The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-03-21
% ner cent slow on ten lamps burning

30 per cent slow on ten lamps burning
six hours. ,,ios
relv on meters that are liable TO
register slow as well as fast-in otner
words, cheat them as well as the con
sumers? This is easily answered. me
ter is apt to register SLOW only when
a few lamps are burning, as, Tor instance
in the day time when the company en-
Move comes around to examine the me
fer TO determine the amount or your plll
or the meter man comes to test II IIen
a limited number of lamps Will be USED
cents as We'll as your arc lights, are
blazing away, the little machine In tne
basement is doing business Tor the COLI
pany with the greatest fidelity.
Mr. Sessions states that there Is no
mechanical meter, and in the very nature
of things, never will be one that Is ao So.
lutely correct, that is wlthl9 +, one ,I p1r
in use are within three or four per cent
of being correct. The only ABSOLUTELY
correct method of registering electrclty; ;
he SAYS, is the old zinc-copper-GheInIIcc
meter but that is so expensive the COM
panies have abandoned it for others:
There are three mechanical meters t
used nv the companies in this city, the
Scheffer. Thomson and Schellenber, all OF
which register the watts used by ulal.
The Thomson is the meter most genera4Iy
used and is fully as accurate as eltner VI
the others which need not be construed
as a strong recommendation OF us VII
tues Some of the largest consumers II.
ritV have. by experience, Icchl llSb VI
its vagaries, with the result that tney
employ their own experts to test the me
tiers and compel the companies TO strlhe
an average in their bills.
Notably is this the case with the fdldce
Hotel which is the largest individual con
sumner in town. The bills for Lighting
that hosiery with electricity VIII do 90 :
up $50 900 a year, a sum that warrants
the keeping of careful watch on the met
ers There are thirteen used TO register
the number of watts consumeg, eacn AZ
oil
wears the hotel management operated us
own electric light plant, but with the
starting up of competing companies tns
cost was reduced, until 1t was deemed
advisable to buy electricity. The hotel
EMPLOYS an expert electrician. VINO IS
constantly inspecting the meters ana ms
tests are invariably compared MIen e4Ie
of the company's expert. Frequeh1tiI ~
Mr. Sessions has been called upon by the
management to assist it's expert, and
their figures have, at times. shown a
startling discrepancy from those of the
company's employe. The result mas peen
some big reductions in the bills, the
largest being that of last october, when
the company allowed rebate of between
S1I0O and $1,000 on what it claimed.
This, and numerous other rebates, were
allowed without any protest, on the part
knows that the hotel people are thor
oughly familiar with electricity and the
| peculiarities of the meters, and conse-
duently cannot be imposed upon. But
with smaller consumers. who do not en-
pIoy their own expert and rely entirel:'
! upon the employees of the various COM
panies, the case is different, and COM
plants are daily occurrences.
One such case is that Of the Orpheum
Theater, whose bills for lighting ran W
! to such proportions. that recently it was
! deemed advisable to change from one
company to another, with the result that
! the bills showed an immediate decrease
of $50 to $40 each month.
But the wickedness of these meters
! could be dwelt upon for an indefinite time
! and for the benefit of the victims of their
criminal work The Call will refer to them
| again.