Farmers and Utilities Face Off Over Irrigation Rates
After a protracted legal battle, White Bluffs irrigation users meet to negotiate a flat rate for power with the Pacific Power & Light Company.
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If the Pacific Power & Light Company will make a flat rate for electrical power to those using it for pumping for irrigation, along the lines decided upon at the meeting of power users at Weil’s office last Saturday, it is probable that the long-drawn-out fight for lower power rates in this valley will be over. The meeting Saturday was well attended by local power users and the power question was thoroughly discussed. W. J. Kincaid was made chairman of the meeting and L. Andrew Codding acted as secretary. F. M. Weil was appointed by the power users to represent them at a conference with company officials to be held in Seattle. If a flat rate agreeable to both sides is reached, the Public Service Commission has indicated it will formalize that rate, prompting the power company to drop its appeal currently pending before Judge Mitchell in the Thurston County Superior Court.
“It is probable that the long drawn out fight for lower power rates in this valley will be over.”
This 1916 dispute over utility costs for irrigation remains a core issue in the arid Columbia Basin. Access to affordable power for water delivery is as central to the economic survival of local agriculture today as it was when farmers gathered in Weil's office.
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