electricPlant near Magrath in southern Alberta.The 12.7 MW facility uses water froman existing irrigation canal to generatepower. EPCOR also purchased the 7MW Brown Lake Hydro-electric Facili -ty near Prince Rupert, British Columbia.

113 Afterword: New Beginnings

EMilestones

2000In January, EPCOR enters into a

partnership with the University ofAlberta worth $1.125 million dollars.

In February, EPCOR purchases a 7MW hydro-electric plant located near

Prince Rupert, British Columbia.

In March, Canada’s Climate ChangeVoluntary Challenge and Registry

honours EPCOR for its leadership inthe reduction of greenhouse gases.

In August, EPCOR enters into a partnership with Westcoast Energy

to complete a generating station located in Washington. This is

EPCOR’s first foray outside of Canada.

On September 12, EPCOR acquires Engage Energy’s interest inEncore, which is now wholly owned

by EPCOR.

On September 13, EPCORannounces an agreement to

purchase power from the WeatherDancer wind turbine under

construction near Brocket, Alberta.

Taylor’s Coulee Chute Hydro-electricPlant opens on September 15.


All the power generated at this plantwas sold directly to BC Hydro.

EPCOR’s acquisitions were not limit-ed to Canada. In a partnership withanother energy company, EPCOR pur-chased a partially-built 249 MWgas-fired generating plant in Frederick-son near Tacoma, Washington. It isscheduled to come on stream in 2002.

As it expanded its interests elsewhere,EPCOR continued to enhance its exist-ing assets. Early in the new century,plans were made to further expand theGenesee plant. This expansion wouldadd about 450 MW to EPCOR’s gener-ating capacity. The plans entailed theuse of the best technology commerciallyavailable: a supercritical boiler, which

operates at a much higher pressure andtemperature than conventional ones.The new design also included advancedflue gas clean-up techniques. Thiswould result in increased thermal effi-ciency and reduced air emissions. Thisnew unit – designated as unit 3 – will bethe first of its kind in Canada. Theexpansion project was approved onDecember 21, 2001, and constructionstarted on January 7, 2002.

A Great Place to Work!Early in the new millennium, EPCORwas recognized as being a great place towork.

Richard Yerema spent two yearsresearching more than 30,000 Canadiancompanies. The result of his work wasCanada’s Top 100 Employers, a book pub-lished in the spring of 2000. In it,Yerema applauds policies and programsthat made working at EPCOR more funand enriching. Noted were a flexiblebenefits plan and an after-hours careerdevelopment program. The benefitsplan is notable because it allows employ-ees to tailor benefits to fit theirindividual needs. Under the develop-ment program, employees could takecourses after working hours, free ofcharge.

Yerema also praised EPCOR’sexcellent communications practice. AsDon Lowry, president and CEO ofEPCOR noted, “We work to keepeveryone throughout the organizationinformed through accurate and timely


TOP LEFT: Taylor’s Coulee Chute Hydro-electric Plant near Magrath, Alberta.

BOTTOM LEFT: The 7 MW Brown LakeHydro-electric Facility near Prince Rupert,British Columbia.


communications – whether we havegood news or bad.” Yerema also noted,interestingly, that the restructuredmarket, and the subsequent transforma-tion of EPCOR from a municipaldepartment to a corporation, resulted ina workplace that was more challengingand enjoyable.

One of Canada’s Largest! In 2000, EPCOR’s electricity retail cus-tomer base grew by 350,000 from aprevious base of 270,000. This was aresult of the addition of customers oncesupplied by TransAlta Utilities. Util-iCorp Networks Canada had acquiredthe distribution network and retail cus-tomers from TransAlta, and anagreement with EPCOR was negotiated.UtiliCorp would continue to own andoperate the distribution system, andEPCOR would supply these new cus-tomers, unless some chose to exercisetheir option of purchasing energy fromanother provider. EPCOR’s customerbase now covers more than half of theprovince of Alberta, a far cry from thesmall town utility of 100 years ago!

As a result of its participation in mar-kets across the province, EPCOR nowhas a presence in Calgary. The EPCORCentre for Performing Arts is located inCalgary, along with the Calgary CallCentre and EPCOR Place, an officetower in downtown Calgary.

In October of 2001, EPCOR madeanother acquisition, one that addednearly 900,000 customers to its base andestablished the utility in Ontario.EPCOR purchased Union Energy andWestcoast Capital, which were both pre-viously owned by Westcoast Energy, Inc.Union Energy’s primary business was

renting water heaters to customers,though both it and Westcoast Capitalalso dealt in climate control productsand servicing and natural gas sales. Thispurchase catapulted EPCOR to newheights: it became one of the nation’s topproviders of energy and related services.

