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Show mery Coal Properties Bought by Utah Power The Moral Trade Commission Commis-sion and the Utah Public Sorviif Commission last week iuthoriwd Utah Tower & light Co. to purchase the Vr Creek and Wilborjf coal mines in Central Utah from Peabody Coal Co. l'urehase price for the two properties, with mineable reserves of a minimum of 146 million tons, was $25.37 million. American Coal Co., which is under contract by Utah Tower Tow-er to mine the utility's Desert Mine in Emery County, will also mine and operate the two acquired properties. The Utah Commission's order or-der said, "...evidence shows that Utah Power can achieve a cost savings of about $5 per ton on coal from the Deer Creek Mine and $1 to $2 per ton on coal from the Wilberg Mine..." and fuel costs "have a direct relationship to the price consumer's pay for power pow-er and energy..." Utah Power and Peabody Coal Co. has had a long-term supply arrangement through which Peabody Coal supplied fuel from its Deer Creek Mine for Utah Power's Huntington Plant and had contracted to supply coal for the company's future Emery Plant from the Peabody Mine. In October of last year, the Utilities Group, Inc., of which Utah Power was a member, made an unsuccessful bid to purchase the common stock of Peabody Coal Co. from Ken-necott Ken-necott Copper Corporation. However, Kennecott accepted a higher bid from a competing group and Utah Power entered enter-ed into an agreement to purchase pur-chase the two Emery properties proper-ties subject to approval of regulatory authorities. Uogulatory authorities ordered or-dered that the purchase price of the coal mining properties go into the rate base. |