1975-07-07 Regular Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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~,~ston lighting & Power Company • The Honorable E. A. Thomas • • -2- June 25, 1975 followed with regard to the pipeline crossings and naturally we will be happy to furnish any additional information you might re- quire. We would also appreciate very much your consideration of granting a resolution of consent to install the fuel oil line under provisions of our present franchise since we feel it con- tains the necessary rights, protective clauses and language ap- propriate to this project. When stripped of irrelevant provisions, the franchise passed on April 18, 1958, vests in the company the following rights: "...the right, privilege and franchise to conduct within the boundaries of the city...an electrical lighting, and power business and to erect, construct, maintain., operate...and repair, in, under, over, across and along any and all...public roads, highways, streets, lanes and alleys...a system of poles,...con- duits, cables and other desirable instrumentalities and appurtenances...necessary or proper for the pur- pose of...supplying, distributing and selling to the municipality and the inhabitants of said city... electricity..." (underscoring added) There can be no question but that the pipeline is a de- sirable instrumentality which is necessary in supplying electricity to the public. Unless the pipeline is built, there is a strong probability that for prolonged periods the public will be without electricity. We therefore feel that there is no material differ- ence between the conduits which carry the fuel oil to the generat- ing plants and the conduits which carry the electricity from the plants. Both are inseparable parts of the electric system autho- rized by the franchise. The Houston Lighting & Power Company serves a territory comprising approximately 5,600 square miles in a twelve county area. Generating plants are located throughout the company's sys- tem and are so connected that they do not supply a specific geo- graphical area, but rather feed into a transmission network which is common to the entire area served by the company. The proposed pipeline will transport fuel oil from a point located outside of the city to generating plants also located outside the city, there- by removing the line from a category that could be defined as of local nature. At the same time, the company accepts that the con- struction of the pipeline through the city is subject to reasonable regulation by the city, which regulation is provided for in the •