That the Northern Colorado Power Company is a certainty, there can be no question of, as they have paid $750,000 in acquiring of plants, franchises and other property. The central station, from the present attitude of the Company, is to be located east of Lafayette in the vicinity of the Blue Ribbon Mine. The only thing that will prevent the location is the failure to find coal on the Elder property, which however, there can be no doubt about, if the opinion of the coal experts is correct.
Should the Elder property and the Blue Ribbon properties not be used for this undertaking, in all probability the location will be on what is known as the Hultz farm. The plant or central station alone was originally figured to cost $486,150, but owing to the fact that the power will be used in addition to its original calculations for power purposes in operating railroads, both passenger and freight, will probably increase the cost another $150,000.
The transmission line of 167 miles will cost not less than $200,000, The figures herein given are taken from the reports of the Company, and from those submitted at a director’s meeting, held in Denver this week.
At a meeting of the directors of the Northern Colorado Power company held Monday afternoon in Denver the deal for the consolidation of the electric power and lighting plants of northern Colorado and southern Wyoming was completed, the newly formed company taking over the gas and electric plant at Cheyenne and the Consumers’ Electric plants at Lafayette and Louisville, Colo.
Contracts for the machinery to be installed in the mammoth parent plant of the company to be located at Lafayette were let yesterday aggregating a total of $1,150,000, the largest similar contract ever given in Colorado. The power and transmission lines will be erected by the Westinghouse, Church, Kerr & Co. and the turbines for the plant will be installed by Westinghouse and Parson.
It is expected that the enormous power plant at Lafayette will be in operation by the first of the year and the electrical supply for the entire northern portion of Colorado and southern Wyoming will come from this plant.
The purpose of the Northern Colorado Power Company is to discontinue the Boulder, Cheyenne and Lafayette power houses as soon as it can erect a 10,000-horse-power modern plant at Lafayette which will furnish the power and current for all the towns in northern Colorado and southern Wyoming. Ultimately the capacity of the parent plant will be 35,000-horse-power, one of the largest west of Chicago. The company has options on several coal mines at Lafayette and vicinity. These will be purchased and fuel for the big plant will be at the door, doing away with freight charges, and other incidental expenses that would obtain under other circumstances.
From the Lafayette Leader, May 17, 1906
(Lafayette History editor’s note: This “Reprints” blog posting is content that appeared in a publication that is no longer in print or is no longer copyrighted. No effort was made by the blog editor to correct misspellings or errors in fact. Please be aware that reposted items in the “Reprints” category of this blog may contain significant factual errors. If you wish to cite “Reprints” content and need help sorting out what’s fact and what isn’t, please feel free to contact the Lafayette History editor.)