Arizona republican., 1909-02-22
THE ARIZONA REPUBLICAN, MORNING 22
CHIEF ENGINEER HILL
 SPEAKS OF CONTRACT
The Subject of an Interview on Re- cent Visit to Washington.

Washington, Feb. 16.-(Special Cor
 MT Louis C. Hill, supervising en- |, gineer in charge of the work of the
 reclamation service in the southwest, has been in Washington for several . days in consultation with the director : and chief engineer, arranging plans
 for the work in his division during the ensuing year. He was asked con corning the contract which the rec lamation service has made for devel-
 oping the power to be utilized in the city of Phoenix. This Is the con- tract which has been made the sub
 ject of a memorial from the terri torial legislature protesting against giving the exclusive right to the Pa cific Gas and Electric company MT. Hill said:
 1 "The Pacific Gas and Electric com pany, by its contract with the Ari
 zona Water company, had exclusive right and privilege for development of all water power obtainable from or by means of canals and water owned or controlled by the water , company. This contract ran until March 1, 1926. Under it two plants having an aggregate capacity of about 0O0-horsepower had been built and operated. The larger plant, which used part and could use all the water belonging to lands on the 1 south side of the river, was located some two miles below the Granite Reef dam, and if the old contract contract continued in. force would ! have made it impossible for this dam to have served the south side of the river, and consequently it probably would not have been built The op- eration of the old contract would i have prevented building the new crosscut with its power plant nearly ] opposite Tempe, where from 5000 to | 5000 horsepower, depending on the season, will be developed.
 Articles brought to my attention. l published recently in a Phoenix paper, have conveyed a false impression to l intending purchasers of power, both as | to the terms of the contract and its | limitations.
 'The statement that the Pacific Gas
 and Electric company can in any way
 under the terms of its contract with
 the United States control the sale of power to any company operating out
 side of the city limits of Phoenix, is entirely erroneous and contrary to the l express terms of the contract.
 Leaving out of account the new power plants which could be built, and considering only the two now In existence, power plant No. l and pow CT plant No. ?, belonging to the Pacific Gas and Electric company, we find that the building of the Roosevelt dam and the Granite Reef dam. or even the former alone. would have added enough to the water supply to enabled the electric company to develop nearly 1.500 kilowatts continuously, for which they would have to pay the United
 States less than half a cen per kiio- watt hour. This power was theirs ex- clusively, and could not be taken from | them until 1926.
 "The new contract gives them the exclusive right for retailing pur- poses only within the city of Phoe- nix of a peak load of 1,5OO kw., or the equivalent of a continuous load of about 900 kilowatts. For this power the Electric company pays IF cents per k.w. hour, or three times as much as under the old contract. This contract runs but ten years from the time the United States is ready to furnish power, or unts 1919, or 1t terminates seven years earlier than the old contract. The terms of the new contract explicitly provide for the needs of the city of Phoenix, by reserving to the United States the right to sell power to anyone in blocks of 100 k.w and up- wards, to be used for manufacturing purposes, waterworks, or pumping purposes"