The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1908-03-29

peutors. II was then that the NUM-
cipal ownership spirit arose and de.
manded relief An ordinance was pre-
pared by the Board OF Public I'm
proYemenJs and passed by the munich
pal assembly, authorizing the CT
structiOn OF two plants, one at the
new city hall and one at the insane
asylum.
The move was hard blow to the
lighting corporation and a hard fight
was put up against the passage of the
measure. The fight failed. however.
and as last resort the company
threatened to cut off the current at
the expiration of its contract, allow
ing only three months in which to put
the two plants in operation-and re-
fnse to bid on renewal. This argu-
ment so impressed the mayor that
he vetoed the ordinance This was in
June. 1891. The contract, let at the
regular time in September, was a. sur
prise TO everyone, the lighting com
pany coming down in its price from
l3 to IA cents per kilowatt Ever
think went lovely and municipal own
ership snoeZed until the end of that
contract, when the lighting company
boosted the price to IL cents. The
wrath of municipal ownership advo-
Gates broke cut anew aud the ord-
nance vetoed by the mayor was re
introduced, passed by the municipal
assembly, signed by the mayor (the
same who vetoed it before), and the
plants were put in operation in July
1903. The next contract with the
lighting company for the other build
inss dropped from IL to 5 cents and
in 1904 a further drop was made to
4 1-2 cents, at which it has stood
since that time. Other plants quickly
supplemented those two, and munich
pal ownership was pronounced a sue
cess, at least, in creating the competi-
ton which brought the lighting com
pany to terms. Even if it had to light
the buildings at loss on the basis
of 4 IL cents, the reduction secured
in the balance. of the contract would
justify the move.
PRACTICAL SUCCESS.
That the plants are not a failure
from a practical standpoint, however,
will be understood when it is known
that the Official reports from the sew
eral plants show them to be making
current at cents per kilOwatt hour
The city hall plant, under Chief En-
gineer Joseph w. Wood. paid for IT
self in twenty-three months, the value
OF current being rated at the Compel.
tive rate Of 4 IL cents; besides
which all additions and improvements
to the plant were counted az expense
and paid for as maintenance.
In the city hall plant, Mr. Wood
says, this expense also included rum
ming the boilers for heating the build
ings, which before the plant for max
ing light was installed, cost three
times the present cost OF light, Or
about two-thirds of the total present
cost Of operating the whole plant.
The following table. prepared by Mr.
Wood, shows the entire cost of Oper-
ating the plant for one. year. The tc-
tai expense. including the heating
plant, elevators in the several build
ings, and 3 per cent. each for inter.
est and depreciation. As we'll as re-
pairs and betterments. makes the to-
tai annual output of sol ,l32 kilowatts
cost but 2.07 cents per kilowatt. or
! Al cents less than the price at which
the city is getting current under con-
tract for other buildings. The expense
includes three shifts of men at good
salaries.