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FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION ONLY
Investigation
of
some
Trouble
in the
Generating System
of the
Commonwealth Edison Co.
Chicago
1919
Charles P. Steinmetz, A. M., Ph. D.
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Investigation
of
some
Trouble
in the
Generating System
of the
Commonwealth Edison
Co.
Chicago
1919
Charles P. Steinmetz, A. M., Ph. D.
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COPYRIGHT
1910
CHARLES P. STEINMETZ
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Schenectady, N. Y., December 19, 1919.
Mr. S. Insull, Pres.
Commonwealth Edison Company,
Chicago,
111.
My dear Mr. Insull:
Enclosed
I send you report of investigation
of. some operating trou-
bles in the generating system of the Commonwealth Edison Company,
during 1919, with some recommendations.
I am sending copies of the
report to Mr. L. Ferguson and to Mr. R. F. Schuchardt.
I regret that
in some respects the report
is not as final and conclusive as
I
like to
see it, but during the years of successful operation since the installation
of the protective reactances, your system has grown and changed so
much, and while
I have received very complete and extremely
satis-
factory information and data from your engineers,
it necessarily is not
possible for me to be as fully familiar with the system, as I was once,
but I hope that I shall now be able to keep in closer touch with
it.
Some of my recommendations therefore are more general, and
re-
quire further study by the operating engineers, and
I shall be glad to
co-operate therein, and expect to be in Chicago again in January. More
particularly this applies to :
1.)
The installation of power limiting reactors between the North-
west Station and Fisk Street, which appears to me extremely desirable
to eliminate the excessive interference between these stations in case of
trouble in one of them.
As, however, the tie cables between these
sta-
tions are also used as feeder cables for intermediate substations, a study
by your engineers, in which I shall be glad to co-operate,
is necessary
to devise an arrangement of installation of reactors, which would not
interfere with the economic use of tie cables of substation feeder cables.
2.)
The substations were originally operated by separate feeders,
but the need of using the feeder cables and apparatus in the most eco-
nomical manner has
led
to
tying
substations
together on
the same
feeder, which necessarily increases the interference between substations
and between generating stations in case of trouble, and further changes
are
contemplated
and
desirable.
It
therefore
appears
advisable
to
make a thorough study of substation operation with the view of com-
bining the most economical use of cables and apparatus with the mini-
mum possibility of interference between stations in case of local trou-
ble.
Such study can be made only by the operating engineers who are
fully familiar with all the conditions, but
I shall be glad to co-operate
in
it.
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One suggestion which I like to bring to your consideration is that of
building a typical model of your system, generating stations, cables and
substations, perhaps in 1/20,000 size. We have done that for a number
of transmission systems and while your system is far larger and more
complex, I believe
it can be done and such model, operated by direct
current, may be contained in a large room, and while not
all, many
operating questions could be studied on
it by the engineers, and the
effect of various disturbances and troubles experimentally investigated
without endangering your big system.
With best regards,
Yours very truly,
(Signed) CHARLES P. STEINMETZ.
CPS:R
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INVESTIGATION OF SOME TROUBLE IN THE GEN-
ERATING SYSTEM OF THE COMMONWEALTH
EDISON CO. OF CHICAGO, DURING 1919
By Charles P. Steinmetz, A.M., Ph.D.
I