Milford chronicle., 1951-12-28
FOR PURCHASE OF POWER
Should Milford Spend $1,OOO,OOO
For 4 Power Plant!

power Is DeSI lot MllIOIu. hey
will be prepared by a group of Mil
ford citizens who are interested
only in the future welfare of the
City of Milford and are in no way
connected with any power COM
pany.
We find many of our citizens
without any idea of the facts that
will be required if we wish to find
the best solution to the big prob
lem that is confronting everyone
of us in Milford: should we pro-
duce our own electric current, or
should we continue to buy it from
an outside source at a wholesale I
price, and distribute it to our
selves?" AS far as we know, every /
body agrees that Milford should .
never give up our franchise to dis /
tribute and sell current. The /
only question to be decided is: !
SHOULD WE PURCHASE AND /
BUILD THE NECESSARY PLANT /
TO PRODUCE OUR OWN CUR !
RENT or SHOULD WE CONTINUE /
TO PURCHASE 1T FROM A NET F!
WORK WITH UNLIMITED SUP /
Ply?
In times past there was no choice.
If we wanted to sell current to our
users, we had to make it. Now we
have a choice. We believe that
changing conditions and modern
progress make it much better and
more profitable to buy our current
for the following reasons; to be
proved by conservative factual
data in this and subsequent is
sues:
/. In order to build maintain, and
pay for power plant within
its useful life, without affect
ing present city operation rev.
enue. the CITY TAX RATE
and Tor ELECTRIC RAT f S
MUST BE INCREASED.
>. A SEWER, STREET, AND
ELECTRIC LINE IMPROVE
MENT PROGRAM WHICH is
SORELY NEEDED WILL SUI
FER if Milford is burdened
with the cost of a new power
plant.
>. Purchased electric power pro-
.vides UNLIMITED CAPACITY
FOR MILFORD'S FUTURE
GROWTH WITHOUT COST TO
THE CITY.
4. Past history in Milford and
the present experience of other
towns that own their plants
prove that 1T is NECESSARY
TO SPEND ALL OR MOST OF
THE PROFIT OF THE FRAN
/ CHISE BACK INTO THE
PLANT in order to keep up
with the growth of the town.
! In the hope of showing the voters
/ and taxpayers of Milford why the
ownership Of light plant, which
( looks so good on paper, does not
work out in practice, we wish to
present a side Of the matter which
is always ignored when figures are
presented to show that Il plant will
save money.
Take walk down to the Mil
ford light plant. Look in the gen
orator room. Not a single one OF
the three generators has given
more than a third of its promised
useful life. Yet the plant is nc
good for Milford-even the advO'
Gates Of a Milford power plant ad'
nit this. Why isn't it any good
1t is by no means worn out
The answer is: Milford has out
grown the plant and it is so obso
lete that it would cost much more
at present prices for coal. labor
= supplies. maintenance; etc, t
generate current than we are nov
paying for purchased power. l
: is this continual OutgrOwth ant
t obsolesence of the facilities which
: makes municipal light plant
r money losing proposition.
r In 1922 Milford proudly put in
800 XIV generator and started pro
! ducing 3 phase day current. TIL
citizens were told then the sam
l story we are told today. The uni
, would last 80 years and would cas-
= lily pay for itself in that time. Wha
< happened? In about 1923, only 81
f years later, this unit was OutgrOwT
e An additional and new 500 XIV uni
. was installed. History repeated II
D self in about 1884 Again this UNI
was OutgrOwn and a more etticien
= 1850 XIV unit and new boilers wer
e installed. Once more in 1945 Mi
Il ford Outgrew its plant. Fortunate
] ". il was impossible TO buy a neN
s generator at that time and Milfor
/. was forced to enter into a pun
= chase power agreement with larg
a utility. Otherwise Milford wOul
e have continued on this money los
e ing system of discarding still us
v able equipment and buying NOR
Il expensive requirements.
d The men who we're responsible
for purchasing the additional 5C
s XIV unit i'm 1929 did the best tn;
S could possibly be done. There wa
: no public utility in this area frol
whom they could proftably bu
q current. The same was true
J. 1894. However, even before tn;
time the ACCESSIBILITY of purchasin
1t current rather than producing
/ had been proved by town Of con
v parable size in New Castle Count
which was purchasing its power
4 that time from a nearby utility al
has continued to purchase toda
as with profitable history of 80 year
at This town in New Castle COun
was convinced that they should g
ia away from the worry and financi
~ difficulties of home produced GU
rent for the sure profit of purcha
ed ed power by one of the smarte
b. electrical engineers ever to live
Delaware. AS result. this TOW
VS. has no bonded indebtedness al