After Union Carbide's purchase of the hydroelectric plant, a 30-year lease with the U.S. government was entered into for water to be diverted into the power canal

    The conditions of the lease required that Union Carbide pay for the per second cubic foot amount of water used and that there would be built compensating and remedial works necessary for water diversion. The company also pledged to repair and strengthen the powerhouse and forebay. Four compensating gates already existed which had been built by Lake Superior Power. The Canadian government agreed to construct four on their side and Union Carbide's new power company, Michigan Northern, agreed to construct eight more, making a total of 16 gates to regulate lake flow. Work began In September 1914 and was completed in July of 1916. Coffer dams were built, towed into place, and sunk around the location. Water was pumped out and work on the substructure was started. Upon completion, a dyke was added and enlarged, completely enclosing the rapids area by 1922. These units are still in operation today and efficiently perform their functions of regulating water discharge from Lake Superior.

    Other industries were attracted to the Sault, but not for the hydro-power. In 1890 the Soo Woolen Mills were founded because of sheep farms in the area. In 1900 Northwestern Leather located on the upper river, just west of town. This company, called the "Tannery", became the area's biggest employer with a payroll of 850 during the war years.

    In 1914 Edison Sault established the Chippewa Edison Company to serve the areas outside of Sault Ste. Marie. Chippewa Edison eventually went on to build distribution systems in Rudyard, Cedarville, Hessel, and Dafter, and in 1932, was absorbed into Edison Sault Electric Company.

    In the 1920's Sault Ste. Marie had twelve factories, was served by 15 passenger steamship lines and four rail lines, and had a population of 14,000. During the depression of the early 1930's, the Sault's diverse economy remained fairly stable because of continued contracts at the Soo Woolen Mills, Northwest Leather Company, and Union Carbide.

    In 1929 a company called American States Utilities, a large holding company owned by Samuel Insull and based in Baltimore, Maryland, bought all the outstanding stock in Edison Sault. They went on to purchase water and electric utilities on Mackinac lsland and St. lgnace, with transmission lines to the pulp and paper mill in Manistique. During 1931 Edison Sault began providing power to the Manistique area, both to the city and to Manistique Pulp and Paper, an arrangement still in effect today.

    In 1935 Edison Sault purchased the Northern Industrial Power Company, a subsidiary of Michigan Northern, that had been supplying industrial customers such as Cadillac Soo Lumber within the city limits of Sault Ste. Marie. In 1936 the Upper Peninsula Power Company and St. Ignace Public Service merged with Edison Sault to service a total of 6,500 customers.

    In 1941 Edison Sault purchased a used steam plant from Consumers Power for $334,000. The steam plant was dismantled In Flint and transported in sections and reassembled In the Sault. The U.S. government was In the process of constructing a new plant in the rapids to provide power to both the locks complex and the local area. The steam plant was subsequently abandoned in 1957.

    In 1944 Fort Brady closed and the facility became the Sault Ste. Marie branch of Michigan Technological University two years later. It went on to become Lake Superior State College In 1970 and Lake Superior State University In 1982.

    In 1951 the new U.S. Government Hydro plant went on line next to the rapids north of the locks. Edison Sault then entered into a lease agreement to purchase that plant's excess power, an agreement which is still in effect today.

    A change In the U.S. economy after the Korean War In the 1950's impacted a number of businesses In Sault Ste. Marie. The major Industries of Northwestern Leather, Cadillac Soo Lumber Company, Soo Woolen Mills, Lock City Marine and Machine, and Our Own Bakeries all went out of business in the Sault and Union Carbide cut back on their employment.

    The Sault's industrial decline continued when chemical advancements produced substitutes for acetylene and custom carbide products. The Union Carbide closed its plant in August of 1963 and officially ceased operations In November of 1963. At that point they sold the canal and power generating plant to the Edison Sault Electric Company for $1,500,000. Edison Sault then made necessary electrical conversions to 60-cycle power, and production of electricity and transmission began in 1964.

    Even though industry was leaving Sault Ste. Marie and the population was declining, the market for electrical sales continued to expand. Edison Sault Electric and Consumers Power, In northern Michigan's lower peninsula, agreed to interconnect and in the summer of 1956 cables were laid across the Straits of Mackinac, connecting Consumers Power with Edison Sault. This accomplished two needs. Edison was guaranteed power for the future, and Consumers would receive excess power generated from Edison Sault at night and during the low usage periods.

