History of the Peabody Municipal Light Plant Page(3) THE SEABROOK CURSE In August 1979, the Light Plant was the recipient of a formal curse imposed by the official witch of Salem, Laurie Cabot, as the Lighting Commission met to vote on the third of its planned three purchases to acquire ownership interest in the highly controversial Seabrook Nuclear Plant. Ms. Cabot wore all white clothing and white makeup on her face--a manner of dress designed to cast the most evil of all spells. She and the well-known "Clamshell Alliance" (a group dedicated to stopping construction of the Seabrook Nuclear Plant) formed a protest, picketing with painted signs and shouting chants of "No, No, we won't glow!" in hope of convincing the Lighting Commission to vote against Peabody's participation in ownership of the under-construction nuclear plant. Under the burden of great negative public pressure and an extremely evil curse, the Lighting Commission voted 3-2 to purchase its third ownership interest in Seabrook. A unique "sell-back" arrangement was included in the Light Plant's third incremental purchase of the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant. On behalf of its participant municipal light plants, MMWEC negotiated a "sell-back" clause with Seabrook's constructor (and largest owner), Public Service of New Hampshire (PSNH). The "sell-back" agreement allowed (during the first few operating years) any municipal light plant to sell unused Seabrook capacity back to PSNH at the actual cost paid by the municipal light plant. This option afforded the municipal light plants an opportunity to grow into a very large plant investment while securing a substantial ownership share during construction of the project without risking payment for unused capacity. Due to the unrelenting protests and sit-ins staged by the "Clamshell Alliance" and a few other allied groups, the Seabrook Plant experienced long construction delays, resulting in heavy cost overruns. As a project owner through MMWEC, the Light Plant was required to make bond payments during much of the delayed construction period without the benefit of income from its power output. This financial squeeze caused electric rates to rise from the early 1980's until the project consistently produced power in 1991. SEX DISCRIMINATION In 1979, Light Plant manager Edward McCarthy recommended that Principal Clerk, Stella Stathos, be promoted to the position of Office Manager; and Administrative Assistant, Gloria Bailey, be promoted to the position of Assistant Office Manager. These title changes and associated pay increases recognized the two women and properly compensated them for supervisory work that had been performed continuously for several years while technically, they were hourly workers and union members. The Lighting Commission endorsed the title changes and removal from the union, but would not grant a pay level comparable to male supervisors. Newspaper articles containing derogatory quotes from two Lighting Commissioners encouraged both women to file sex discrimination charges in Federal Court. A federal jury ruled in August 1982, in favor of the women, ordering retroactive compensation and punitive damages against the Commissioners. The Commissioners appealed the sex discrimination decision to the Federal Appellate Court before Judge Stephen G. Breyer. He upheld the lower court decision and issued a strongly worded ruling railing against the Commissioners. In 1996, Senator Edward M. Kennedy brought this case before the United States Senate in support of Judge Breyer's nomination to the United States Supreme Court. At the time, our society had taken a hard line against sex discrimination. This case played an important role in the Senate's confirmation of Judge Breyer's appointment to the United States Supreme Court. On January 4, 1980, Bruce P. Patten was appointed Manager, succeeding the retiring Edward W. McCarthy. In the early 1980s, the move to power supply independence accelerated in line with electricity price escalation and a severely dampened growth trend for electricity sales. The Light Plant had a peak demand of 60MW, serving 18,200 customers who consumed 251 million kilowatt-hours in 1979. Annual operating expenses for the year were $12,287,000. And 83 people worked at the Light Plant in 1980. BACK TO THE COURTROOM In 1986, PSNH filed bankruptcy due to construction delays and resulting cost overruns of the Seabrook project. MMWEC negotiated a deal with PSNH, which traded the 1979 "sell-back" guarantee for credits to MMWEC construction payments. This deal helped PSNH and many of the participating municipal light plants, however, it caused substantial financial harm to Peabody and a few other participating municipal light plants that were planning to exercise the "sell-back" option to mitigate the typically high costs during the first few years of Seabrook's operation. During the period from 1986 to 1989, Peabody and the Hudson Municipal Light Department, and occasionally the Danvers Municipal Light Department litigated many times in State and Federal courts-even Federal Bankruptcy Court-against MMWEC and others. At issue: the basic concept of MMWEC's actions resulting in the loss of "sell-back" rights without due compensation. Once again, Peabody found itself arguing