Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1920-07-27

'
in the complaint of the commission
| on it, own motion in the matter OF
requested light and power service in
| Sedgwick, Deer Isle and Stonington
dismissing the complaint, but with
out prejudice to renewal at some flu
| rure time
The commission is faced squarely
| with the proposition that If the Bar
! Harbor and Union River Power Co
should be required to render service
| to these three communities a mini
! mum yearly expense more than twice
| the amount of possible annual reve-
nue. would be incurred, and that If
the company was required to render
| this service at this substantial loss
the loss would either have to be
; borne by the company or by other
customers of the company" says the
commissioners in their decision.
The company is not in a position
, to stand this substantial loss, If 1t
was reasonable to ask it to do SO, v
continues the decision. Under the
circumstances, it is not proper to re-
quire the other customers of the COM
pany TO carry this service.
1T is of course we'll understood that
at the present time the cost to the
company of making this extension is
/ at least double what would have
been the cost three or four years ago,
and that the cost of rendering service
at this time IS greatly in excess of the
ccst thereof few years back.
IF these compliments still feel
, that they desire service and are will
! ing to take a part of the chances of a
. loss. a company may be formed hav-
ing authority to render service in
these three towns, and after the same
| is formed, the matter Of securing.
through the consent Of this commits
sion, right to do business may be
brought properly before US. 1t is not
unlikely that the Bar Harbor and
Union River Power Company would
not object to a company undertaking
to do business in this field, especially
in view of the fact that such a COM
pany would probably be a customer
of the Bar Harbor and Union River
Power Company.
One of the. expensive features of
rendering service to Deer Isle and
Stonington is due to the necessity Of
building a submarine cable and con-
Meeting the island service with the
mainland If company should be
formed to render service upon the
island. and the commission should
consent that such company might
render service. such a company could
then come to the commission and re-
quest that the Bar Harbor and Union
River Power Company so fashion it's
lines as to enable it to deliver to this
new company on the main land cur
rent which could be transmitted and
used upon the island. 1t may be that
the people upon the island will not
look favorably upon this scheme, but
we are definitely convinced that we
are not warranted in asking the re-
spondent company to incur the neces-
sary expense when it seems definite
ly certain that the amount of possible
revenue will nowhere meet operating
expenses.
''As to the service of Sedgwick
alone, this place being upon the main
land. the company submitted a state
ment Of cost, revenue and expense.
This statement shows that to place
itself in a position to render service
at Sedgwick and SargentvilIe the cost
involved would be s17,S1O60. The
total operating expenses including
depreciation and taxes, are $4246
per year. The maximum revenue to
be expected would be s2727. These
figures do not take into account the
possibility that the company would
have to make an additional invest
nient at its power plant, but averaged
alone it is apparent that service to
Sedgwick and Sargentville would in
volve an operating loss of $500 a
year. and leave the company without
any return whatever upon it's invest
ment. We reluctantly find ourselves
obliged to dismiss this complaint for
the present at least