Los Angeles herald., 1910-07-20
2 MORE CITIES TO
GUT LIGHT RATES
Pasadena and AIhambra Secure
Schedules for Lower Price
of Electricity
CROWN CITY VOTES FOR DROP
Passes Ordinance for Five-Cent
PoWer-PacifiC Company
Makes Offer

Rates for electric lighting are to be
slashed in two more cities. The Pasa-
dena. city council passed on first read
ing yesterday an ordinance fixing 3
cents per ltilowatt hour as the base
rate and grading the rates as low as
cents per kiowatt hour.
The Pacific Light and Power COM
pany, which supplies Alhambra, Of
fered the people of that city a new
schedule which would make the aver
age rate for electric light to house.
holders s cents a kilwatt hour, accord
ing to it's estimate. There has been
considerable talk of a municipal plant
in Alhambra lately.
A permanent electric light rate of 8
cents per kilowatt hour and running
as low as cents per hour, according
to the amount of energy consumed, is
assured the citizens of Pasadena after
September 1, The passing of the ordi-
nance at this time was made necessary
by existing city laws requiring notice
to be served when electric light rates
are to be changed When the Pasa-
dena council determined on June IA to
inaugurate the 6-cent base rate pro-
viso was made that the number of city
subscribers should be increased to 1000.
In this connection the preamble to
yesterdays ordinance says:
Although the full number of con-
sumers necessary to make the proposed
reduction entirely safe and its per-
manency assured has not been OBJ
tained this council has full faith that
the 533 more persons necessary will in
the near future support their own
plant by their patronage and the plant
thereby be rendered self-perpetuating
and self-sustaining at a scent rate"
CANVASS TO CONTINUE
While the city council does not state
officially that sit is up to the cltl-
zens," it is implied that further eff
forts will be necessary to gain more
customers for the city plant in order
to make it pay interest on the bonds
and allow for depreciation with o.
cent rate. General Manager Koiner
stated yesterday that Pasadena will
continue its canvas for new business
and that the more customers who sign
up voluntarily the more profit the plant
will be able to show through not haV-
ing to hire paid solicitors.
The preamble to the ordinance con-
tanning figures taken from Manager
Koiner's report, shows that the city
had 2142 customers on June IA when
the light war" started, and that 1925
have been added since that date. Of
the new subscribers, 375 have been
connected to date. OF the remaining
$50 many signed with the agreement
that connections should be made when
the reduction goes into effect It is
thought that most of them will now
order connections made at once to
avoid the rush which would ensue If
all waited until September 1.
The preamble shows further that for
!
the city plant, with a maximum of
2125 consumers and a 7-cent base trate,
earned 43,489.22 with an operating ex-
pense of S22, ,479.54. Interest and prin-
cipal on the bonds for the six months
amounting to $9,271.86 was paid, leaY-
ing a balance of 1,737.S2 to apply on
depreciation or new construction.
MEANS MUCH
In conclusion the motion which car
ried the ordinance says in part:
"The city's lighting project means
much to the people of this city, not
only on account of the financial gain
from assured low lighting rates, but
because it is an indication that this
city is not to be controlled or have its
protects defeated by the efforts or in
1uence of private interests, and that
Pasadena is a free city governed by
its independent citizenship. This coun-
ell expresses it's confidence in the
patriotism of the people of this city
and calls upon the loyal and indepen-
dent citizens to stand by and support
by their custom their own lighting
plant"
The Pacific Light and Power com
pany, which supplies Alhambra with
electricity, has come forward with an
offer to give the municipality max
imum rate of 81a cents a kilowatt hour,
and from this sum they agree to scale
down in proportion to the amount Of
electricity used, which would make the
average householder's rate cents
Until January of this year the com
pany charged maximum rate of 10
cents. and since then a rate of II cents,
so that the latest cut is big reduction
but it seems not to have stilled the
ever growing demand for municipal
plant.
In a short time the Alhambra trus-
tees will call meeting to determine
the advisability of calling a bond cleo
tioin to vote on the proposition of
municipal power plant
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