July 19, 1968
Page 22349
NEW ENGLAND GOVERNORS CALL FOR STUDY OF REGION'S HIGH ELECTRICITY RATES
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, in its constant support of continuing appropriations for the planning and the construction of the Dickey-Lincoln hydroelectric project on the St. John River in northern Maine, the Senate has recognized the seriousness of New England's high electric rates and has acknowledged that something must be done to change this pattern. The Senate has not been alone. Public and private citizens throughout New England have felt these costs most immediately and have urged effective action.
Finding that "New England electric consumers, residential, commercial and industrial, pay the highest rates in the continental United States for their electricity and that this high cost of power is an obvious detriment to our region's prosperity and continued economic development," the New England Governors Conference recently called for a 6-month study of the electric industry in New England. In their most recent meeting, held in Stowe, Vt., the Governors of all six States recognized the importance of finding – once and for all – the causes of these rates and what can be done to lower them.
I feel certain that the findings of this study will support the importance of the construction of the Dickey-Lincoln hydroelectric facility. Our region can no longer afford to handicap the welfare of its citizens and the development of its industries by tolerating such high power costs.
So that Senators may more closely examine the feelings of the six Governors of the New England States in this regard, I ask unanimous consent that the relevant articles from the June 29 issue of the Burlington, Vt., Free Press and the Barre-Montpelier, Vt., TimesArgus be printed in the RECORD.
There being no objection, the articles were ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:
[From the Burlington (Vt.) Free Press, June 29, 1968]
CHIEF EXECUTIVES REQUEST NEW ENGLAND POWER STUDY
STOWE.- A call for a massive, six-month study of the electric industry in New England was sounded here Friday by the governors of the six states in the region.
The New England Governors Conference also approved of companion action designed to monitor the impact of new nuclear power plants on the region's environment, particularly its waters.
In a formal resolution sponsored by Vermont Gov. Hoff, the Governors Conference noted that the power rates in the region are the highest in the nation and that those high rates are "an obvious detriment to our region's prosperity and its continued economic development."
The resolution called for as armistice in the running battle between public and private power advocates and said the goal must be improved planning and lower rates.
The study will be undertaken in cooperation with the Federal Power Commission, the New England River Basins Commission, the New England Conference of Public Utilities Commissioners and the Electric Coordinating Council of New England, which is the information and lobbying agency for the private power companies.
Hoff, who is chairman of the New England Governors Conference, has long led the effort to get lower power rates in the region.
His proposal for a broad study of the electric power industry in New England came in response to a suggestion made by his old friend, Charles R. Ross, a member of the FPC and former chairman of the Vermont Public Service Board.
In a recent FPC decision, Ross urged the New England governors and their regulatory agency officials to request the FPC to embark on a comprehensive survey of New England's power system.
Ross said the FPC was unable to initiate such an inquiry on its own, but could move into the region at the request of the states.
The survey will be designed to explore: Integration of the "small and fragmented" power systems in New England.
The impact of current industry expansion plans on power costs.
Coordination of river basin development in conjunction with a more economic electric bulk power supply.
Steps to help the private power companies lower costs.
The potential role of out-of-state power development projects, such as New York State's new venture into nuclear power development, in meeting New England's power needs.
The New England River Basins Commissions also told the governors it has a task force working with power companies to help select sites for future power plants and to protect natural resources from being damaged by those plants.
[From the Barre-Montpelier (Vt.) TimesArgus, June 29, 1968]
PLAN STUDY: NORTHEAST GOVERNORS TALK POWER COSTS
STOWE.-The New England governors Friday initiated a broad based study into the high power rates of the region because it found them to be an "obvious detriment" for future prosperity.
Gov. Philip H. Hoff called for the New England Regional Commission to work with the Federal Power Commission to undertake the six-month probe.
Also to be included in the investigation will be the New England River Basins Commission, the New England Public Utilities Commissioners and the Electric Coordinating Council of New England.
The coordinating council is the arm of the New England private power industry. The governors found that the "New England electric consumers, residential, commercial and industrial, pay the highest rates in the continental United States for their electricity and this high cost of power is an obvious detriment to our region's prosperity and continued economic development."
This finding on part of the chief executives is calculated to give the Federal Power Commission the authority to look into the New England region.
The FPC found in its monumental federal power survey of 1964, that the New England Power rates should decrease by 40 percent by 1980.
Hoff and his old friend, Charles R. Ross of Vermont, a member of the Federal Power Commission, have long been agitating for lower regional rates.
Ross, who will be leaving the commission soon suggested the FPC study in a decision on the Northfield Mountain power project case.
Hoff picked up the suggestion and was able to get the other five governors to join him.
The governors met in a private meeting on Thursday night before the public session, where the decisions are usually hammered out.
Until recently the southern New England governors haven't been as enthusiastic as Hoff in pushing the private power companies, which dominate the region, for lower rates.
However Hoff has been joined in pushing the utilities by Maine's Democratic Gov. Kenneth M. Curtis.
The probe into the region's power cost will study if the small New England systems couldn't be integrated in order to get lower costs.
There has been by the private utilities work toward that direction. The biggest move is the proposal to merge three big New England electrical companies into one.
The investigation into the region's power rates will also include the expansion plans of the private utilities; the use of other agencies to help in the development of power supplies and what should the public agencies be doing in order to help the private power industry to get lower rates.
Also the study committee was asked to determine what role any public power generating facility, not necessarily in New England, could play in efforts to secure lower rates.