South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1916-01-21
Public Service Commission
Refuses to A 1ept Com
promise Between City
and Light Company.
PUTS UP BATTLE FOR
SEVEN AND HALF CENTS
Holds Report Looks Like a
Juggling of FigureS-ReSi-
dent Charge Must
Come Down.
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international News Service:
INDIANAPOLIS. Ind, Jan. I'll
Agreements arrived at by the cities
of South Bend and EIkhart with the
Michigan and Indiana Electric Co,
does not meet with the public ser
vice commissions favor. A real
battle between the commission and
the company attorneys is being
fought in the commissions head
quarters today and the outcome
probably means a ~ cent rate for
lighting and a slight reduction for
power consumers.
Chairman Duncan, of the COM
mission. said:
Il don't know how the rest Of
the commissioners view this. but for
myself l must say the rate for resi-
dence lighting must come down be-
fore 1 approve of the proposition.
Your rate of SA cents with a
graduating scale did not meet with
our approval and you were tod TO
come in today with a 7-cent rate.
Instead you came in with a ~ cent
rate and your graduating scale would
show you TO be making the same
profits. II looks like a Juggling of
figures.
Under the first proposition your
profits would be 1920. 600 and under
the second s119,70O. Your COM
mercial lighting would bring a reve-
nue. of $105,OCO by yesterdays rate
and by todays it would show $14O,-
0OO. In other words what you
ter ma reduction is boost of $685.
Geo."
Offers Suggestion.
Chairman Duncan advised the
engineers to base their ~ scale on
the actua room basis as they did
when they framed the S Il cent rate.
Chairman Duncan was supported
by Commissioners Clark and Ed
wards. but Commissioner Murphy
opposed his views.
The schedule offered today was
~ for the first 200 kilowatt hours.
61a for the second and 51a for the
third All more than coo at AZ.
Chairman Duncan compiled fig
ures giving the company a maximum
valuation of 100000 and allow
ed a 7 per cent dividend. This, the
commission said would bring the
~ cent scale, on the same plane as
submitted with the So cent rate
l tbs thought this Will he adopted.
Room Basis Popular.
The active room basis agreed on
by the cities and company is grow
ing To be the popular method of
computing electrical rates, according
TO the electrical men. Ii is one
method of basing the charges of the
small consumer on the amount he
can use, or in other words, what
the electrical men say is the modern
method of granting a discount in
price TO the large household con-
sumner of electricity on a fair basis.
The rate as fixed through the
compromise agreement was "A cents
kilowatt hour: cents a kilowatt
hour and cents a kilowatt hour.
This rate was based on the active
room basis and il was estimated the
demand of each room would be three
kilowatt hours With this basis,
then for the first three kilowatt
hours burned in one room. the
charge would be SA cents for each
hour; for the next three kilowatt
hours, the charge would be cents
for each hour and for all more than
six kilowatt hours burned in one
room, the charge would be four
cents. If a house had seven rooms.
IL L
ICo\-TTN-T-ED ~ pAcE rrLIREE-1