Restructuring By January 1, 2001, the electricalmarket had been substantially restruc-tured. Despite this, there remained anumber of temporary measures in placethat were designed to help both con-sumers and generators adjust to the newmarket. Power Purchase Agreementsguaranteed sales for generating compa-nies, protecting them from the suddenburden of bearing capital investmentsthey had made under the more support-ive old system. A Regulated Rate Optionprovided customers with a more stableelectrical price than the new marketcould provide, and government rebatesto cushion the combined blows of rapidload growth, hesitant generation devel-opment, and escalating natural gasprices. All of these insulating measureswere needed as the market was restruc-tured and power rates soared. Adefinitive verdict on the restructuringprocess has yet to be reached.

EPCOR’s EnvironmentalLeadershipIn its second century, EPCOR continuedto find new ways to balance environ-mental stewardship with financiallyviable electricity production; the super-critical boiler planned for Genesee is onemanifestation of this effort. EPCOR’sefforts to reduce greenhouse gas emis-sions led to an award by Canada’sClimate Change Voluntary Challenge



2000 EPCOR and a Finnish company

announce the world’s largest trans-Atlantic trade of emission credits.

In December, EPCOR’s plans toexpand Genesee are approved. Thenew units will come online in 2005.

The Canadian Electricity Associa-tion rates Clover Bar as first among

Canadian thermal generating stationsfor availability and reliability.

EPCOR is named one of the bestplaces to work in Canada.

2001On January 1, deregulation of the electrical industry is completed.

EPCOR acquires customers previously supplied by TransAlta,making EPCOR’s retail base the

largest in Alberta.

The Calgary Centre for the Per-forming Arts is renamed the EPCOR

Centre for the Performing Arts.

EPCOR’s staff collects more than1600 pounds of food for the

Edmonton Food Bank in December.

In October, EPCOR purchasesUnion Energy from Westcoast

Energy, bringing its customer base upto nearly 1.6 million across Canada.


and Registry in March 2000. Minister ofthe Environment David Andersen andMinister of Natural Resources RalphGoodale presented this honour to Presi-dent Don Lowry to recognize EPCOR’sefforts to reduce greenhouse gas emis-sions.

EPCOR’s environmental policies hadto account for its reliance on fossil fuels.Though the corporation owns generat-ing stations that produce “green” power,the company had no choice, for a varietyof reasons, but to continue to use ther-mal generating plants for much of itsoutput.

One of the ways EPCOR compensatesfor its reliance on fossil fuels is through

carbon dioxide emission reduction cred-its. Companies better situated to takeadvantage of “green” power generationopportunities earn these credits byreducing emissions. These credits can besold to companies, such as EPCOR, thatdo not have an opportunity to earnthem. EPCOR Utilities and FortumCorporation of Finland announced anagreement in November 2000 to tradeenergy emission credits. This was theworld’s largest trade of its kind.

EPCOR’s Green Power programreceived a production boost in the fall of2001, when the Weather Dancer 1 windturbine, located near Brocket on theland of the Peigan First Nation, came

online. The 72 m high turbine, capableof producing sufficient electricity topower about 450 homes for a year, was apartnership between the Peigan IndianUtility Corporation and EPCOR.

“ Weather Dancer 1 ties the traditionalelements of our culture with the goal ofdevelopment of new opportunities for thePeigan people,” said Peter Strikes with aGun, chief of the Peigan First Nation.

Our success with Weather Dancer 1 isallowing us to look ahead to a largerwind-power project, and a future whereit may be possible for us to meet theenergy needs of our own community.This will also bring new opportunitiesfor the coming generations of the Peiganpeople.

The wind turbine was named after aceremony that symbolizes human rela-tionship with nature; this ceremony isperformed at the Sundance. The 900-kW unit was manufactured by NEGMicon of Denmark; NEG had installedmore than 7,000 similar turbines aroundthe world at the time of the WeatherDancer commission.

InspectorsInspections had long been part ofEPCOR’s business by 2001. All munici-pally-approved electrical projects had tobe inspected before they could proceed.Some types of electrical equipment alsohad to be inspected.

As EPCOR moved into the restruc-tured market, and away from its pastrole as a municipal department, it decid-ed to get out of the business ofinspections. It found a way to do thiswithout leaving a gaping hole inEdmonton’s electrical industry, or laying


Cairine MacDonald was born andraised in Calgary, Alberta. She stud-ied for her undergraduate degree atthe University of Alberta and com-pleted her MBA at the University ofWestern Ontario.

