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<br />- 5 - <br /> <br />our farming community and economy we must be able to rely on CRSP." (Tr. at <br />55.) The general welfare of a six-state region requires the continued availability <br />of CRSP power to the current recipients of that power. <br /> <br />Ill. THE EVIDENCE DOES NOT SUPPORT <br />UP&L'S CLAIM THAT "THE POOR" <br />ARE ADVERSELY AFFECTED BY <br />WESTERN'S MARKETING POLICIES <br /> <br />As part of its argument that Western's application of the preference <br />statutes violates the constitutional guarantees of equal protection, UP&L makes <br />the unsubstantiated claim that "minority groups and the poor may be more likely <br />to reside in a large city, such as Salt Lake City, served by Utah Power & Light, <br />than in a smaller municipality. . . ." Statements on behalf of Utah Power & Light <br />Company at page 16. Testimony presented at the Public Comment Forum demon- <br />strates that just the opposite is true. In the words of the Mayor of Beaver City, <br />"[w] e have many elderly and retired people on fixed low incomes who have migrat- <br />ed to our city from the higher cost urban areas. . .." Tr. at 120-121. (Emphasis <br />added.) <br /> <br />Mayor Wilson of Salt Lake City provided some useful statistics. He <br />indicated that Salt Lake City's population represents 11 % of Utah's population, has <br />15% of the state's population living below the poverty level, and has 22% of the <br />state's elderly. Tr. at 101. However, the Mayor of Hyrum, Utah pointed out that <br />its per person income is 15% to 17% lower than the per person income in the <br />UP&L service area. Tr. at 81. In contrast to the Salt Lake City statistics, 35% of <br />the population of Mt. Pleasant, Utah is on social security and 13.5% of its workers <br />are unemployed. Tr. at 117. Thirty-five percent of the citizens of Parowan, Utah <br />are senior citizens on fixed incomes. Tr. at 104. The majority of the citizens of <br />the Five County, Arizona area are retired persons living on a fixed income. Tr. at <br />123. In Oak City, Utah, 36% of the citizens rely on a fixed income. Spring City, <br />utah has the next to the lowest per capita income in the state (Tr. at 137), and <br />57% of the population of Fillmore, Utah is in the low to moderate income range, <br />Tr. at 138. <br /> <br />In view of this testimony, it is apparent that UP&L's claim that "the <br />poor" are more likely to live in Salt Lake City simply cannot be supported. Many <br />of the communities dependent upon CRSP power have substantial numbers of citi- <br />zens who live at or below the poverty level or on fixed incomes. These citizens <br />cannot tolerate the increases in electricity rates that would result if UP&L is <br />permitted to succeed in its attempt to take CRSP power away from its current <br />recipients. <br /> <br />IV. CONCLUSION <br /> <br />UP&L's claim that Western's application of the preference laws fails <br />to meet the statutory requirements of the preference laws and of the DOE Organ- <br />