    Two major construction efforts impacted the Sault area during this time. In 1957 the Mackinac Bridge was built and the construction of 1-75 was directed toward Sault Ste. Marie. In 1962, the International Bridge was constructed jointly by the U.S. and Canada.

    From the early 1960's through the 1980's, Edison Sault's service area grew in response to demands placed by the increase in businesses related primarily to tourism. Also, several large industrial customers have settled into the service area and enjoy the low-cost energy provided to them.

    As the demand for electricity has continued to increase, Edison Sault has been able to accurately predict the best course of action to take in response to increased customer service requirements. In 1975 Edison Sault laid a second submarine cable at the Straits of Mackinac. In 1981 joint transmission and substation projects were concluded with Cloverland Electric Cooperative which buys power from Edison Sault to distribute to the rural communities of the eastern upper peninsula.

    In 1982 additional submarine cables were laid to Mackinac Island and substantial upgrading of facilities has since occurred on the island.

    The following year Great Lakes Power of Canada completed their new hydroelectric plant in Sault, Ontario. Prior to this, Edison Sault Electric used as much water available for generation as it could. Upon the construction of the Canadian plant, Great Lakes Power exercised its legal claim to one-half of the water for its own production purposes.

    In 1977 concerns for the environment led Edison Sault Electric to work with the Biology Department at Lake Superior State University to set up a fish research facility in the hydroelectric plant. An ideal condition existed to use flowing lake water to raise freshwater fish. Species are either raised from the egg stage or received from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and reared in fish tanks for releasing Into the St. Marys River.

    In 1985 Great Lakes Power joined with Edison Sault in establishing a protected area in the rapids for fish to spawn near Whitefish Island. To accomplish this, a berm or wall, 2,000 feet in length, was completed in the fail of 1985. Construction of this berm allowed more water for power generation and saves our customers in excess of $1.5 million dollars annually.

    In 1989 Edison Sault was also able to acquire 2,000 new customers in the Garden Peninsula from Wisconsin Electric Power Company. This acquisition meant an increase in miles of service lines running to the western part of Edison Sault's system.

    Growth and development continue to occur in the Company's service area. The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians has gone from establishing a federally recognized reservation in 1974 to becoming the city's largest employer through their tourist and gaming enterprises and service programs. Major shopping centers are in the process of being constructed at the interstate 75 junction south of Sault Ste. Marie. A downtown marina project is moving forward at the local and state levels. Building has also taken place in St. Ignace and on Mackinac Island. To the west, industrial customers such as Manistique Papers, Pfizer Specialty Mineral and Lakehead Pipe line continue to place demands on electric service.

    The modernization project was conceived in the fall of 1987 and broken down into five phases. The first four phases, which began in 1988, involved the Installation of automatic controls on each electrical buss and the generators. The final phase is the Implementation of a computer which will provide maximum plant efficiency. The modernization project, when fully completed in 1993 will cost in excess of $7 million dollars.

As part of the plant modernization, studies were also completed to rate the generating efficiencies of each individual turbine unit. Due to various physical forces, some units are more efficient than others. The final phase of the project, M.E.D. or Most Economic Dispatch, completed in 1993, uses computer information gathered from each unit in order to improve the total plant efficiency. The central plant computer allows the system controller access to each generator unit from the control room. This executive interface allows Information to be directly monitored through a computer terminal.

In 1987, when the modernization of the hydro plant was in the planning stages, Edison Sault developed three objectives which it hoped to accomplish in this project. A review of those objectives, which will be restated here, shows that they have been accomplished.

"Because the Company has secured the rights to the water used for generation until at least the year 2025, the first objective is to upgrade the reliability of the plant to last at least that long Studies have shown that the structural integrity of the plant is most sound and should last indefinitely"

The second objective is to provide rate stability for the customers of Edison Sault. The Company feels very strongly that the low rate structure enjoyed by its customers should be solidified by ensuring that the plant which provides those low rates continues as a reliable and efficient operation. The third objective is to implement the plant modernization without employee layoffs. Although the project will mean that nine full-time positions will be eliminated the Company thinks that layoffs may be averted through the repositioning of affected employees within the Company and by normal employee attrition through retirement."

 *The End *

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Last modified: September 13, 2007