The City Says 'No' to the Power Barons: Wenatchee Rejects Electric Company Buyout
In a bold move for municipal independence, the Wenatchee City Council rejects a $100,000 offer to buy the local electric plant, citing exorbitant prices and inadequate infrastructure.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
At its meeting last night the city council decided to reject the proposition of the Wenatchee Electric Company to sell its plant to the city at a price of $100,000.
Will H. Parry of Seattle appeared before the council two weeks ago with the proposition and it was referred to the finance committee of the council, which made a thorough investigation of the plant.
It was decided that the price asked is exorbitant and that the plant itself is not an investment which would recommend itself to a conservative buyer. It is stated that there is insufficient water supply to make it possible to increase the plant to keep pace with the growth of the city and that at times during the winter, the stream freezes up entirely and the city is without light or power.
As it has been decided that the plant is totally inadequate to the needs of the city it is probable that this will end negotiations for the purchase of the plant as far as the city is concerned.
This 1905 rejection of a private utility buyout mirrors modern debates over municipal broadband and energy independence. Just as Wenatchee’s leaders deemed the private company's infrastructure inadequate and its price gouging, today’s citizens often argue that privatized utilities fail to serve public interest, fueling movements for publicly owned power grids.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.