The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-10-06
IVA POWER Is
CONSIDERED BY
CITY OFFICIALS
Sullivan DiSpIeaSed With
Light Company Bid; May
Make Own Electricity.

(~-%- tF-++a 40 40 NAA1AN ~ W
tain an equitable contract for city
lighting TO replace the one which
will expire next spring.
II is possible that the city may
be able 20 buy its power from the
United States government through
the Tennessee Valley Authority, or,
more likely. it can generate its own
power at coal mines in southern In
diana, and have 1t transmitted to
indianapolis by city-owned trans
mission lines.
While City Engineer A. II. Moore
has not completed his final analysis
Of the proposed contract, Mayor
Reginald II. Sullivan already has
expressed dissatisfaction with the
power company's offer. The mayor
points out that the city asked for
bids on lighting for one, three, five
and ten years.
The only bid submitted by the
light company was for ten years.
The city bid was approximately at
the same rate as the old contract,
except for addition of $4,000 a year
for ten years, after which the city
would own street lighting fixtures
and underground lines.
Separate Contracts Held
Separate contracts are held by the
city and by the park board. The
park board just is concluding the
ten-year payment to the company
for the boulevard lighting system.
Dissatisfaction with the present
park board contract proposal was
expressed by Jacket w. Joseph,
park board president. who pointed
out that no less than 20 per cent of
park board revenue has gone to pay
its light bills.
This condition Mr.. Joseph termed
outrageous. asserting that the equip
ment the park board has spent ten
years buying from the light COM
pany rapidly is becoming obsolete.
He also pointed out that the price
of 2i2 cents a kilOwatt hour bid in
the separate proposal made by the
light company to the park board
S similar to that paid by small do
nestle consumers for cookstove cur
rent.
Mayor Sullivan, in basing his
dissatisfaction on similar grounds.
observed that the electrical sciences
are at a stage of rapid development
and that what might appear a reas-
enable contract today, three years
from now might be unsatisfactory.
Government Offer Studied
I'VE will do nothing hastily" said
the mayor, and we will give the
fullest consideration to all the
claims of Indianapolis Power and
Light Company. However, we in
tend to investigate all possibilities
thoroughly and make certain that
Indianapolis acquires its light from
the cheapest and most satisfactory
source.
The possibility of getting the
city's power from the Tennessee
Valley Authority has been preached,
and, before the power company sub
mitted its bid, 1 had been in con-
tact with government officials con-
corning that possibility" he said.
Indianapolis lies on the outer edge
of the territory to which IVA econs
omically can distribute power, &C
cording to Mr.. Moore. He said he
DOUBTED that it would be economical
to use the government project I'M
less it could be acquired under a
surplus" contract. In other words,
T,-Isax~Aw1AIg~ rrv,In,.
ment. would pay merely for the
power it received and its transmits
sion. and would pay none of the
fixed charges with which IVA plans
to amOrtize the cost of its huge
plant.
The city engineer. on the other
hand expressed little doubt as to the
feasibility of the city's producing its
own power at the site of southern
Indiana coal mines. He pointed out
that the power could be generated
by the coal at the tipple and
brought TO the city by municipality
owned transmission lines. This, he
asserted, would be cheaper
method than shipping the coal to
Indianapolis and generating the
power locally.
Compromise Is Expected
Observers discounted the likeli-
hood of any of these possibilities
actually coming TO pass and eX-
pressed the opinion that a more
satisfactory bid eventually would be
Forthcoming from the power COM
pany.
They explained that it would en-
tail great cost to the city to install
fixtures for its street lighting sys-
TEN. and expressed the further
opinion that the power company
could not afford 10 permit such a
move by the municipality. because
that would leave the present street
lighting equipment a dead loss TO
the company, not to mention the
loss in revenue for power consumed
by the city.
Furthermore. if indianapolis were
10 produce its own power, in the
natural course of events 1t would at
tempt to sell its surplus to private
consumers and thus come in direct
competition with the power COM
pany. an eventuality. which. they
said. was the last that any producer
Of electricity wishes TO face.
1t probably will end" they Sug-
geSted. like a horse trade, with the
power company getting its share
but no more: for the present city
administration has some men who
really can swap nag"
Mr.. Moore will submit a detailed
analysis Of the power company's
bid 10 Mayor Sullivan Tuesday.