Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1919-08-07
NATURAL GAS
SUPPLY MUST
Be CONSERVED
Authorities Making Efforts To
Eradicate the Wasteful Use
OF the Greatest Commod-
ity in the World
FREE CONSUMERS
WORST OFFENDERS

district-the center Of the industry
has received fresh impetus from an
order promulgated by the Public Util
tiles Commission Of Ohio, at Columbus.
relating to the use of natural gas In
any wasteful manner. Men high in
the industry say that the people gen
orally have the idea that when they
pay for the commodity they can
eihther use or abuse it, but the order
made has dispelled this, and for the
benefit of the gas-using public sew.
eral extracts have been made from
the report Of the proceedings OF the
meeting on conservation of natural
gas held before the Public Service
Commission of Pennsylvania, that
will not only enlighten them on the
subject but also help to start cam.
paign of conservation in which the
people must cooperate with the Of
ficials of the several gas companies.
The marketed production of natu
raj gas in the United States amounts
to about eight hundred billion cubic
feet year, serving about 10 per
cent of the people. This product
takes the place of over thirty mil
lion tons of coal. 1t is estimated
that the wastage of natural gas Is
equal to the consumption, and that
a conspicuous proportion of this loss
results from practices which may
readily be eradicated. Owing to the
magnitude of the service rendered
by natural gas and the significance
of the preventable losses taking place
in its consumption, the conservation
of this product is one of great i'm.
portance, especially during the com.
ing winter. The report of the com.
mission goes on to give some very
startling facts regarding the supply
of natural gas in the future, and
starts off by saying:
THE natural gas situation has be-
come steadily worse during the last
few years. In many parts OF the
, country at the present moment 1t is
critical; in many communities the
consequences during the coming win
ter will be serious. The supply is
| beginning to run short, and only by
the greatest vigilance and care can
due service be obtained from the
quantity available. The losses in
connection with the use of natural
gas are greater relatively than those
of any other commodity, and many
of these losses are subject to imme
date improvement through enforce
ment of proper regulations"
Up to about three years ago the
production of natural. gas in West
Virginia for number of years had
been supporting the decline in the
output of such States as Pennsyl-
vania. Indiana and Ohio, and it was
because of this source OF supply from
West Virginia that the seriousness
Of the falling OF in the other three
| States was not realized by the gen.
eral public as well as manufacturers
and mill owners who used the prod
! uct in their industrial plants. But
when it was announced two years
/ ago that the West Virginia produc.
! tion had fallen off IL per cent every.
body began to take notice, and steps
/ we're taken leading to a universal
saving Of the fuel, and investigations
was being used in proper manner.
| Last winter, when the supply of nat
| ural gas failed to measure up to the
| needs of the users, it was found that
1.9 per cent of the consumers were
using 30.7 per cent of the natural
gas, and, as report by the United
! States Fuel Administration says:
WAS due in part to the consump-
| ton Of natural gas in converted coal
furnaces, wholly improper appliance
! for burning natural gas. Public Util-
/ tiles Commissions are now prohibit
| ing the use of natural gas in appli-
ances not primarily constructed for
such use"
Investigations by the United
States Fuel Administration show
that the wastage due to leakage in
distributing system has been enor-
nous. In many cases, where meters
were installed, 1t was found that the
leakage raH as far as SO per cent
Of the total. The leakage in consum-
vie nOuS0S 10 uluCI IuOIt IHdu OTUl-
narily appreciated, and in some that
were checked it was found that the
leakage averaged $4,000 cubic feet
OF gas per annum for each house II
is said that there are many dis
tributing plants that waste more than
one-third Of the gas delivered at the
4 gates of the town, and there are
many main transmission lines where
the percentage of leakage is very
high. The Fuel Administration says:
In an extensive investigation OF
the amount Of gas consumed by do
mestic consumers in West Virginia
having free gas service Con account
Of having gas wells or gas lines ON
their farms), 1t was found that the
average consumption per free con-
sumner year was 100000 cubic
feet This is a waste of at least
100000 cubic feet for each consumes