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h..J I'J <4' 5' 'SERVICE" M EAN SOME T HlNG THE, "LAKE. CUNTY E XPERIMENT P demo n- .1strateda new and better method of bring- ing electric service to scattered suburban and rural communities in northern Illinois. One centrally-Iocated electric. station was substi- tuted for a dozen small local plants-and. wooden pole lines carried service long dis- tances to twenty-two customer-communities. But, the story of the Lake Coiunty Experiment h,'as already bèentold ... What had been. done once-could be done again. What had worked in Lake County coui1d be-made to work over .6,000 square m.tiles of territory surrounding Chicago. And that was the job of the Public Service Corn- pany twentyyears ago. Al*over n orthern Illinois-, local electric stations that served only one town were. abandoned. A few modern stations capable of serving twenty ... thiry... forry towns replaced them. TÈhis extension of the "central station" idea demôonstrated by theLake County'-Experiment bro.ughr. service to ai- most 100 12,.w coznmunities: within a few years. The wooderi wire-strung poles that parai-, leled every mainhig)hway became symibols of a new era of electric serývice -a service that was available twenty-four hours a day instead of a meager six. It 'meant much to the resi- dents of northern Illinois. previous chapters worked ýtwenty-four- hour shifts, if necessary.. .But servicehad been interrupted. Sothe next job. was to forestallas many of ,these inteërruptions aspossible. The netwiork .of -pole lines was strengthened., Old.iines ýwere r ep ae ith new uines of sturdier de- sign., Communities had -service brought to themù over more than one route. 1 In case of an accident on the, mnain ulne,, se 1rvice could be switched immediate.ly.toan*indirector "detour" lime. The large investment in this reconstruction program, resulted in a dèfinite. advance toward the high quality of service which is taken for granted today. In 19 23, an even greater step fôrward was taken. Intercon 1nection of electric systems was introduced into northern Illinois. Just as, twelve years before, the files of wire-strung poles typified an era of improved twenty-four hour service, the steel tower lines that now began to. appear typified ai-i era of super-service. These steel towers, anchored in concrete and transmitting vastquantities of energy,strength- ened the parhways of power between impor-, tant',genierating Stations. Today steel towýer Uines are a. familiar sight. They interconn.ect ail the Comhpany's. large electric stations, making the power produced at any one of them available to 1ou iu T, w0, DE cAEs 1UN rH E S ERVI CE 0 F NO0RTrH ER N SL L 1NQU MAKINýG i