The Washington times., 1916-01-03
ELECTRIC RATES TO
AFFECT FEW PERSONS
Only Seventy-five Subscribers to
Experience Decrease as Re-
suit of Change in Price.
Continued rom First Page.)

the Publlc tlllt1eS comm ssioh -
great deal mas been presented from time
to time In official reports to the House
and Senate Committees on the District
of Columbia. Never before. as far as
The Times can discover, nave these
facts been gathered together into
general summary and laid before the
public OF Washington.
Affect Few Persons.
Whatever may have been the purpose
of the Potomac Electric Power Com
pany in putting forth the proposed new
rates for cooking and heating, the fact
remains, that. whereas just seventy
I've persons in the city could hope FOR
any immediate benefit from them. the
4,s25 other purchasers oil lighting cur
rent at the present time are payhS eA
cessive rate. me succeeding art cies IN
this series will attempt to ConVince>the
rublic of us fact. .
In the first of these articles facts Will
be presented to show that the approved
new rate for cooking and heating can
only benefit those householderS OF tne
city who already own electric ranges;
or who are able to install them: ana
that the benefit" which even these
favored persons will get Will be on the
score OF convenience rather than econ
omy. The company itself knew when
the rates we're proposed OF oniE
seventy-fiNe persons VINO own electric
ranges, the cost of which is greatly IN
excess OF gas ranges.
In the next article the question or
electric lighting rates will be gone into.
The present lighting rate for house
holders and apartment dwellers OF ~
cents per ki owatt hour for current
consumed during the first 10 kilo"ati
hours use, monthly. Of the connected
load" and cents per kilowatt hour
for the excess thereof. will be trans
lated into terms of popular language
and in such way as to show that as
~ 3 t,A
of cents never applies to the dweller
in the house or apartment. Facts Will
he presented to show that the primary
rate of 10 cents is excessive Wheh com
pared % with the rates in other cities
(3) with the cost of production; ana ld)
with the profits made.
In the next two succeeding articles
facts will be presented by way or eX
planning these excessive rates. 1t Will
be shown that by virtue of remark
able arrangement between the Potomac
Electric Power Company and the WASH
inston Railway and Electric Company:
the railway company, which owns ana
controls outright the power company.
gets more than half the output of the
Potomac Electric Power Company's
plant at less than cost. while the other
customers of the lighting company are
pay handsome dividends on the power
company's stock. 1t will also be shown
by detailed figures from the sworn re-
ports OF both companies that the Wash
ington Railway and Electric Company
gets the entire dividends from the stock
of the Potomac Electric Power Com
psny: and. from these dividends. Is able
TO pay handsome dividends on its own
outstanding stock. despite the fact that
the transportation business of the
Washington Railway and Electric Com
pany alone is carried on at loss.
Control of Great Falls.
Finally facts of an interesting char
acter will be presented with reference
to the manner in which the common
owners of the two companies acquired
control of the Great Falls water power
site and the present status Of this
property. These facts will show that
for ten years the Washington Railway
and Electric Company carried this alb
/ solutely unproductive two-thirds interest
in the Great Falls site at its purchase
valuation of $425,0O0: that at the ex-
piration of that time it agreed. in re-
turn for sl.000.6O0 in stock of the Po-
tomac Electric Power Company. to
turn over this interest to the power
company: that the Potomac Electric
Power Company's directors, who are
identically the same persons as the di-
rectors of the railway company. in
creased the capital stock of the power
company 20 per cent to carry out this
bargain: and that in consequence of this
the electric light patrons are paying
dividends on this sl.0o0,0o0 at the rate
of 100000 wear. although the asset
represented. by this 81 900 600 is not only
absolutely unproductive. but, two years
ago, was valued by the railway COM
pany at only Si25.000.
All these matters with which this
series of articles will deal are now
being considered by the Public Utilities
Commission. Pending at the present
time is an order of the commission on
the Potomac Electric Power Company.
L.,
tionship between 1t and the Washing
ton Railway Company should not be
broken up. 1t is plain from the order
of the commission that this body, at
mental to the public interest and that
It stands in the way of proper re-
adjustment of lighting rates.
"A remarkable feature of the situation
is the fact that the Potomac Electric
Power COMPANY and the Washington
Railway and Electric Company have
never denied the f@cts OF this remarkable
relationship. Nor nave they denied that
the present Arrangement between them.
whereby the railway company gets its
current at less than cost, is not in ac-
cordance with the original contract en-
tered into between them. BY the terms
of this contract. not only was the rail-
way company to- pay certain charges
on the plant of the power company. Tut
a fair profit for the current it obtained
for its street-car service.
Defense OF Company.
All that the companies have set UP
hy way of defense in the past. accord
ing to officials of the Public Utilities
Commission, is that the present ar
Tansemcnt is mutually satisfactory"
modification Of the original contract a
modification. ii must be borne in mind,
aereed TO or behalf OF the Potomac
Electric Power Company by directors,
who, at the same time, also represented
the railway company.
Throughout this series OF articles
every effort has been made to avoid in
justice to the two comDa nies and The
conclusions sought to he driven home
are only those which have stood the
test of careful checking up. In fact.
with respect TO every statement made
concerning the ownership of the Pu-
tonnac Electric Power Company by the
Washington Railway and Electric Com
pany. the profits enjoyed by the latter,
and the rates and disposition Of the
dividends, Is taken from the sworn re-
ports of the companies on file at the
Public Service Commission. The facts
concerning the relationship between
the two companies with respect to the
current used by the railway company
arc taken from the sworn to and un-
contradicted testimony Of the conI'
r1ission's investigators. The .infol ma
ton concerning. the Great Falls water