Southern Blackout

Keenly responsive to the national emergency, the drought-ridden South, which produces more than half U.S. aluminum, last week tried in vain to cut its non-defense power consumption 20% to 30% by voluntary action.

In Knoxville a golden-blonde hung lanterns in the display window of Walgreen's drugstore, candles glowed on cafeteria tables (see cut), the City Utilities Building displayed a miniature hangar in which a new airplane appeared every time 50,000 kilowatt-hours were saved.

In Atlanta, soldiers looking for dates along Peachtree Street had no shop-window lights to guide their choice--except in front of Davison-Paxon, whose windows blazed with auto headlights powered by storage batteries.

All over the Southeast, textile mills, which use about half the power generated in Georgia, Florida and the Carolinas, cut production one-third. People waited for elevators, groped their way into darkened movie houses. Georgia Power Co. announced that voluntary reductions had saved 450,000-kw-h a day. But it was not enough.

So the Federal Power Commission moved in. Dropping the "voluntary" from its giant power-pool plan (TIME, June 2), it invoked its emergency powers under the 1935 Federal Power Act for the first time, directed immediate construction of seven connecting links between power companies in 17 States and the TVA.

These links will provide 200,000 more kw. (for example, by bringing Florida's current excess power to needy Georgia)--about equal to the current capacity of giant Wilson Dam, but a mere stopgap in relation to the South's increasing needs. FPC says these links can be built in six months; others say material shortages may mean it will take two years. OPM indicated that priorities would be granted wherever needed. An eighth interconnection--between TVA and Cincinnati Gas & Electric Co.--was "recommended" (FPC is wary of "ordering" another independent Government agency to do anything).

Next day, FPC invoked formal power priorities for the first time. The victim was Carolina Aluminum Co., which was ordered to reduce its deliveries of firm power to nearby Duke Power Co., stop drawing down reservoir water, in effect keep its power for itself. To help explain the South's dire straits, FPC had already turned to an old Government scapegoat, Aluminum Co. of America (Carolina Aluminum's parent). Alcoa, said FPC, had too long relied on cheap seasonal dump power. Smart management in peace, this practice now meant that Alcoa had to drain 150,000 kw. from other customers to keep producing through what used to be its slack season.

Stung by the Senate's remarks on its (and Alcoa's) slowness in meeting the aluminum shortage (TIME, July 7), OPM also announced that TVA and Alcoa had agreed on construction of 100,000 kw. of hydro capacity at Fontana, N.C., ending a long squabble over who would pay for the project. (TVA grabbed the check, subject to getting funds from Congress.)

Last week U.S. power capacity totaled 42,222,166 kw., already over three times that of 1917. Output hit a new all-time high for the last week in June: 3,120,780,000 kwh, 17.3% over the same week in 1940. Future power needs for increased aluminum and magnesium production are estimated at 1,125,000 kw. But with defense production mounting on other fronts too, the power shortage is likely to get worse before it gets better.

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