before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in a contentious battle. The Supreme Court ultimately ruled against Peabody, Hudson, and Danvers to protect the integrity of revenue bonds used by MMWEC in purchasing the ownership interest of the Seabrook Nuclear Plant. From 1975 until 1989, Light Plant metering and line construction personnel worked out of rented facilities at R119 Foster Street (formerly a machine shop) and 49 Oak Street (formerly a leather shop). The business office and administration, however, remained at 70 Endicott Street. The entire Light Plant operation consolidated into a new facility constructed on the site of a former quarry at 201 Warren Street Extension in August of 1989. The Bartholomew Street substation, built in 1990, allowed the Light Plant to secure its fourth and fifth ties into the (115,000 volt) New England-wide transmission grid, thereby, establishing itself as the most reliable electric distribution system in the Northeastern United States. On June 14, 1991 at 9:00 A.M., Light Plant Officials held a formal ceremony to open the 1891 time capsule, which, you might recall, had been placed behind the cornerstone of the original Endicott Street generating plant. Then-current and past members of the Lighting Commission, then-current and retired employees, historian John A. Wells, prominent members of the business community, and newspaper reporters all witnessed the capsule's opening. The capsule--a square shaped copper box measuring about one cubic foot-contained a history of events leading to the formation of the Light Plant, a list of Peabody residents, a multi-colored map of the Greater Salem area, a copy of the Peabody Reporter (newspaper), many newsprint articles of stories recording the events leading up to the Town of Peabody's decision to form its own electric business, campaign brochures supporting the positions of those interested in the referendum question concerning Town ownership of a municipal electric business, and numerous documents of the time concerning the Town of Peabody. In the many years preceding the time capsule opening, rumors circulated that during the construction of the addition to the original plant immediately after the 1913 fire, one of the workmen broke the box's soldered seal and removed the coins and paper money that had been included in 1891. When the time capsule was opened, the rumors proved true: There was confirmation that the box was re-sealed at a later date. It now contained photographs and associated documentation concerning the 1913 fire in the generating plant along with a copy of an article reporting on the theft from the October 3, 1913 Peabody Enterprise headlined "Ghouls Rob Strong Box". Shortly after the contents of the 1891 time capsule were copied and placed in a new container, a 1991 time capsule was created. Both were placed in a vault in front of the Light Plant building at Warren Street Extension. The vault is to the left of the front door under the granite lintel and corner stones--stones that were removed from the original Endicott Street building in 1989. Everyone who participated in the creation of the new time capsule had expectations that both time capsules will be opened on June 18, 2091. One of the items contained in the 1991 capsule is a scroll signed by the Light Plant employees. After the signing of the scroll, each employee was allowed to keep the pen that they used to sign the scroll and they received a commemorative wooden cradle for displaying the pen. The employees intended to have the pens and cradles passed on to future generations so that the scroll and pens can be reunited in 2091. The lintel stone that guards the time capsule vault was removed from a place of prominence over the front door of the Endicott Street building in 1989. The corner stone was taken from the Endicott Street building and split in half, allowing the unmarked half to be inscribed with "1989"--the construction year of the new building. The lintel stone rests on top of the two halves of the original corner stone in an arrangement designed to symbolize a linkage between the two buildings and the continuous service to the community provided by the municipal light plant employees. The Light Plant held a grand ceremony on June 22, 1991 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of not-for-profit electric service on behalf of its citizen-owners. Open house tours of the building at 201 Warren Street Extension and the Waters River complex were supplemented by food, music, commemorative gifts, and praises from many elected officials. An estimated 2,000 citizens of Peabody and South Lynnfield enjoyed the festivities. At 11:00 A.M. on October 24, 1994, employee Louis Rodrigues (Electrician) was electrocuted while working at the Frog Island Substation. Mr. Rodrigues was 53 years old at the time of the fatal accident. On September 26, 1996, in anticipation of the new Electric Deregulation law, PMLP established a Power Supply Trust Fund to address possible "stranded investment" in generation plants that had outstanding debt, which may not be recovered due to the new competitive environment promised by the state legislation. PMLP began funding the Trust from excess annual revenue and periodic settlements resulting from electric rate litigation against