CITY, UNION ELECTRIC COME TO AN AGREEMENT

The city of Cape Girardeau and the utility company it deals most closely with, Union Electric, have similar interests that are approached in different ways. The city is accountable to its citizens; the company cares for its customers, yet has an obligation to its stockholders. We are impressed that these two entities have pooled their common interest to come up with what looks like a workable arrangement for Cape Girardeau utilities that will stretch into the next century.

The resolution of this matter, which will be decided by voters here, likely in November, is a major step forward for the city. To be sure, it is a matter of legal technicality; there was no threat of the lights being turned off. But a provident franchise agreement, one that takes into account the concerns and needs of citizens while ensuring the fiscal health of the corporate provider, is important and can have a long-range impact on utility costs and service reliability.

This agreement is a long time in coming. The city and Union Electric have been without a franchise agreement since March 1988, when the last one expired. A citizens utility committee was convened to consider the city's dealings with Union Electric and in 1987 made recommendations that were important to the municipal negotiations with the utility firm.

One of the recommendations was purchase by the city of the Union Electric water system. The city has acted on that recommendation and citizens will probably vote on that acquisition on the same ballot as the franchise agreement. Union Electric has no interest in continuing its ownership of the water system and will sell it regardless of the outcome of a popular vote. Cape Girardeans can control the destiny of this utility by taking charge of it.

We will continue to study this franchise agreement until the time of a public vote, but we can say two things with confidence about the issue at this point. One is that city officials seem to have done the homework necessary to reach proper conclusions on the agreement. Included in the pact are arrangements that, at first glance, seem to give the city a wide latitude in determining its energy future. (The "wheeling provision" built into the agreement, which spells out the legal right of the city or any business to purchase power from another company, is especially significant.)

The other thing is that Union Electric has remained a high-quality, highly reliable utility outlet. It is a large corporation that hasn't lost its capacity to deal with communities the size of Cape Girardeau. The power fails from time to time, but only for a short while. The service personnel are out and working in the harshest weather imaginable. There is a high comfort level that this top-notch service will continue.

A public hearing on the franchise agreement will be held on Aug. 5 at City Hall. At some point after that, the City Council will put the issue on the ballot. The parties involved in the negotiations have acted in good faith and given voters a well-drawn issue to study. We commend these efforts.