The people's voice., 1958-02-07

selves, or whether it will be
municipal power systems, or whether
it will ultimately be federally owned
power grid blanketing the nation with
low-cost electrical energy is the prob
lem now generating.
"Giant Power could have beer
realized many years ago. The Super
Power report made by Morris l.
Cooke for Governor Pinchot of Penn
sylvania, even before the days of the
New Deal, foreshadowed things to
come. Cookies idea was to build enor-
nous generating stations in the coal
fields and send it long distance over
high-tension lines to the industrial
centers of the East, because it was
less costly to transport electrical en-
ergy than COAL There were other
economies also. Peak-load generation
could be shifted westward with the
sinking sun; shortages in one region
could be supplied from excess power
in another; many small, high-cost
generators could be scrapped for
"juice" from the most economical
giant stations.
When the idea was first broached,
however, private power companies
were not particularly interested in
bringing down the price of electricity
High financial chicanery, fear of gov
ernment controls, and engineering
problems dampened enthusiasm
CHANGED ATMOSPHERE
Today the atmosphere has changed.
The fantastically growing require
ments of electric power systems and
rising costs make the companies more
eager to effect economies. Also, they
know they are in race with CO.
operative power systems, and public
units s-federal, state, municipal, and
county. They want to arrive ''firstest
with the mostest." re..-a, q
In the Northwest four leading
companies have organized the Pacific
Northwest Power Company to gen
crate and transmit power for them
selves. Their immediate objective is
to build large power dams on the
western rivers, particularly the Snake
River, coveted also by public power
systems. They have opposition, how
ever. Senator Neuberger, for instance,
proposes a regional electric power
corporation in which private and pub
lie power units could cooperate
In the Northcentral West IL pri-
vate power companies have formed |
the Eastern Missouri Basin Power
Conference to discuss interchange of
power, and joint construction of gen
Grating stations and transmission
lines. Sensing the drift of the times
early last year they invited the CO.
operatives and municipals, and fed
eral agencies to talk over with them
the possibility of joint endeavor.
Another group giving thought to
a "Giant Power grid is the Inter
connected Systems Group of private
companies in most of the states east
of the Mississippi River.
A smaller group studying genera
integration is the
Penn-Ohio Power Development Asso
citation composed of REA co-opera-
tives and municipal power systems in
Pennsylvania and Ohio. They met at
Pa, January 7 and 8
to review a preliminary engineering
report on a system for the two-state
area.
Another plan, now packed in moth &
oalls in the Interior Department., is {
contained in highly competent re- a
port calling for vast power grid {
covering the western states. Prepared
oy the Bureau of Reclamation, it does G
lot specify whether the system should
De privately or publicly operated :,
simply sets forth engineering specifi- q
.ations and economic advantages. :
ONE POWERFUL OBSTACLE c
There is only one compelling de- n
errent which prevents the private
Utilities from moving ahead and TAX f
ng over this ultimate vantage, which b
would give them a position from h
which they might stifle the co-opera- a
i've and public power systems which is
'rotect the public with yardstick o
That is the Public Utility il
Iolding Company Act of 1885. Joint Ct
wnership of central generating and il
l. ~ &