'Excellence against all odds'-Canada's electric utilities triumph over distance, topography and weather

摘要

Canada is the second largest country in the world in terms of geographical boundaries. Located between latitude 49 degrees north and the North Pole, Canada stretches from east to west, across 5 1/2 time zones, a distance of 7500 kilometers. These tremendous distances and the variations in topography and weather have provided a formidable challenge for Canadian electric power utilities as they seek to serve a sparse population settled for the most part in the south close to the US/Canada border. The author describes how these conditions have pressured Canadian utilities to take the lead in the design and construction of mega-hydro-electric and nuclear generating stations, extra high voltage transmission lines and innovative rural distribution systems.