The Sun. [volume] (Price, Utah) 1915-1932, 1920-06-25

Combination of some five or six
coal mines up Spring Canyon and in
that vicinity was suggested last Fri
day as a possible solution Of the
power problems Of those concerns.
The plans, which are as yet only ten
tative pending decision by the public
utilities commission of Utah in the
special power contract cases. wern adj
yanced by J. Will Knight. state sena-
tor and vice president Of the Spring
Canyon Coal company, and supple
mented by f. A. Sweet Of the stand
ard Coal company Both concerns
have mines IN Spring Canyon. Five
companies in that vicinity. Knight
said, would probably Join in such n
move. As n matter Of fact. three of
them are already before the public
utilities commission in n joint move
to construct n railroad from Stand
ardville, at the mine Of the Standard
Coal company, 30 connect with the
Utah railway. Special contracts held
by coal companies Of Utah with the
Utah Power and Light company for
power service are being investigated
by the commission on its own mo-
ton. The coal companies object.
Knight said, not 10 much because any
increase from IN" rates nj present
paid to those that would be paid un-
der the present regular schedule
would be considerable. but because.
~ the commission should assume
jurisdiction Of these rates in spite of
the contracts, there would be room
for all sorts Of uncertainty aud con-
scquent further harm 10 the coal
business. The contracts held by the
companies in most instances were
made in 1919 and are TO endure ten
years.
Later in the day Sweet testified
that II the coal companies are brought
up TO schedule. and then the increases
in the schedule now before the utili-
ties commission are put into effect.
Il would be possible for the Standard
Coal companys power bill 10 be in
creased from Ss770.a5 actually paid
in 1919 10 si0,6i5.20 on the same
amount of energy consumed. This
would be an increase of 1892 per
cent. II was asserted by counsel Tor
the power company, however. that,
with charges on file with the c.m-
mission, the increase would be- only
about 81 per cent
Favors Steam Plant.
Sweet said that, in his opinion. u
power plant in the heart of the Spring
Canyon field, with no expensive
transmission lines and with fuel cost
ing Il nothing, since Il would burn
only the "bonc coal, " nj present un-
marketable, could produce power nt
from five 10 seven mills per kilowatt
hour. He said that the Standard had
paid, under the present contract now
being attacked, l.ls cents in 1919 for
its power per kilowatt hour. Prices
of coal nt the mine entered into the
evidence. AZ present the quoted
price Of slack coal, Sweet said, is
1928 ton on board cars at the mine.
He said, however, that he knew of
slack coal being sold for less than
that price right now. Furthermore,
IL the present good ear supply az the
mines keeps up for the next thirty
10 sixty days there will probably be-
some cheap slack on the market, and
some, as in the past wasted. - Sweet
said that under contracts with roal
companies the Utah Power and Light
company is getting slack coal at pres
ent at eighty-fiye cents a ton He had
not head Of IL coming before the
commission and asking that this
price be raised, even though the costs
To the coal mines had gone up. lie
argued from this that the power com
pany should be prepared TO abide by
its contracts with the coal companies
for the furnishing of electric energy,
II the Utah coal mines, Sweet said,
are kept running at so per cent capa-
city there are industries enough in
the state TO take all the slack that is
produced in the ordinary mine opera
tions, slack running about 80 per
cent Of the output of the Utah mines,
But IL the mines are able 10 operate
at 100 per cent of capacity they pro-
duce more slack than there is pres
ent market for IL was stated by
both Knight and Sweet that they had
displaced good operating steam plants
in view of the contracts and service
offered by the power company. They
thought that the commission ought Ia
take into consideration the present
high cost of replacing those plants
which had been sold at about third
their cost value, before il interfered
with the contracts.
Knight testified that proposed in
creases would not materially increase
the cost of coal per ton, He thought
the increase would be about a cent
w. j. Barrette, of counsel for the
power company suggested that il
would probably be more than that. In
addition TO Knight, George A. Storrs
formerly manager of the Spring Can
yon Coal company, and j. II, Stall
ings, its sales manager, were on the
stand. Their testimony was along the
! n