Images de page
PDF
ePub
[blocks in formation]
[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]
[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]

MILLIONS OF DOLLARS

[blocks in formation]

NOTE.-The above figures are based on an assumed power cost of 1 cent per kilowatt-hour with present financing.

[blocks in formation]

Mr. POAGE. If there are no questions, we will call a witness that Mr. Gathings has here, a constituent who is trying to get home. Mr. GATHINGS. I would be glad to call him, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Reeves Ritchie.

Mr. Chairman, I have known Mr. Ritchie for many years. He is an outstanding good citizen of my State. He succeeded his late father as president of the Arkansas Power & Light Co.

I would like to welcome you, Mr. Ritchie, to this committee room. We feel that your testimony will be most enlightening.

STATEMENT OF REEVES RITCHIE, PRESIDENT, ARKANSAS POWER & LIGHT CO.

Mr. RITCHIE. Thank you, Chandler.

Mr. Chairman, I have a printed statement that I respectfully request be put in the record in its entirety. In the interest of briefing and saving time, I will only highlight it before the committee.

Mr. POAGE. We thank you for your cooperation.

Mr. RITCHIE. My name is Reeves Ritchie. I am president of the Arkansas Power & Light Co., an investor-owned electric utility incorporated in the State of Arkansas. The company serves directly more than 339,000 customers, over 116,000 of whom are rural customers. In addition, we supply all or part of the wholesale electric power requirements of 14 electric cooperatives, 7 municipal electric systems and 1 small privately owned utility. The company operates in 61 of the State's 75 counties.

The purpose of our appearance here today is to express to you the basic reasons for our opposition to the legislation proposed in H.R. 14837. We believe that the establishment of a Federal bank for rural electric systems of such magnitude and with such unlimited powers as has been proposed cannot be justified as being necessary or desirable to the carrying out of the purposes of the Rural Electrification Administration as established by Congress in the original act.

A this point, I would like to make it clear to the committee that our company does not oppose the rural electrification program as it was originally intended by Congress to assist in bringing electric energy to persons in rural areas who do not have central station service available and who could not economically be served by investor-owned companies. Arkansas Power & Light Co. has cooperated with the rural electric cooperatives in our area since the beginning of the REA program.

We now have available to these cooperatives contracts of 5-, 10-, 15-, or 20-year duration, whichever is their preference and at very reasonable rates, in our opinion.

We respectfully suggest that if the rural electric cooperatives are to operate within the original intent of the Congress when it established the Rural Electrification Administration for the purpose of making low interest rate loans available in order that electric energy could be brought to persons in rural areas who were not receiving central station service, then a Federal bank for rural electric systems is not needed. If, on the other hand, the true, (if unstated) purpose of this legislation is to supply funds and the authority by which rural electric cooperatives can engage in the electric utility business on a full scale, build transmission lines and generating facilities at will, and compete with taxpaying businesses for all types of customers, then they should not be granted discriminatory preference in the form of federally subsidized financing and freedom from taxes.

We believe that, before any move is made, careful study should be given to the question of whether existing lending agencies set up under the Farm Credit Administration, already capitalized, and having the lending mechanics already in operation, might not offer a far more economical and practical solution to the problem of REA financing.

« PrécédentContinuer »