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Show Telluride Power Company Asks Increase In Rates Applicant Gives Evidence Before Commission Com-mission at Richfield Patrons Granted Fifteen Days to File Protests. RICHFIELD, May 2 5. (Special.) The application of the Telluride Power company for an increase in rates came up for hearing yesterday when two members of the public utilities commission held an inquiry here in the basement of the public library. The two members of the commission were A. R. Heywood. chairman, and arren Stoutnour. and rapher W. L. Cook of the commission raphr W. L. Cook of the commission force. H. R. Waldo, attorney for the power company, was in charge of the applicant's interests,, and E. E. Hoffmann and S. K. Floppier appeared in behalf of the patrons. The hearing was called for 10 o'clock, and no time was lost in pre-liminaries. pre-liminaries. Attorney Waldo called as the first witneses J. A. Lioshard, auditor of the applicant company. A mass of typewritten material was presented, pre-sented, and submitted as Exhibits A. B, C, D, and E. Exhibit A purported to be a statement of the assets and liabilities of the company, including all property, plants, investments, accounts, ac-counts, interest, capital stock, and accounts payable. Exhibit B is a statement of operating oper-ating expenses for the years 1910-1920 1910-1920 and up to and including March 51, 1921. Supplemental sheets gave in detail the matters contained in Exhibit Ex-hibit B as shown on the books of the rales, and their case will be preseni- ed when the evidence for the patrons is presented. Afternoon Session When the hearing was resumed in the afternoon, Manager Waters explained ex-plained at great length the details of nhe various power plants, equipment, equip-ment, transmission lines and distributing distrib-uting systems. Explaining Exhibit E, a statement of the cost of the plants purchased from the Southern Utah Power corn-pan, corn-pan, Mr. Waters declared rtho price, of the Sevier steam plant, (o bo ?Gti.-5S6; ?Gti.-5S6; the Slcrliug hydro-electric plant, $65,471; Glenwood hydro-electric, $9,601; the Fanguilch hydroelectric, hydro-electric, $25,400; transmission lines, $194,173; transform era and substations, substa-tions, $4ii9,52; distributing systems. $2:57,195; pressure pipe, and Fish creek plant equipment, $:'.?, ;!64. These items, together with miscellaneous miscel-laneous items, brings the estimated cost of plants purchased from the Southern Utah Power company up to $526,042; and it lie price paid by the Telluride company was $521.-901.32. $521.-901.32. paid in slock and bonds. The statement gave the reproduction cost of the Telluride plants and property at $2,440,992. The plant value, however, which the company asks an incresise on rates is $1,360,000, which, it is represented, rep-resented, has paid less than 3 per Exhibit C is a statement of the cost of ail property and plant equipment equip-ment and totaled $1,309,494.17. Exhibit D is a statement of the returns re-turns to investors'and interest paid from 1918 to March 31, 1921. Auditor Boshard was questioned concerning II ho typewritten sheets, and testified that he only knew of these matters from the. books kepi by the company, and had no personal knowledge of the plants and equipment. equip-ment. Mr. Hoffmann, for the consumers, cross-examined Mr. Boshard and elicited the information that his statements were taken from the reports re-ports submitted to him as auditor, and that it was more or less in the nature of hearsay evidence. General Manager H. P. Waters of the Telluride company was the next witness. Touching his qualifications as an electrical expert, and a man who knew 4he electrical profession, he stated that he graduated from Cornell Cor-nell in 1903 as an electrical engineer; engi-neer; was witli tho Missouri River Power company in Montana, and cent, to tho investors, and under the law they are entitled to 8 per cent. In order to secure- this return no the investors, if is proposed to increase in-crease the rates as follows: Residency Light ins 15c per kilowat hour for the first 30 K. W. hours. 12 Vic per kilowat. hour for the next 3 0 K. W. hours. 10 Vic per kilowait hour for all additional ad-ditional consumption. Minimum charge, $1.67. The present, rale is 11c per K. W. hour, with $1.10 minimum charge. Commercial Lighting 15c for tho first. 50 K. V. hours. 12c for the. next 100 K. W. hours. 11c for the next 100 K. W. hours. 10 Vic f - all addition;'! consumption. Minimum charge, $2.22. Church JigliliiiK Minimum charge up to 20 K. W. hours, and residence railes after Hint. Uniting hikI ('(Miking 3. S9 cents for all additional con.suinp- liours. 3.N9 cuts for all additinal consumption. consump-tion. Minimum charge, $2.22. On all the above 10 per cent discount dis-count is allowed for payments within with-in a specified time. For irrigation pumping $S.:i" per month per horsepower, with a minimum mini-mum cln.rge of $30 per horsepower per season, and a. discount of JO per cent for prompt payment. For general power pin-pours :i demand de-mand charge of $2.10 per horsepower is asked; 8 hit cents per K. V. hour for tho first 20 K. W. hours; 4 cents for Hie next 20; 3 cents for I lie next 20; 1 '.t cents for Hie next 411; 1 cent for all additional, with $2.10 per horsepower as tho minimum charge. These rales amount su list a n I in I Iv to a 35 per cent Increase over tlin present rales, and tin's iimounl llir company claims is ne'-essary I o bring the investors S per cent on their investment. in-vestment. These mailers were gone into ill ili-fail while Mr. Waters was rtn tin-stand, tin-stand, and the a 1 1 orneys for Hie patrons pa-trons were asked to present evidence. Mr. Hoffmann asked for a eontiiin-anee eontiiin-anee of the hearing in order thai h" might prepare his side of the oil sr. The commission grnnleil a 15 days' i continuance, rind will meet, here at : 'hat fime, or at such dale as Mr. Hoffmann will be ready lo present ob-! ob-! jerl ions and protests. from 1905 to 1911 was in charge of the mechanical and electrical engineering engi-neering departments of the California Califor-nia Polytechnic school. In 1911 he was engaged as engineer in charge of power development nd planil. installation in-stallation on Malad river for the Beaver River Power company, and built the transmission lines and distributing dis-tributing systems in and around Boise, Idaho. He came hero and assumed as-sumed chargo of the Telluride company's com-pany's business in 1916. Ha testified testi-fied as to the company's plants, lines, and property on Beaver river, v-iih its lines and distributing systems in Sevier, Sanpete, Piute, Garfield, Beaver Bea-ver and Millard counlies, and the ownership of Ihe upper and lower plants on Beaver river; (he plant at j Glenwood; the- steam plant a't Sevier, and the Sterling and I'anguitch plants. He also slated that the upper up-per plant on the lii"iver river developed devel-oped 3, 0nn horsepower, and the lower low-er plant gave 1 .000. Another haich of I ypew rif I en statements state-ments was present i'd just a time for the noon recess arrived, and (here were left, until the afternoon session During tho morning session Attorney Attor-ney Waldo slated thai' the applicant appli-cant company was presenting ilsj plant and properly valuations for the; purpose of showing that the revenues! j a t present were inadequate to pro-! duce for investors tho per cent, thrj ; law perm it ted. j ! The hearing adjourned until 2 o'clock. Representatives from every town 'in the rounty were present to protest I against the proposed increase in |