The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-11-12

JvVU tO 50U IA. w. H., 4l12 per cent.
 Over $500 K. ". H., 50 per cent.
 Minimum s1 10 less per cent equals s1.05 net.
 Base Rate Reduced
 From the above you will note that the base rate has been reduced from 12 to 10 cents per K. w. H., the maximum net rate of 10.S cents per K. w. H. to 9.05 cents, and the. minimum charge from s1.13 net to $1.05 net, and that the discounts have been changed from purely quanti- tative scale of reduction to a scale of reduction based on the period of usage of the lamps installed. with quantitative dis counts upon the excess usage.
 | It Is very clear that those customers whose average usage, per light installed, per month, is greatest, will profit most by this rate. Now such customers per- init of a longer period of usage of the power plant equipment and distributing system by the central station, thereby tending to increase the average demand upon the central station without increas- ing the investment. And. since the fixed charges of interest. depreciation, taxes, insurance and maintenance are in propor- tion to the amount of the investment -ep- resented by the central station equipment and since these fixed charges constitute a large portion of the cost of generating and distributing each K w. H. of power, 1t is clear that greater period of usage by the consumer will permit of a lower cost of production by the central sta- ton. It would, therefore, appear that, in it's broad provision of reducing the rate to the customer who permits of the lower cost of production by the central station, the proposed rate Is an equitab arrangement.
 Now the objection to the rate proposed is the complication which 1t introduces in endeavoring to carry out the principle of reduced rates for increased usage of lights installed. Not only is 1t difficult for the average customer to check the bills of the public service corporation, but there is possibility of confusion in determining the connected load for each customer. the connected load having con- siderable bearing upon the rate to which the customer is entitled. In residences 1t is understood that each outlet will be rated at 50 watts, and in commercial build ings each lighting outlet will be rated in 50 watt equivalents. Should a copimcr- cial customer change from one tyne or size of lamp to another, the value of his connected load must be corrected before the proper rate can be determined While such complications are undesirable, they are nevertheless inherent to the principle involved in the application of the pro- posed rate and are therefore unavoidable
 
 rut into operation in other cities, with out serious difficulty, there can be no reasonable doubt but that the customer who Is desirous of checking his bills can be educated to do so within a reasonable time after the installation of the rate.
 Mode of Application
 The mode of application of the proposed l rate Is as follows: First ascertain the number of 50 watt outlets, multiply this number by 1H, and the result will be the | 30 hour usage of the connected load If l this 30 hour usage is greater than the K. W. H. recorded by the service watt meter the K. w. H. recorded by the watt | meter must be multiplied by 915 cents (the maximum net rate) in determining the | cost of the current for the month. If the 30 hour usage is less than the K. w. H. recorded by the wattmeter the method will be as follows: Multiply the 30 hour usage (namely, 1k times the number of 50 watt outlets) by 91a cents; then deduct | the 30 hour usage from the meter reading | 10 obtain the excess. If this excess is less than 25 1t must be multiplied by ! | cents less 10 per cent or 6.3 cents; if it i 25 to 150 K. w. H., 1t should be multi piled by cents less 15 per cent, or 5.95 cents and so on. The amount of the bill will then be the amount of the 30 hour usage at 9h cents plus that of the i ing, of course, that the bills are paid on or before the 10th of the month.
 l It is not possible to make an abstract numerical comparison between the pres ent and the proposed rate in this city, since the provisions of the rates are en- tirely dissimilar, nor with rates in other cities, unless the provisions of the rates in the cities considered are similar to those proposed for this city.
 Average Rate Paid
 Accordingly, as concrete comparison between the present and the proposed rate for this city, the writer has examined the bills for about 400 residences on the South side of the city, and has found that the | average rate per K. w. H.. paid by the residents of this section is about 101! cents, and that under the rate proposed the average would have been about cents. and that consequently the new rate would have effected saving of about Il