16 ie 
power in power storage plants. Such plants consist of re- 
servoirs at high level, into which water is pumped when spare 
power is available, in order to utilise the latent energy of the 
stored up water to generate power during the period of peak 
load. By this system the question of the world’s power supply 
might perhaps be more economically solved than ever before. 
Hitherto, water power and steam power have been used side 
by side for the normal load, and the peak load has been pro- 
vided for by steam power. This has necessitated a very high 
steam consumption during the short period of peak load and 
has necessitated sinking large amounts of capital in plant, 
which was not fully utilised. If the new proposals were realised, 
the final ideal power supply scheme of the 
world would be based on the following lines: 
Water and steam power works would work continuously 
at the full output of their machines. During the times of light 
load all the available power not required for actual consumption 
would be used for pumping water into the reservoirs referred 
to above. The required extra power for the peak load would 
then be provided, not by additional steam plant as at present, 
but by utilising the stored up water power. With such a system 
the vast water power supplies of Bavaria, Austria, the Rhine- 
land and Switzerland could be fully turned to account and 
would supply power far beyond their political boundaries to 
Northern Italy, Southern France, and in the districts which 
formerly comprised the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Scandi- 
navian water power could supply current as far away as Berlin 
and central Germany. 
These suggestions regarding possible technical develop- 
ments are mentioned here to show that a most important 
field for economic international co-operation is coming into 
existence. 
Already there is a mutual exchange of electrical energy 
between Canada and the United States, and between Switzer- 
land and Germany as well as between Switzerland and France. 
The realisation of such a scheme as that indicated, would result 
in far reaching connexion between the electrical industries of 
numerous countries. 
The World Power Conference, which has its 
headquarters in London, is the organ for the inter - 
national interchange of experience and 
information relating to the power industry and 
for dealing with problems relating to international exchange 
of power. The Conference went very deeply into this 
problem of international exchange of power during the session