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The University of Washington will study the characteristics of existing heating installations in the Seattle area, which include a considerable variety in heating methods, such as radiant panel, heat storage, and radiant-convection. Analysis of the load characteristics and operating results will help to answer questions which occur in the minds of power distributors and ultimate consumers.

One of the major problems connected with electrical heating is the development of economical methods of distributing electricity to serve the large loads which are imposed by this use. The University of Washington will analyze the problem of the most efficient distribution methods for this type of load and the results of their studies will help in solving many problems involved.

Sprinkler irrigation is a subject of great interest to farmers in the Northwest and to the Bonneville Power Administration as a marketer of power. This method of irrigation holds many advantages for the farmers and also uses large quantities of power. Three research projects are planned to study various phases of sprinkler irrigation. Washington State College will study the corrosion characteristics of various types of metal pipe used in sprinklerirrigation installations in order to determine relative durability of various types and the soil and water conditions to which each is best adapted. This college will also analyze various other problems involved in sprinkler-irrigation systems such as the soil and crop conditions necessary, types of sprinkler heads and other problems. Oregon State College will study pipes and pipe materials for use with sprinkler irrigation under conditions in the State of Oregon to determine which types are best adapted for furthering the efficient use of sprinkler irrigation.

Montana State College will analyze the opportunities for establishment of small irrigation-pumping units in western Montana. The detailed survey of the area which is planned will reveal the possibilities of developing irrigation projects and the conditions which must be overcome to obtain this development.

Use of electricity on the farm for operation of refrigerating units for preservation of meats, vegetables, and other farm produce promises to be a very large market for electricity in the future. It is of the utmost importance that farm refrigeration equipment be developed which will perform the job efficiently and will be relatively low in cost. Both Oregon State and Washington State Colleges have been interested in the development of farm refrigerators for many years, and each is conducting a research project on this subject with funds made available by the Bonneville Power Administration.

The interest of farmers has been much attracted in the past few years by the possibilities of improving the quantity of usable hay harvested by the use of electrically operated blowers for drying hay

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in the hay mow. This practice is of particular importance in areas where there is considerable rain during hay harvesting periods. One angle which has not been sufficiently investigated to obtain reliable data is that of the nutritional qualities of barn-dried hay. It has been claimed that these are superior but this claim was not based on very thorough scientific research. Accordingly, Oregon State College proposes to expand its research program in hay drying to include investigations of the biochemical analysis of barn-dried hay in comparison with ordinary hay. They will also conduct livestock feeding experiments to throw light on the nutritional quality of barn-cured hay.

Washington State College will conduct a study of the use of electric welders on the farm which will indicate the operational characteristics of this equipment and the improvements which should be made to better adapt it to the needs of the farmers and to meet the limitations of electric power lines. This college will also conduct experiments in the development of electrically powered cranberry dryers which will make possible more efficient practices in the harvesting and marketing of cranberries.

POWER SALES

During fiscal year 1945 approximately 86 percent of all energy generated at the Bonneville-Grand Coulee plants was delivered either directly to war industries and military establishments or to other utilities to enable them to serve such loads. The proportion of total deliveries going to war loads is beginning a downward trend from the 90 percent for the 1942-43 fiscal year and 89 percent for the 1943-44 fiscal year.

The Bonneville Power Administration delivered 8%1⁄2 billion kilowatthours of electric energy to 80 customers during this last year. Of this total, 824 million went to publicly owned utilities, 2,057 million to privately owned utilities and 5,632 million to industries and military establishments. As compared with the previous year, deliveries to other utilities increased 13 percent for publicly owned utilities and 40 percent for privately owned utilities; deliveries to industries and military establishments decreased 13 percent. The total of all deliveries under power and exchange agreements decreased 1.8 percent from the comparable figure of the year before.

Noncoincidental maximum demands under power contracts for publicly and privately owned utilities are shown in detail by customers in the accompanying table. Energy deliveries and dates of initial service are also shown by customers.

TABLE 1.-Contracts with customers not served by the Bonneville Power Administration as of June 30, 1945

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TABLE 2.—Energy deliveries to customers of the Bonneville Power Administration, fiscal year ending June 30, 1945

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TABLE 2.-Energy deliveries to customers of the Bonneville Power Administration, fiscal year ending June 30, 1945-Continued

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PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

At the end of the fiscal year the Bonneville Power Administration had signed contracts with 54 publicly owned utilities and cooperatives. During the fiscal year, a contract with one publicly owned utility had been canceled and another had been added, leaving at the end of the fiscal year the same number of contracts with publicly owned utilities as were in existence at the end of the previous fiscal year. Of the 54, all but 12 of the publicly owned utilities are now taking power, either under power or exchange contracts. Deliveries to the 42 publicly owned utilities for the fiscal year amounted to 823,817,368 kilowatt-hours, an increase of 13 percent over the previous fiscal year. During this fiscal year, 504,384,200 kilowatt-hours were delivered to municipalities which is an increase of 6 percent over the previous fiscal year. The deliveries to public utility districts amounted to 272,999,252 kilowatt-hours and is an increase of 27 percent over the previous year. The cooperatives received 46,433,916 kilowatt-hours of energy, an increase of 23 percent over the previous

year.

The noncoincidental maximum demand during the year for these publicly owned utilities was 73,219 kilowatts.

The public agencies distributed low-priced Bonneville power under the best American business tradition of delivering it at the lowest possible cost to the ultimate consumers.

For the calendar year 1944, the 38 publicly owned distributorsomitting Centralia, Eugene, Seattle and Tacoma-received a gross income of $4,802,889; and after deducting the cost of power, other operating expenses, depreciation, taxes and interest, had a net income of $761,044. The net income amounts to approximately 16 percent of the gross revenue and included in the deductions from the revenue are taxes amounting to $203,374.

These 38 public agencies had cash on hand or invested in United States bonds amounting to $3,024,777, which exceeds slightly the accumulated surplus of $3,013,845. The cash on hand of $3,024,777 is 141⁄2 percent of the total long-term debts of these distributors. The cash on hand also amounts to 63 percent of the gross annual revenue. This financial showing by the public distributors leaves no doubt as to the financial soundness of these distributors and the ability to distribute power to the ultimate consumers at the lowest possible cost. Data for the cities of Centralia, Eugene, Seattle, and Tacoma have been omitted from this tabulation for they have distributed power for many years; Tacoma-for more than 50 years. These are wellestablished and they received during the past fiscal year only a small part of their energy requirements from the Administration.

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