Hydro responded to demands from residents of farms and hamlets for a fair share of the "public power" that was being distributed to municipalities in southwestern Ontario in 1910. It extended its transmission lines along the back concessions of the region, developed new agrarian applications for electricity, and devised a rural rate schedule capable of attracting new customers and encouraging electrical consumption. Provincial government funds were allocated to Hydro for rural development in the 1920s and moderate growth was maintained until World War II interrupted the rural construction program. After the war, however, rural electrification in southern Ontario progressed rapidly until 1958 when provincial money for that region was substantially reduced and Hydro redirected its attention to the needs of the North. While Fleming shows that the public utility proved responsive to changing economic conditions, technological developments, and political considerations as it became a world leader in rural electrification, he also presents evidence of the policies and methods which have engendered negative sentiment toward Ontario Hydro. For example, he reveals that the "power at cost" policy was both a way to achieve price reduction and a strategy for price maintenance. In describing the various influences on Ontario Hydro's program of rural electrification, Fleming has drawn from an impressive array of archival and newspaper sources, including the Ontario Hydro Archives, the Ontario Archives of the Hydro-Electric Commission, and files in the office of the Ontario Premier. Power at Cost will become the standard reference on the subject of rural electrification in Ontario.
Authors
- Bibliography, etc. Note
- Includes bibliographical references: p. [309]-316
- Control Number Identifier
- CaOOCEL
- Dewey Decimal Classification Number
- 333.79/32
- Dewey Decimal Edition Number
- 20
- General Note
- Includes index Issued as part of the desLibris books collection
- Geographic Area Code
- n-cn-on
- ISBN
- 0773508686 9780773563100
- LCCN
- HD9685.C4
- LCCN Item number
- O5744 1992eb
- Modifying agency
- CaBNVSL
- Original cataloging agency
- CaOONL
- Physical Description | Extent
- 1 electronic text (xi, 326 p., [8] p. of plates)
- Published in
- Canada
- Publisher or Distributor Number
- CaOOCEL
- Rights
- Access restricted to authorized users and institutions
- System Control Number
- (CaBNVSL)slc00201088 (OCoLC)243587657 (CaOOCEL)400763
- System Details Note
- Mode of access: World Wide Web
- Transcribing agency
- CaOONL
Table of Contents
- Contents 8
- Preface 10
- Maps 13
- 1 Introduction 18
- 2 Laying the Foundations 35
- 3 Rural Power Districts and the Municipal Connection 54
- 4 The Uniform Rate and Rural Bonuses 70
- 5 Consolidating the Rural Network 89
- 6 The Battle for the Bruce 115
- 7 Remnants of Discontent and Political Plums 141
- 8 Responses to the Depression 169
- 9 The Rural System during the Second World War 200
- 10 Sarnia and the Uniform Rate Revisited 220
- 11 The Five Year Plan 244
- 12 Conclusion 271
- APPENDIXES 284
- A: Premiers of Ontario, 1905–1985 284
- B: Officials of the HEPC, 1906–1974 285
- C: Rate Classifications for Rural Customers, 1909–1970 287
- D: Statistical Summary of the Rural System in Southern Ontario, 1912–1971 289
- Abbreviations 292
- Notes 294
- Bibliography 332
- Index 340
- A 340
- B 340
- C 341
- D 341
- E 341
- F 342
- G 342
- H 343
- I 343
- J 343
- K 344
- L 344
- M 344
- N 345
- O 345
- P 346
- Q 346
- R 346
- S 347
- T 348
- U 348
- W 349
- Y 349
- Illustrations 192