investor-owned utilities. The Trust Fund provides an assurance that PMLP customers will continue to enjoy the lowest electric rates in New England for many more years. Continued progress of the distribution system voltage upgrade in the southeastern section of Peabody prompted disconnection of the South Peabody substation in 1997. This was the first of nine 23KV/4KV substations scheduled to be eliminated as a result of the voltage upgrade. A new state law deregulating the generation component of the electric utility industry became effective on March 1, 1998. The law promised to enable open market competition for electric power supply purchased at generator terminals by wholesalers, utilities, and market entrepreneurs, resulting in lower electricity prices for consumers. The immediate impacts caused major electric utilities to sell their generating facilities to non-utility corporations and merge the remaining components of their corporations with other investor-owned electric utilities. Since the new law allowed several years of controlled over-pricing to allow investor owned utilities to pay off their "stranded investment in generating facilities", consumers have not yet-as of this writing-received a benefit from the intended competition. In anticipation of legislation proposed in 1998 that would allow municipal lighting plants to engage in the rapidly growing Telecommunications business, the Lighting Commission hired consultants to study the feasibility of the Light Plant entering that field. On January 6, 2000, after reviewing a recent business plan proposed by the consultants, the Lighting Commission voted to delay such participation. On two occasions over the past twenty-five years, the Lighting Commission, after reviewing similar studies, rejected the concept of the Light Plant engaging in the cable television business--the predecessor to broadband telecommunications. On April 27, 2000, a new Massachusetts State Law became effective, enabling municipal light plants to provide telecommunication services to its customers. The Russell Street substation was disconnected on September 25, 1998, after voltage upgrades were begun in the northwest area of Peabody. Thirteen months later, the South Lynnfield substation was disconnected, after substantial completion of the distribution system voltage upgrade in Lynnfield. At the beginning of the new millenium, peak electricity usage reached 105MW serving 23,000 customers in Peabody and South Lynnfield with an annual usage of 450 million kilowatt-hours, an annual operating budget exceeding $40,000,000 and a plant valued at $73,000,000. The Light Plant employed 67 people in 2000. Customers paying their full electric bill within fifteen days received a prompt payment discount of 20% off of the basic rates. The Industrial Park substation was disconnected on March 30, 2000; and by the end of the year it was removed along with the South Lynnfield substation. The final phase of the distribution system voltage upgrade was underway and the Light Plant's engineers estimated that the $24,000,000 project would be complete by the end of 2002. THE FUTURE HEEDS THE PAST The simple beginnings, initiated for the sole purpose of installing a few lamps along Main Street, have developed far beyond the expectations of even the most foresighted individuals among those advocating local control over the new miracle called "electricity". The legacy of those Peabody citizens, who convinced their community to take a substantial financial risk on an enterprise that offered only promises in lieu of experience, has endured the test of time and has resulted in a valuable asset that is the envy of neighboring communities. During the past 109 years, we have learned that the most important energy delivered by our not-for-profit consumer owned electric utility is not produced by generators but is created by generations of Peabody citizens having done battle at the ballot box, in the state legislature, before federal regulators, and in many state and federal courtrooms. The future will surely provide new technology and more uses for electricity. As in the past, the future will continue to prove that the true price for high value electric service is the extreme resolve of the citizens to exercise their local control and to retain their not-for-profit consumer owned utility. The citizens of Peabody have earned the right to proudly proclaim "It's Ours".

Lighting Commissioners elected under the 1951 Massachusetts Statue and their
length of service through 2003 are as follows:

Bonfanti, Michael J. (1988-2001)	McDuff, Gerard G. (1962-1979)	Simmons, Gilbert L. (1984-1993)
Bowden, Russell E. (1978-1983)	Nally, James P. (1984-1985)	Southwick, George W(1980-1984)
D'Amato, Thomas M. (2002--)*	Nelson, Horace P. (1954-1955)	Spence, William E. (1956-1975)
Desmond, William J. (1982-1999)	Panagopoulos, George (1986-2003)	Wheatley, Robert O. (1997--)*
Duff, Paul H. (1986-1997)	Paras, James(Tex) (1954-1971/1974-1985)	Wood, Arthur F. (1969-1981)
Fennessey, Arthur J. (1969-1973)	Pedrosa, M. Edite (1982-1987)	Zellen Thomas G. (1994--)*
Flynn, Kenneth R. (1956-1961)	Peruffo, Robert G. (1972-1977)	Paras, Thomas (2003--)*
Hanley, J. Timothy (1976-1981)	Peters, Frank (2000--)*	*denotes current

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