Imperial Valley press., 1936-08-24

yet he speaks of the districts S4OC
as extravaganza
Predicts Failure
Mr.. Moore predicts financial
failure for the Brawley plant
which, as in the case of his other
statements, he knows to be grossly
inaccurate, and certainly is rather
premature, inasmuch as the plant
has been in operation for only
three months" Hewes continued
But, OF course, it is recognized
that no power company official
would ever dare admit the success
of the districts plant
"A claim is made that the dis
trict board predicted it would get
Approximately 100 per cent of the
customers as soon as it started
selling electricity OF course, no
such prediction was ever made. To
have done 50 would be absurd as
the power ompany and ice COM
pany, together, have some forty
or fifty employees living in Braw-
ley, who, Of course, would not use
district power. What the board
did predict was that the district
would obain at least 80 per cent
of the customers in the area COW
cred by district lines and this
prediction is coming true and will
be realized within a short period
when the remainder Of the con-
sumers from whom applications
have been received, are connected
to district lines.
"As a pertinent example of the
misleading character and inaccur-
acy OF power ompany laims, Mr.
Moore states that, The board has
less than 35 per cent Of the power
business in Brawley.' In an ad-
vertisement put out by the South
ern S.erraS in a Brawley news
paper OF July %. figures are given
which are claimed 10 be the result
as of pm, July 20, OF the dis
trict's operations and it must be
borne in mind that this was over
a month ago, at which time the
district had several hundred less
customers connected than at the
present time. Nevertheless, ac-
cording to the power company's
own figures the district had 52.3
per cent of the commercial busi-
ness and 58.2 per cent Of the resi-
Dental business. Yet now, Mr..
Moore claims, the district has only
35 per cent Of this business in
Brawley.
Claim Refuted
Mr. Moore claims that his COM
pany has tied up So to 40 per cent
of all the Brawley business by
long-term contracts and that one
customer alone has taken a long
term contract to take 25 per cent
of the entire electrical load in
Brawley from u.s. Hewes added.
This customer is, of course, his
own ice plant and everyone knows
that the Imperial Ice and Devel-
opment company and the South
ern Sierras Power company are
one and the same. The district
board has never contended that 1t
would get the business of the ice
company.
"Deducting the Is per cent use
of the ice company from the 80
per cent or 40 Fer cent claimed
to be tied up under long-term con-
tracts, reduces the latter to but
10 or Is Ier cent, the major por-
ton of which is taken by the Pure
49, company, which is affiliated
with the Imperial Ice and Devel-
opnent company, and which the
district has made no attempt to
serve
"One thing Mr. Moore forgot to
state was that the saving to the
people of Imperial Valley. which
has resulted directly from the con-
struction of the Brawley plant, in
the reductions of rates which the
power company has been forced to
Put into effect all over Imperial
Valley, will. of itself, in period
of less than two years, equal the
total cost Of the Brawley plant.
The records show that the power
company admits ;ne only reason
it has made these reductions in
rates all over the valley was be-
cause il was forced TO do so in
order to meet the rates which the