With the squeezing of stations on the FM band, is there any advantage to maintaining an effective radiated power of 100,000 watts or more. Driving in Southern Ontario I could reliably receive stations like CFPL 95.9, CFCA 105.3, CKDS (or whatever its called now) 95.1 for 70 or 80 miles or more. These big dogs' have high antennas and lots of power.

In areas often less than 80 miles from the big dog's location, licenses are being approved on these frequencies. That's far enough away from the big dogs market and should not impact their main coverage area.

A quick example: In my vehicle I could receive CJBX 92.7 London past Chatham. Now before getting to Chatham, I am getting interference from the station from Leamington.

So when it comes time to replace my FM transmitter, is there any value in remaining at that 100 kw level? I could cut power to 50 or 25 kw and for the most part still serve the market and significantly reduce my electricity expenses. We know the cost of electricity will only increase so this decision to reduce RF power could yield more savings than expected. If my new transmitter is used for 20 years that is a lot of electricity and money saved.

Since I have lost my fringe signal coverage because of the new distant station, what is the benefit to maintaining that 100 kw signal? Maybe there are good reasons for doing so that I am not aware of.

Any thoughts?