Los Angeles between the water rights of Long Valley, which lies north of the 'ovrnns Valley, and the watershed of' which is one of the' sources of the Owens River. Before the water goes through the power plant, it enters a huge wave chamber at the tip of the penstocka. This is to take care of the sudden changes that occur in the pen due to changes in vmter demand from the generators.
This siphon is typical of those on the aqueduct line north of the Mojave Desert. Consequently, the excess money is sold to the City of Los Angeles to help meet the increase in demand due to the city's large growth. General plans for the development of energy supply were drawn up by the engineers of the Energy Bureau and approved by the city.
34; The provisions of the City Charter as amended in 1911, intended that the Board of Public Service Commissioners would have full. The completion of the City's electric generation and distribution system, as well as the operation, maintenance and expansion of the. The following are the sections (in part) from the Charter of the City of Los Angeles, as amended in 1911:.
An illustration of the typical way business is done is given in the next section. The authorization is forwarded to the Chief Electrical Engineer, who approves it according to the general schedule of the entire hour of power and light. The vouchers are forwarded to the Controller of OO!Itptroller, who approves the voucher from the file point of the .houreau of Po"\'rer and Light.
In the preceding pages I have recorded the facts relating to the organization of the Bureau of Power and Light. A means of showing the efficiency of one is to compare the results obtained by the operation of each in paat. This (mentioned on the previous page) involved the "construction" of pov1er houses and the transmission and distribution system of equipment.
The construction of the Aqueduct, reservoirs, etc., was financed by the Nureau of I7ater Works. Not only the initial cost, but also the operating cost of the municipal system was low. They are still in the field supplying electricity to a portion of Los Angeles residents and remain the city's only competitor.
34;But the influence of the City's public ownership enterprise also forced the Edison's rates outside of Los Angeles.
AL POWER SCH EDULE
The revenue from t [:.e rates coaled for light and power, determines the earning capacity of the organization, and this involves the second factor in determining the success of the utility. It is a difficult task to obtain precise figures, which prove nothing of the fairness of the rates charged, as there is a lack of uniformity in the municipal accounts. The following is a statl".'lending of' Power nu- reau's Income Statement for the last two years prepared by Price, V!ater- hus and company.
The account given above shows the earning capacity of the Bureau of Power and Light during the last two years. There is one phase of the Bureau of Public Service that is well noted and that is the supervision of the tvlO, Hater llureau and Por1er Bureaus, by qualified engineers. They are actually the executive heads of the two Bureaus, except that their policies and plans must be submitted to the Public Service Commissioners for the judgment and decisions of the Commissioners.
In my opinion it is a going concern, given the benefits arising from the provision of cheap light and electricity, and the earning capacity of the organization. The difficult position the Power Bureau finds itself in today is due to the failure of support for the bond issue last spring by the citizens of Los Angeles. In a way, this is a good thing because the increase in the company's assets is not mortgaged.
The use of money from the surplus to increase business can be excessive and this is the cause of the "present situation" po1·1er ~:rnreau. The municipal organization assumes responsibility for supplying the city's needs with electricity. The solution to the problem, as I see it, is for the city to acquire and retain the goodwill of the citizens of Los Angeles; to present.
This system, linked to the current system of the Bureau of Power and Light, would increase its capacity to help meet light and lighting requirements. Although the city of Los Ane;eles has its present extensive and fairly efficient municipal organization, I consider this to be the best policy for the supply of light and electricity under a uniform system and for the benefit of the people. Po·:rnr nureuu should enjoy the benefits of the prosperity of the city by increasing its earnings due to increased demands for pmrnr and light.
