The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1925-10-09
coNowINGo POWER PROJECT
Hearing Held At Harrisburg
Lawyers Still Squabbling


Lawyers Still Squabbling
The proposal of Peoples Counsel
Clarence w. Miles that the Mary
land and Pennsylvania Public Ser
vice Commissions and Federal Pow
er Commission hold joint public
hearings designed to regulate inter-
state public utilities was rejected as
impractical at Harrisburg, Pa, on
Monday, when the three commits
sions met to hear final arguments on
the Conowingo power project.
The motion was rejected by DR..
w. D. B. Ainey, chairman of the
Pennsylvania Public Service Com
mission.
The applications for permission to-
build a huge power dam in the Sus-
quehanna River. at Conowingo, Md,
out which will extend far into
Pennsylvania, have been made by
the Philadelphia Electric and sub
sidiary companies. Objection was
fled by the Philadelphia Rapid
Transit Company, which contends
that "the sole risk would be borne
by the rate payers of Philadelphia, z
and which charges that Drexel and
Company, Philadelphia bankers, will
make huge profits out of the deal.
William Clark Mason, counsel for
the applicants, declared the answer
filed with the commission by the
2. R. T. was full of errors and con-
tanned some damnable indecenies."
1t was in reply to these charges that
Ellis Ames Ballard, counsel for the
P. r. t., made the charge that the
electric consumers of the Philadel-
phia Electric Company would bear
the chief risk.
John B. Gest, Jr., an Assistant
City Solicitor, was sent to the hear
ing to represent the city of Philadel-
phia, while o. G. Merrill sat as
representative of the Federal Water
Power Board. An array of counsel
represented the contending cor
porations.
Mr.. Ballard in opening his attack
on the power project charged the
plans finally presented to the Com
mission differ radically from those
presented originally.
"The whole thing has been chang
ed" he declared. "It is entirely
different from the first plan. The
dam crest has been changed, a
bridge is to be built over the dam
instead of at the site Of the present
highway bridge, the plant capacity
is increased Is per cent and seven
units are to be installed instead OF
six, but the applicants still hold to
their original cost of $52,220, ,000."
"The initial installation at Como
wingo will result in a saving of
$4,000 tons of coal annually; when
developed to its ultimate capacity
the Conowingo plant will save an
nually 100000 tons of COAL" de.
clared William Clark Mason.
ITO secure the maximum utiliza-
ton OF the water available it is
usually necessary to develop large
hydro plant in conjunction with a
steam-power system, since the wide
variation in flow and head obtain
apie would make it impossible for
the hydro plant alone to meet the,
requirements of the ordinary power
system loads. The characteristics
OF the Susquehanna River are such
that without coordination with a
large steam-power system only a
small part of the power possibilities
at Conowingo could be realized.
"The service rendered by the
Philadelphia Electric Company to
the light and power users Of Phila-
delphia would be reliable when the
system is connected with the Como
wingo development and also the
unit cost of the combined steam and
hydro energy would be less than
that for steam energy alone. The
site OF the project is in the Susque-
mamma, only four miles upstream
from the tidewater, thus utilizing
the entire drainage areas Of about
$1,000 square miles and the develop
Ing essentially of all the head avail
able below HOLLYWOOD. The location
has also the advantage of proximity
to large centres Of power consump.
tion, making it important. for con-
nectlon with the giant power
systems.''
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