Evening star., 1915-12-23
CHEAPER ELECTRIC
RATE IS APPROVED
New Prices of. Current for
Cooking and Heating Ef-
fective Today.
TO USE SPECIAL METERS
FOR FUEL CONSUMPTION
Public Utilities Commission Acts
When Company Agrees to Eliminate
81 Minimum Charge.

A utility Christmas gift for
Washingtonians in the form OF
cheaper electricity for heating
and cooking purposes was an
nounced today.
The new rates for this service,
proposed recently by the Potomac
Electric Power Company, have
been approved by the public utili-
ties commission. They will be-
come effective Immediately.
Existing rates for electricity
for both lighting and heating are
10 cents kilowatt hour for the
first I2o hours consumed each
month and 5 cents an hour for all
current used in excess of that
amount.
For Cooking and Heating.
The reduced rates, which are to ap-
ply exclusively to current employed
for heating and cooking, are 10 cents a
kil0watt hour for the first 10 kilowatt
hours monthly, with three-cent
charge for current used above this
amount.
An important, concession by the COM
pany was largely responsible for the
commissions prompt action in approv-
ing the schedule. In it's original offer
the power plant had pointed out that
it would be necessary to install sepa-
rate meters for the heating services
and proposed a one-dollar minimum
monthly charge.
After Investigating this feature the
commission determined that inasmuch
as a ne-dollar minimum charge is
maintained for current used for light
ing. it might be unreasonable to require
a two-dollar minimum charge to con-
sumers who have both lighting and
heating meters.
The company was asked to reconsider
tn. matter. with the<result that it filed
an amended schedule placing. the mini
mum charge for the heating service at
so cents a month.
Minimum Feature Rearranged.
This offer, however, is made with the
proviso that in case the only electric
service furnished the consumer is that
under the schedule for heating and
cooking the minimum charge shall be
81 In other words, consumers who use
both lighting and heating services will
be required to pay monthly minimum
charge of $50. but if only one serv-
ice is used the minimum charge shall
be 81, in either case.
In letter to the company Capt. Ju-
liam l.. Sch1ey, executive officer of the
commission, stated that. "a minimum
charge is based on the theory that an
ofyif ie n a
penses not dependent upon the amount
of current used. These expenses can
be approximated very closely by an in
vestigation of the companys records.
To this is usually added the cost of a
small amount of service, the total be-
ing the minimum charge. 1t is evident
that many of these expenses that are
not dependent upon the amount of
current used are approximately the
same whereby one or two meters is
TO he taken care of. 1t therefore seems
that the minimum charge in the case
of a customer with two meters should
not be twice the minimum charge of
customer with one meter
Company Accepts Proposition.
The company, in its reply, stated that
II considered the 81 minimum charge a
reasonable ore, but would be willing to
reduce the amount to so cents if the
commission would accept the proviso
noted.
Prior to adopting the schedule the
commission made/an investigation of
rates for heating and cooking in other
cities and obtained considerable
amount of data on the subject. In
some cities it found the rates higher
than those proposed by the local com
many and in others less. The Wash
ington rate however. was found to ap-
uroximate an average charge and was
not considered by the commission to be
excessive.
Under the existing lighting rates the
company has made little effort to de-
yeIop a demand for electricity for heat
ing and cooking purposes. The new
schedule, it is thought. VIII put it in a
nosition to compete with the gas com
panies in this field.