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Show sibilities of combining the St. Lawrence with New England power has been prepared, in connection with this Commission's study of the Connecticut Basin. The combination chosen might be con- sidered as the initial plan in the larger program for assuring New York and New England lower- cost power. The reconnaissance study shows that development of the international section of the St. Lawrence River, interconnected and coordi- nated with about 1,166,000 kilowatts in some 52 developments on other northeastern streams, would provide a total of 1,866,000 kilowatts of dependable power capable of supplying an aver- age of nearly 10 billion kilowatt-hours a year delivered to load centers at not more than 0.6 cent per kilowatt-hour. This would make pos- sible sale of power to rural electric cooperatives at rates comparable with those in the Southeast. Companies in Low Rate Areas Do Well Financially Analysis of the financial record of a number of the power companies which have been shown to be charging rural electric cooperatives lower rates, or which are the predominant companies in the low-rate States just enumerated, reveals that throughout the period since 1937 they have done consistently well. Their annual rates of return have in general been above what regula- tory commissions have considered fair and have compared favorably with the average for the United States as a whole. This is shown for companies in the general region surrounding the TVA in accompanying table 5 and for companies in the Pacific North- west in table 6. TABLE 5.-Rates of return on average net electric plants Comparison of composite rates of return for all class A and B electric utilities in the United States with certain electric utilities operating in areas adjoining TVA service area] Year United States Alabama Power Co. Georgia Power Co. Kentucky Utilities Co. Louisville Oas & Electric Co. Mississippi Power Co. Mississippi Power & Light Co. Carolina Power & Light Co. Duke Power Co. Kingsport Utilities Co. 1937 -......._________ Percent 7.4 Percent 7.18 Percent 8.41 Percent 9.13 Percent 10.88 Percent 8.39 Percent 8.69 Percent 7.55 Percent 8.66 Percent 12.-4 1938 ............. 7.2 6.76 7.97 9.42 11.32 7.20 8.74 7.32 7.68 8.2 1939 7.4 7.4 7.1 7.27 6.42 6.69 8.17 7.81 8.37 10.85 11.80 9.39 11.03 10.56 9.17 8.81 8.04 8.62 7.53 7.38 8.66 6.86 9.11 6.74 8.38 7.94 7.08 7.1 7.O 7.2 1940________________ 1941____........-. 1942 6.6 9.90 7.65 8.47 8.41 9.27 8.13 5.41 6.77 9.3 1943 6.7 6.70 6.41 7.74 7.98 8.94 8.63 5.62 6.33 1944 _______________ 7.0 7.5 6.43 7.33 6.68 7.01 7.86 6.96 7.85 7.93 8.05 18.13 12.07 8.41 5.59 5.58 5.80 6.07 7.2 1945 - ____ 1946 7.3 7.99 7.86 8.15 8.68 11.83 10.04 7.48 8.68 8.3 1947 7.1 6.8 7.45 6.92 7.33 6.83 8.59 8.10 8.81 9.53 10.27 8.32 8.41 8.05 6.84 6.86 7.74 7.19 7. » 5.« 1948 _................. 1949 _.............. 6.9 7.85 8.53 7.86 9.59 8.38 7.53 7.13 9.27 6. 3 Average for period...... 7.11 7.30 7.62 8.79 9.36 9.55 8.64 6.78 7.51 i Original cost less reserves for depreciation, vision to electric and other plant. Source: Federal Power Commission. In some instances estimates were used in allocating the over-all depreciation reserve and annual pro- But rate comparisons are not the only index of the influence of Federal programs on the sales attitude of private power systems. One of the most satisfactory reactions has been that some of these companies have become interested in com- munity and regional development. As a result, they have adopted a more progressive sales policy, which is building electric consumption. The advantages flow both to the companies and to the surrounding regions. 235 |