The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1928-05-24
C|TY'S UTILITY
PAYS ITS Way
AT Low RATE
Charlottesville Power Plant
Builds Self to Value
of 100000.
STARTED 81 YEARS AGO
Municipal Concern Supplies
Electricity to Four
Small Towns.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Ind, May
24-This city owns ITS million dol
lar electric plant. The plant has
been paid for out of plant earnings
not dollar has been contributed
from any other source.
And while this million dollar
utility was being earned" it was
serving its patrons at the cheapest
rates granted by the Public Service
Commission of Indiana.
The plant now stands as a model
in efficiency and up-tC- datenesS in
electric equipment, being practically
duplicated to meet any emergency.
Started Plant in 1891.
The city of Charlottesville has
owned its electric plant for thirty
seven years. The ownership has
been exclusive; no partners partici-
pating and no other plant or
corporation serving the community
in that time.
The first plant was built in COM
petition to a privately owned con-
Germ which was f1oundering and
failing to serve. These were the
days of experiments and develop
ments in electric service; the days
of the old Thompson Houston arcs
with carbon sticks and the little
carbon film incandescents; the days
of the one dynamo; days Of burn
outs and much grief.
In June, 1891, the city of Craw-
louisville issued $4,000 in bonds to
pay for it's first electric light plant.
Rebuilt Five Times.
Five times the plant has been
gone over, rebuilt or added to in a
material way. A bond issue has
preceded such improvements and
enlargement. Each time, the en-
larged plant has earned the money
that paid off the bond issue.
The first function of the plant
was to light the city's streets. Then
followed store lighting and later on,
residences.
Increasing demands for power in
running Charlottesville industries
brought about the big increase in
the plants capacity in 1911. At that
time the plant was moved to a
junction with the river and rail-
road for water power and the coal
was moved by gravity from cars to
boilers.
This move brought a radical re-
duction in rates for both lighting
and power, and a tremendous in
crease in power use. The plant was
again enlarged in 1928.
Vote New Equipment.
City Council voted for the pur-
chase of further equipment Monday
of this week. This time, however,
there will be no bond issue, as the
municipality owned utility has ample
funds to pay the bill. The present
enlargement will be for emergency
cases.
The books of the Charlottesville
Light and Power Company were
oudited as of March 81, 1923 as fol-
lows:
Appraisement, $746,32S. Cash on
hands, $197,297. Loans to city,
$50 300. Bond issue remnant, $780,
900. and you have the financial
story of this municipal ownership.
Majority For Power.
In 1927, the plant sold 1866, 400
K. w. of electricity. Sixty-tive per
cent of this was for power to in
dustries. Probably eighteen per
cent was for municipal lighting, and
the balance domestic consumption
and sign lighting.
The rates to customers is divided
into three groups:
For lighting the first 200 kilowat
cost 7 cents, the next 100 klloWat
costs 6 cents and by successive
steps down to 4 cents with a dis
count for payment at the tenth OF
the month of 10 per cent.
The sign rate is 314 cents for the
first ten kiloWat and cents there
after with a discount Of 12-cent per
kilowat if paid OIL or before the
tenth of the month following.
Four Cents Top of Scale.
The power rate is very flexible
and very low. 1t starts at 4 cents
per kilowat and steps down by
successive five hundreds and thou
sands to liz cents per kilowat. A
large consumer of power is able to
get a rate of 1.65 cents per klloWat
for power used. The large corTumer
of power may have minimum rate
of one cent and sixty-five hundredth
of a cent per kilowat hour. Several
industries attain the minimum rate.
Charlottesville has twenty-six in
dustries which includes the Mid
States Steel and Wire Company,
three large brick plants making
fifty million brick per year, two
wood working plants, two sheet
) metal works, three printeries, a
foundry and a machine shop.
The city boasts of being the best
lighted city in the world. In addi-
ton to serving it's own community
and its industries, it also serves
four neighboring towns, and has
forty miles of farm lines serving
26o farmer customers. All told, the
plant has 3,611 patrons.