Cairine joined Edmonton Power in1997, as vice president of Distributionand Transmission. She was appointedpresident of EPCOR Energy ServicesInc. in 1999. In both capacities, shewas responsible for the transitionfrom a regulated utility to a competi-tive marketplace and oversaw theutility’s electricity retail business. Shealso oversaw the acquisition and inte-gration of both the customer base andthe employees that EPCOR gainedfrom UtiliCorp in late 2000. Thisacquisition doubled the customer baseand size of Energy Services.

Prior to joining EPCOR, Cairinespent 15 years in the telecommunica-tions industry, the last 3 as president

of TELUS Advertising Services(Edmonton) Inc.

Cairine has been chair of the Cana-dian Electricity Association -Customer Strategic Issues WorkingGroup . She has also served on anumber of voluntary committees andboards, including the Grant Mac-Ewan College Foundation Board, theCitadel Theatre Board, and the Hire-

A-Student Society. She is also anactive member of the Rotary Club.

Cairine is married to Bernie.

Cairine MacDonald


off employees that had committed manyyears to the company. A group of formeremployees – inspectors all – formedtheir own company, dubbed The Inspec-tors Group, Inc., and took overEPCOR’s inspection operation in thesummer of 2001.

Stan Misyk, president of the new com-pany, said that

all of us are really excited about thefuture. We have a lot of experiencedpeople who have worked together for along time. Now we have a new opportu-nity to use that experience and build onit in our own company.

New PartnershipsAt a reception held on the night of January 26, 2000, EPCOR and the Uni-versity of Alberta unveiled a partnershipbetween the two organizations worth$1.125 million dollars.

The money, which would be given tothe university over five years, wouldbenefit the university’s faculties of busi-ness and engineering.

The Faculty of Business was to use itsshare, worth half a million dollars, tocreate EPCOR professorships in EnergyPolicy, Regulatory Economics, andTechnology Commercialization. TheFaculty of Engineering was to employthe balance of the funds to conductresearch into fossil fuel combustion.EPCOR hoped that this would result intechnology allowing for more efficientand environmentally-friendly coal com-bustion. Don Lowry noted that this wasa field of vital importance to Albertaand to the energy industry, whichremained dependent on fossil fuels.

A Reliable SourceThe Canadian Electricity Associationgave Clover Bar’s four generating unitstop marks for availability and produc-tion reliability in the year 2000.

The Canadian Electricity Associationuses these two measures to rank fossil-fuel burning units. “Availability” refersto how often a machine is available tosupply needed power; “reliability” is ameasure of how often a machine mustbe shut down for repairs.

Clover Bar’s units spent less time offline for maintenance than any of theother 86 fossil fuel burning generatingunits in Canada. They also performedreliably and within expectations when-ever they were in operation.

In fact, six of EPCOR’s units – CloverBar’s four and two of Genesee’s genera-tors – ranked in the top ten foravailability, while five of the utility’sunits were in the top ten for reliability.

How to Save?Ever wondered how to increase theenergy efficiency of your home? Or haveyou thought about your water consump-tion? Conservation can be a difficultproblem for many. To assist the public,EPCOR introduced an internet-agesolution.

By late summer, 2001, customerscould visit EPCOR’s website and com-plete an on-line questionnaire. Theiranswers resulted in detailed reports, cus-tomized to the customer’s actual usagelevels, that were available immediately.These reports displayed ways to savemoney as well as estimated savings.

The website also featured an “interac-tive house” and a library of materialdesigned to help customers conserveresources.


RIGHT: The Weather Dancer wind turbine atBrocket in Southern Alberta.


Into the FutureAs the pressures of restructuring andmarketplace competition mountedthroughout the 1990s, Edmonton Powerbecame a corporate identity of its ownunder the City of Edmonton, with aboard of directors and responsibilities toshareholders. The ramifications of thisprocess were not fully evident until thebeginning of the new millennium. Injust a few years, the utility that hadserved Edmonton for a century expand-ed its customer base and diversified itsenergy production portfolio. At the sametime, EPCOR tempered its progresswith environmental responsibility and asensitivity towards its workforce andmarketplace. One must wonder whatAlex Taylor and the nine others whobrought a few lights to the citizens ofEdmonton in 1891 would think if theycould see it now.


LEFT: A page from EPCOR’son-line Energy Library.


Documents

The Story of Edmonton’s Power CompanyThe Klondike Gold Rush begins. The first long-distance, high-voltage transmission line (11 kV) carries power from St. Narcisse to Trois-Rivières,