1946 safety training for line crews. They're demonstrating how to lower an injured line worker to the ground.


A typical division office looked like this one in Jamestown during the post-war years.

_____________________________________________________________

Fergus Falls, Minnesota
Fall 1947

TO ALL OUR CUSTOMERS:

Since the end of the war, new electric appliances, new homes, new businesses have been connected to our lines faster than our ability to provide additional generating capacity. We find our peak loads have increased over 50% during the post-war period, but our new construction, though begun in 1945, will not catch up to our present peak load requirements until in the early spring of next year.

For that reason it becomes necessary, as a temporary safeguard, to ask you to refrain  from use of electricity as much as possible during the peak load hours of each day until approximately the first of March, 1948.

We sincerely regret the necessity for requesting your cooperation in this matter, but please remember -- the necessity is confined to only two one-hour periods each day, and it is only temporary. We anticipate completion of several generating plant additions totaling over 25,000 kw of capacity during 1948. Until then your continued tolerance through the next critical months will be appreciated.

Sincerely yours,

C.G. Wright
Vice President

_______________________________________________________________________

The 40's

When the United States entered World War II in December 1941, the country immediately shifted to a wartime economy.

The federal government controlled wages and prices, and rationed some food items along with many other consumer products. Some products were not rationed but they were not available because factories that produced them were converted to war production. No new cars were built. The federal government requisitioned the few 1942 models that came off the production line before December 7.

Otter Tail Power Company found itself operating in a new restrictive environment. New equipment and construction materials were not available or their availability was very limited because raw materials, especially rubber and metals, were being diverted to war production.

The company also faced a serious manpower shortage, particularly in 1944 and 1945, because so many employees were drafted or volunteered for service in the armed forces. Some of them could have received deferments from the draft because they were in an essential occupation, but they chose to enter the draft.

With a shortage of men and materials Otter Tail Power Company performed little maintenance on the system. That led to a lot of outages. It got so bad that some people referred to the company as the "Flicker Tail Power Company" because every time a cloud appeared in the sky the lights went out. Customers kept kerosene lanterns and a good supply of candles so they wouldn't be sitting in the dark. Employee morale was low. Employees knew they were providing poor customer service, but there was little they could do.

By 1945, the last year of the war, Otter Tail Power Company's transmission and distribution lines were in bad shape. The company performed little replacement and repair work for fifteen years. In the 1930s the company fell behind on line maintenance because of its financial condition, and during the war when the money was there, the manpower and materials were not available.

When the war ended, the company was faced with the huge task of upgrading and expanding the system to meet the rapid load growth that was projected. That would require a lot of manpower. Fortunately men were available. The armed forces was discharging millions of men. Many of them went to college under the G.I. Bill of Rights, but others were looking for a job and a chance to settle down and raise a family.

Otter Tail Power Company hired several hundred of those veterans. In the late 1940s they represented an estimated 20 percent of the company's employees. In the line crews it was closer to 65 percent. Not all of those veterans stayed with the company but those that did were good employees, and some of them reached positions of high responsibility in middle and upper management. That included two presidents: Albert Hartl and Robert Bigwood.

Despite rationing and shortages the demand on the Otter Tail Power Company system gradually increased during the war. By 1945 demand was approaching the capacity of the company's generating stations. Units could not be shut down for routine maintenance because they were needed to meet the peak load. Some of the generating stations were old and inefficient. They should have been taken out of service and retired, but no replacements would be available until after the war.

It took some time for factories to convert back to civilian production after the war ended, but when they did the load on the company's system increased more than expected. During the 1930s few people could afford to buy electric appliances. Those were hard times. After this country entered the war the economy improved. Anyone that wanted to work could find a job, and for the first time in ten years people had a little extra money, but they couldn't spend it because so many consumer products were rationed or they weren't available.

When the war came to an end, Otter Tail Power Company's customers had money in the bank and they wanted to spend it. They wanted new houses, new cars, new furniture, and new electric appliances. That created a large demand for electricity.

Otter Tail Power Company's management moved quickly to increase generating capacity. Contracts were approved to install additional generators in the steam plants at Crookston, Devils Lake, and Hoot Lake but the Crookston and Hoot Lake units wouldn't be available for at least two years. To cover the capacity shortage until then, the company installed a number of diesel-powered generators in towns scattered around the system. Those units were small but they could be installed and ready for service in a few months.

The capacity deficit became critical during the winter of 1947-1948. Even with all the diesels running the company didn't have enough generation to carry the peak load on a cold day. The peak load in those days came around 6 P.M.

In the fall of 1947 the company sent out a letter to all its customers asking them to reduce their consumption of electricity as much as they could during peak load periods. The company also contacted the appliance dealers in its service area and told them not to sell new electric ranges to Otter Tail Power Company customers, except for replacement ranges.

Despite those measures, the area experienced brownouts. Many unhappy housewives watched the lights flicker and go out while they were making supper.

Written by Myron Broschat, Otter Tail Power Company retiree
Sources: The Power People by Ralph Johnson and Otter Tail Power Company by Thomas Wright