New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1916-04-05
OLD MOTOR RATES
REPLACED J! BY NEW
COUNCIL FIXES MINIMUM CHAR
GES FOR CURRENT AND
MOTORS.
MUNICIPAL HEATING PLANTPRO.
POSITION is GIVEN FRESH
IMPETUS.

REIMBURSEMENT of the rates for electric
motors used in the city will bring, it is
estimated, between $500 and $500 more
into the city treasury than has been re-
celved from this source in the past, such
is the belief of the members of the citv
council who last Friday evening adopted
new schedule of rates for motor users.
to go into effect Immediately.
The rates established by the council
several years ago were regarded as not
only obsolete, but also as inequitable.
both to the city and to the users of
electric current and the electric light
committee has had the problem under
consideration for several months. The
old rates fixed only schedule of mini
mum charges for three sizes of motors,
rs cents for motors of from l to horse
power; $1.00 from to 10, and $1.5O
minimum per month for all motors above
ten horsepower. In most cases the
users Of the smaller motors were paying
more than the highest minimum rate
and in order to equalize these charges;
the following schedule of rates according
to the amount of current used as we'll as
a minimum charge for each horse power
was adopted by the council:
First 800 Kilowatts. Sc per K. W.
Next 200 Kilowatts 472c per K. w.
Next 200 Kilowatts. >. .4c per K. w.
Next 500 Kilowatts =. 312c per K: W.
Greater amounts. ... Sc per K. W.
r. According to the above schedule a user
Of 300 'kilowatts per month would be
charged at the rate Of 4 lie per Hlowatt
and would have to pay at that rate until
the current he uses amounts to 500
kilowatts or more, when he will come
under the 4 cent rate and so on until a
customer uses 1900 kilowatts when he
will pay at the lowest rate of cents.
The council adopted another schedule
in reference to motor rates which prob
ably will increase the electric current
bills in number of cases. A minimum
charge of IS cents for each horsepower
per month was established and also rule
adopted that no bill will be made out
for less than rs cents, plus a charge of
10 cents per monht for meter rent. This
change in the schedule will affect such
motor users as run their machines only
part of the year. There are said to be
several cases in the city where the motor
is only used during the summer season
and several who only use the current
during the winter. These will have to
pay at the rate of IS cents for each
horsepower and those operating motors
of two horsepower or under will come
under the minimum schedule of IS cents.
1t had been the intention of the council
also to readjust the schedule of water
rates, but the work of coming to a
decision on the motor rates had taken up
the better part of the evening and the
new rates probably will have to be taken
up by the incoming administration for
adjustment. AS two of the members of
the water and lighting committee will
hold over at least another year it is be-
lieved that these councillors will be re-
tanned on the committee and complete
their work soon after the organization
of the new council.
A committee from the Commercial
Club, consisting of Messrs. Somsen,
Crone and Vogel, appeared before the
council and requested that committee
of the council be appointed to work in
conjunction with the Commercial Club
committee on the city heating plant
project. President Retzlaff appointed
Councillors Eibner, Krook and Hamann
to act as such committee. It is the in.
tention of the Commercial Club members
to work out feasible plan for the estab-
lishment of the heating plant and as all
the facts have been gathered by them it
is believed that this can be presented to
the council in the immediate future.
=
probably in the course of the present
month. s, sz.s5
To persons knowing nothing about
the technicalities of electricity the kilo-
watt hour basis for measuring electrical
current remains profound mystery. It
is term to them and nothing else. A
watt is unit of measure for electricity,
as the quart is the unit Of measure for
milk, and the bushel is unit of measure
for grain. Kilo is a Greek word meaning
1000, and hlowatt is 1000 watts. The
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