The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1951-07-06

lobby" and proposed, Lets have it
out into the light and have good
mum, steel, and other critical mater
ials, manpower and capital invest
ment in our gigantic defense mobil-
ization effort, wheeling contracts
Of various kinds have been executed
from west to east in the states of
California, Idaho, MONTANA, Colo
RADIO, North and South Dakota, Ne
braska, Minnesota, Missouri, Okla
homa, Texas, Arkansas and Louisi-
ana. If the action of the House
stands others will be added in North
and South Carolina, Georgia, Flor
ida, and Virginia.
All of them contain a proviso like
the one signed on April last with
the Pacific Gas & Electric Co., to
wheel Shasta Dam power to points in
the great Central Valley project in
California. Paragraph provides:
'The contractor hereby agrees
to accept delivery on electric power
and energy into its electric trans
mission system as now or hereafter
existing to the extent that the con-
tractor has available excess capa-
city in said transmission system,
not necessary to serve the contrac-
tors customers, as determined by
the contractor"
This enables the PG&E to accept
or reject any request for wheeling
Reclamation power for federal estab-
municipalities, REA co-ops,
and other customers which have pref
erence status under law 1t can as
sert that it cannot transmit the gov
eminent current because it's own lines
are loaded and it is to be it's own
Judge as to whether the excuse is
valid. In that event the government
can either let its generators stand
idle or turn the power over to PG&E
to intermingle the public power with
it's own and sell where it pleases at
it's own rates. Or, if the agency has
the money, build it's own line. Right
here is where the seemingly innoc-
lous Heating amendment comes in.
1t strikes from Uncle Sans hand the
right to build a line and deprives him
Of the only club he has to compel the
company to fulfill their contract.
It's full effect, however, will not be |
'elt until after two or three years if !
adopted and continued. Reclamation !
has planned to proceed at the proper
line with the construction of 2,773
niles of line and so be ready to sup !
by power from numerous dams, now
building, when presently finished and
generators humming. They are plan
led: in California $50 miles; Colo
ado, ST; Idaho, lis; MONTANA,
i79; North Dakota, 407; South Da-
Kota, $40; Iowa, 395.
In most wheeling contracts the
are not required to invest
dollar on increased facilities. Bon
leville and IVA power is transmitted
or over 200 niles at a cost of one
nil per kilowatt hour. The compan-
es are holding the government up
or mill per kilowatt hour, an excess
i've price, for each SO miles.
The wheeling joker, plus Keating's
would enable the power
to bottle up millions of
ollars worth of federal power at the
usbar and thumb their noses at the
ublic waiting for it's own cheap pow
+, and also force the government to
urn over to them, on their own
erms, the surplus power not needed
@ serve its customers, or let it go to
taste.
(How the power trust stands to
lean up millions on public invest
1ent of taxpayers money, will be
hown in the concluding portion of
his article next issue.-EDITOR.)