The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1928-11-02
CITY-OWNED
PLANT LIGHT
Rates Lower
Private Companies in State
Get More Money for
Service.
SURVEY is COMPLETED
Results win Be Used to
Refute Claim Public Is
utility Minded

Municipality owned electric light
plants in Indiana are offering thou
sands of consumers lower rates than
privately owned plants in cities of
comparable size, according to a sur
vey of rates on file at the public
service commission.
In twenty-eight cities, grouped in
fourteen pairs of nearly equal size,
the municipal rates are lower in
ten instances, even in two and
higher in two. Differences run from
] to cents.
In Anderson, a city about the size
of Kokomo, the municipal plant
sells resident lighting at cents,
commercial at and cooking and
heating at 8. Kokomo's private
plant charges 8, 8 and cents for
the same service.
Logansport municipal rates are
equal to those of the privately
owned company at Lafayette and
the same comparison holds true be-
tween the Mishawaka municipal
and the Michigan City private COM
panies.
Higher in Two Cities
The municipal rate in Rushviile
is 2 cents higher than the private
rate in Valparaiso.
Peru is the other town where
higher municipal rates for resident
lighting prevails. They charge Z
cents for both resident and COM
mercial lightning and 4 for cook
ing.
In Whiting, city of similar size,
the rates are cents for residence
and for commercial. Only the
resident rate is lower, the CONNER
cial being cents higher than the
Peru municipal plant.
other cities and rates in the sur
vey are as follows: Charlottesville
municipal, residence lighting Z
cents, commercial lighting Z, and
cooking and heating 3. Huntington
private, 8, 6,6. Frankfort munich
pal, 8, 6, 4; Laporte, IL, IL. Fort
Wayne municipal, 5, 5, 3; South
Bend, 8, 8. Richmond municipal,
6, 6, 6; Muncie, 10, 10. Columbia
City municipal, .065, 6, 065; Alex
andria, 10, 10. Decatur municipal,
.075, .075, 4; Elwood, 10, 10. Rush
vile municipal, 10, 10, 10; Valpo-
raise, .O95, 8, 085. Upton munich
pal, 8, 8, 5; Plymouth, 10, .095, 4.
Washington municipal, z, z, z; Wa
bash, 10, 8, .045. Auburn munich
pal, 8, 8, 8; Noblesville, 9, 9, !O45.
Survey ArOuses Interest
The survey has aroused interest
because utility lawyers point out
that although the law makes 1t
easy for town or city to acquire
a plant, none have done so during
the last year.
People are getting the utility
viewpoint" the assert.
The federal trade commission In
curry disclosed that millions have
been spent in propaganda to "edu-
cate" the public to this viewpoint.
Anti-municipal ownership propa-
ganda has thrived in schools, from
public platforms and in newspa-
pers, the inquiry disclosed.
Repeating a declaration made In
a recent public service commission
order, Commissioner Calvin Nc
Intosh commented on the Indiana
rate survey by declaring that cleo
trio light and power schedules are
generally too high.
"Since this survey indicates lower
rates of municipal plants, 1t will
be of service to commissioners in
scanning operating costs of private
plants" Mcintosh asserted.
State Can Set Price
with the constantly increasing
large mergers of utilities, only the
government will be able to offer
any competition and thus prevent
loss of commission control.
"Since the utilities are ardent in
defense of private ownership, and
perhaps justly SO, it is up to them
to prove the economy and efficiency
of which they talk"
Under the Indiana statutes, the
Spencer Shively utilities law, a
community can go into the local
courts and prove to a jury that
public ownership is advantageous.
Then the commission must set a
price on the local private proper
ties and the city or town can buy
at that price.