Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1914-12-07
City Commission to Be Call
ed Together Tomorrow to
Finally Consider New Con
tract With Pacific Gas &
Electric Company
TWO AND ONE-HALF
CENTS IS NEW RATE
President Viele of Company
Says Rate is Lower Than
Actual Cost, But Won't
Stand for Any Hold-up
Talk

Phoenix is to have a cheaper rate by
one half for its electric street lighting.
The present rate of five cents per kilo-
| watt hour Is to be cut completely in
| two. Some time tomorrow, according
TO Mayor George L. Young, the city
| commission will be called in special
I session to approve the proposed con-
tract drawn up by City Attorney
| George d. Christy and already infor-
mally approved by the members of the
commission and the officials of the Pa
cific Gas and Electric company, agree
| ing for a term of four years to furnish
the city of Phoenix for municipal pur-
poses, electrical energy at flat rate
of two and one-half cents per killowatt
hour
There are no strings to the proposed
contract. The city is not expected to
buy the plant of the Pacific Gas and
Electric company. The contract has no
clauses permitting abrogation in one,
two or three years. 1t seems that the
city is to save exactly one half in its
monthly electric street lighting bills
and to have the further advantage of
being enabled to employ electrical en-
ergy in various ways connected with
the operation of the city pumping
plant, if occasion requires.
For many weeks City Manager Far
ish has been engaged in working out
the details of a proposed contract with
the electric lighting company. Long
ago he determined that the city was
paying an excessive rate for the cleo
tricity it was using. He figured that
unless the Pacific Gas & Electric COM
pany could see its way to offer a ma
terial reduction in its rate to the city,
the city would do well to install a mu-
nicipal street lighting plant
Conferences with President H. S.
Viele and Manager H. L. Aller of the
Pacific Gas and Electric company, and
City Manager w. A. Parish, were fire.
quent Manager Parish directed City
Electrical Inspector Dodge to compile
all possible data with regard to the
lighting of the city and the approximate
cost to the electric light company for
the service to the city. Incidentally
City Electrical Inspector Dodge went
very fully into the cost of the install
lation of an adequate plant and pre-
sented figures to show that the city
could light it own streets at a much
lower figure than the five cents per
kiliowatt hour being charged by the
electric light company. OF course there
was the initial expense to be consid-
cred
Armed with this data Manager Far
ish was enabled to show that it would
be to the advantage of the city to in
stall its own plant unless a lower rate
were forthcoming
Recently a proposed contract was
drawn up and submitted by the electric
light company offering to furnish
Juice" at two and one-half cents pro-
vided the city would execute a five
years contract, and providing further
that the city could abrogate this con-
tract at the end of three years with
the consideration that it purchase from
the Pacific Gas & Electric company all
the poles, wires, lamps. transformers.
and other necessary equipment now
employed wholly in the lighting of the
city streets.
Some of the commissioners objected
to this clause as it was contended this
would leave the city at the end of three