The Waterbury Democrat., 1936-03-19

IVA yarQStlck power IS ecl nessee Valley.
 After year of quiescent wait ing, civic leaders saw in February's supreme court IVA decision direct hope their dream of bringing yard stock" power within their city gates soon may be realized.
 The reason for their haste is this: Nearly three years since its creation in May, 1883, IVA hardly has tapped the vast field of po- tential power sales. Seeing the few towns which have contracted with IVA cutting their power bills 50 per cent and increasing consump- ton as much as 200 per cent, other cities feel 1t urgent that they par ticipate in the dollars and cents benefit from the New Deals great est experiment.
 Bought by Eight Cities
 Tn the seven states encompassed by IVA, only 9 counties in Mis- sissippi, Alabama and Tennessee now buy power from the author ity. And only eight municipalities actually have consummated con- tracts for "yardstick" energy.
 Behind this meager showing are two fundamental causes of delay:
 i. The question of whether IVA constitutionally could sell surplus power from its dams. This was answered affirmatively in the supreme court ruling.
 2. The question of whether PWA can make loans to cities, counties or other subdivisions for distribu- ton systems in areas now served by private utilities. This also was answered in the affirmative by a U. s. circuit court of appeals at Charlotte, N. O., on Feb. %, when 1t ruled on the Greenwood, s. C., power district case. It has yet to go to the supreme court, how ever, and the determination of private utilities to take 1t there almost certainly means more months of delay for the power hungry cities of the Tennessee valley.
 Applications Exceed 300
 Although IVA has more than 700 applications on file, only eight kities now actually are using yard- stick energy: Muscle Shoals and Athens, Ala; Tupelo, Okolona, New Albany and Armory, Miss; Pulaski and Dayton, Tenn.
 Power from Wilson Dam, how. ever, is going both to urban and rural areas. Tn Lauderdale county, Ala, for instance, power is sold directly to rural area. Pulaski in Giles county, Tenn, contracts for IVA energy and resells 1t to urban mad rural consumers. Under a third form of contract, as in effect with .Alcorn county, Miss, city and county contract as corporate unit to buy power from Wilson Dam and sell 1t to individuals.
 There are five county co-opera- tives such as the latter, all in Mississippi. Five additional coun- ties in Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee contract for direct oper- ation as exemplified in the Lauder dale county contract. Six govern ,ncnt reservations in the valley re- ceiye IVA power.
 Only Beginning Made
 That represents the sum of progress in application of the "yardstick" to the electric bills of the valleys 100000 inhabitants.
 But the great cities of the valley steadily are working for IVA con- tracts. Memphis. Knoxville, Boli- var, Milan, Somerville, and Jack son, Tenn, Tuscumbia, Sheffield, Russellville and Decatur, Ala, have signed tentative contracts with IVA only to sec their con- summation blocked by legal ma neuvers.
 A typical example of this delay is Knoxville, heart of the IVA power spiderweb and one of tho first applicants for power. Two and a half years ago, citizens here voted 2 to l to authorize issuance of bonds up to $3,250,o00 to finance a city distribution system. A con- tract was signed with PWA for a $2,600,000 loan-grant to aid the financing.
 Then stockholders of the Tennes- see Public Service Company, private utility new serving Knoxville, acted. Knox County Chancery Court granted an injunction barring use of PWA funds for construction of a transmission system.
 In State Court Now
 The case was carried to the Ten nessee Supreme Court where 1t since has remained. Since the Supreme Court and Charlotte Appellate Court rulings, however, attempts are being made to remand the case to Chan cery Court and public power advo- cates are hopeful the injunction may be dissolved and the way cleared to bring IVA power to Knoxville.
 An analogous situation exists at Chattanooga where an $8,000,000 bond issue was authorized by a 3 to 1 vote. The city attempted to purchase the Tennessee Electric Power Company's distribution sys- tenn for $8,000,000 last month, but was turned down. Undismayed, the city is pressing plans for construc- tion of its own system, opening the possibility of two competitive sys- tems.
 The U. s. Supreme Court de- cision apparently paved the way for gerat extension of the yard stick" power program. But the cities which will participate in the program, if eventually it is com- pleted, still have a struggle before them.