Opinion ID: 1958552
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Fred Jones Matter

Text: The first person interviewed on June 18 was former State Senator Fred Jones, at his residence on Dresden Drive. Mr. Jones showed us the swimming pool and surrounding area, pointing out the areas involved in the relocation of the service cable, and confirming that he had not been charged by the Company for this work. Mr. Jones verified that a Power Company primary had been inadvertently cut in two places by the Company's contractor, while ditching the Jones' back yard on or about July 6, 1978, for the relocation of the service cable. In order for the Company to splice the primary, which supplied not only Jones but many other homes, the Jones yard around the swimming pool suffered additional damages. As someone put it, they `really tore the yard up' with the two holes that had to be dug to fix the primary. This was the yard damage that brought about the $640.05 landscaping charge for which the Company was not reimbursed. This charge was not attributable to the relocation of the service cable or the swimming pool excavation. Furthermore, we learned that the damaged primary had been previously located underground through Jones' back yard apparently without permission. It should have been laid within the easement therefor at the rear of the Jones premises but it was not. No reasons for the mis-location [sic] could be ascertained. This constituted a continuing trespass by the Company on the Jones property, and would have been more expensive to remove than the landscaping bill. Mr. Jones said he originally expected to have to pay something for the relocation work. Jones was quick to say, however, that after the yard was torn up so badly, he did not feel he ought to have to pay anything. Landscaping aside, the circumstances surrounding the initial decision not to charge Jones for relocating his service cable received our close attention. In addition to examining Company records bearing on the matter, and talking to Mr. Jones, the Committee interviewed some twelve other persons during the course of the day on this and the other matters being investigated. We found that Jones' request for his service line to be relocated to make way for the swimming pool was received by Milton Taff, District Manager, Montgomery, through Clark Richardson, a Power Company representative on Capitol Hill, the contact being between mid June and early July, 1978. It seemed that Jones was about to have a contractor ready to start digging for his swimming pool and the service line had not been moved. As Jones put it, he was in a hurry. Jones said he had called into the Power Company office a couple of times through regular channels and had received no response; so he mentioned the matter to Clark Richardson on the Hill one day and asked for his assistance. We could find no record of any earlier call from Jones through regular channels. There was some indication that Jones had just overlooked the matter of moving the service cable, and found himself about to get in a jam because the swimming pool contractor was ready to start digging. In any event, he definitely had a time problem on his hands. The fact that the request for the relocation came into the office at the District Manager's level prompted the discussion by Mr. Taff with Division Vice President H. P. Foreman, who made the decision not to charge. Otherwise, if it had come only through regular channels, the Division Vice President would not have been brought into the decision. Other people down the line had the authority to make the decision as to charging the customer. In that event, it is not likely that Mr. Foreman would have known anything about it. While we found instances where the customer had been charged in the past for relocation work, ordinarily there was no charge made for such work required by an installation or improvement resulting in increased load. Such constituted new business. The installation of a swimming pool may not always have been regarded by some individuals in the Company as new business. However, it had come to be so recognized by the Marketing Department, and the initial decision not to charge then Senator Fred Jones for the relocation work could have been appropriately made on that basis. As a matter of fact, the record shows that the installation increased the load at the Jones residence. Based on our investigation, it is our judgment that the decision not to charge Mr. Jones for the relocation of his service cable was justified. We do not feel such decision violated acceptable and prudent business judgment. We do not believe this constituted concessions or a rebate in rates or in anywise violated any law. Nor was the rendering of the service without charge in this instance a gift or a favor in the legal sense contemplated by any statute alleged by James Otis Roberts to have been violated. Although, as a matter of hindsight, one could find a basis for criticism, on strictly technical grounds, of some aspects of the Jones matter (such as paperwork completed after the fact), the explanation for all of such was entirely understandable, and no wrongdoing on the part of anyone. Specifically, while Fred Jones was a State Senator at the time, based on our investigation we reject the charge that the rendering of the services without charge violated any law. If the Jones request for service relocation had come in through regular channels, no doubt the decision not to charge would have been made lower down in the chain instead of by the Division Vice President. However, the fact that such decision was made by a higher authority in this instance then was required under Company procedure did not make it either improper or illegal. Neither did the fact that a State Senator was involved. As a matter of voting record, Senator Jones never voted pro-Alabama Power on any measure affecting the Company. Furthermore, at the time of the incident here being considered, Mr. Jones had already made it known he would not be a candidate for re-election. We have reported at length about this matter only because of the serious nature of the charges made.