Competitors' Claims

For 23 years the homes of Guntersville. Ala. (pop. 5,000) have been lighted by electricity from the $198,000,000 Alabama Power Co., which serves 580 communities, more than 135,000 customers, throughout the State. Last year, Guntersville citizens, having decided they wanted TVA power, authorized Mayor E. H. Couch and City Attorney C. D. Scruggs to try to buy out Alabama Power's local distributing plant. The company would not sell. Messrs. Couch and Scruggs floated a $130,000 bond issue, broke ground for a municipal plant to distribute TVA power. The company, in turn, announced in a newspaper ad that it had "no plans for discontinuing its service. . . ."

By last week Guntersville had TVA power. The city's lines ran down one side of the streets, Alabama Power's down the other. It was the first time TVA had gone into such direct competition with a private utility. Furthermore, since Alabama Power is a subsidiary of $1,160,000,000 Commonwealth & Southern Corp., it was direct competition between TVA and its major foe in the utilities v. Government war.

Although Scottsboro, Albertsville and Russellville, which the subsidiary also serves, are negotiating for TVA power, the company last week showed no sign of giving up. "Our customers are sticking with us," it announced, "[we have] a valid franchise in Guntersville which has many years to run." Guntersville was just as set on its course. Although the city's rates are average for systems supplied by TVA (75-c- for 25 kilowatt-hours a month), 30% lower than Alabama Power's, Mayor Couch was sure that profits from the new plant would be sufficient to retire the bond issue. He claimed about 95% of the company's 800 customers were switching over --everybody except its stockholders and employes.

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