The Washington times., 1920-05-29
FUEL PRICE TO
GO Up June |.
New Schedule viii Run Three
Months-Favors Wholesale I,
Consumers Il
GOVT. Is NOT AFFECTED
D. C. Board Rejects Plan for
Sliding Scale Based on Oil /
Fluctuations. a


An increase In gas rates OF 81
cents per thousand cubic feet. with
q reduced rate to Wholesale con.
sumers, was ordered by tho Public
Utilities Commission today. This Is
an increase of 31h per cent
The new rate, effective from June
1 to August 81, a period Of three
months, will make the cost Of gas
$1.25 per thousand cubic feet, dis
placing the present 95-cent rate.
which has been effective for the last
eight months.
New Schedule Of Rates. '"
The new schedule Of rates follow:
One hundred thousand cubic feet or
less per month. $1.25 per 1000; be-
tween 100000 and 100000 cubic feet
per month, $1.20: between SOC. 900 and
10000 cubic feet per month. $1.1b:
between 600, 900 and 750, 200 cubic feet
per month, $1.10: between 5000 and
100000 cubic feet per month, $1.05:
and more than 1000 900 cubic feet per
month, ST.
Only 500 Of the 1880 gas users Ia
the District will be affected by the
/ wholesale rates. The average con-
sumner uses between 1000 and 10000
| cubic feet each month. This increase
| will make future gas bins nearly one
third more.
The suggested sliding scale, chang
ing the gas rate monthly an the cost
of oil fuctuates, was rejected by the
commission.
"If there were any real competition
in the oil market and the purchases
! were made under the supervision Of
this commission, some advantages
would result from the adoption Of q
huctuating rate for gas dependent
| upon the price of oil, but with prac-
| tically only one company in a position
| to furnish oil, the commission believes
it would be prejudicial to the public
interest to adopt a fluctuating rate"
| the decision states
Based On June OIL Cost. y
"In lieu thereof it proposes to fx
rates for a period of three months
only and to base those rates on the,
price the company will have to pay
for oil for the month Of June. il being
| impossible to predict from the avail
| able evidence whether the price for
the other two months Of the three
month period will be higher or
lower"
In the company's petition for high
er rates recently, 1t suggested that
a sliding scale be established, using
s1.0S cents as a basic rate. This ig-
ure was computed from an oil cost OF
7h cents per gallon. 1t was sug-
gested that the price of gas increase
! 4 cents every time oil increased ]
cent.
As the company will pay 12h cents
for oil during June, the rate, IL the
company's suggestion was followed,
would be $3.50 per thousand cubic
feet. This would yield per cent
| return on the fair value Of the prop
erty of the company.
| In the order today the commission
states that while per cent is
reasonable rate of return in normal
| times, II feels that during the present
reconstruction period a rate of s per
| cent Will not be unjust to the cons
pany.
Another suggestion of the company.
| that the amount set aside for mains
| tenance and general amortization be
| increased from to IL cents per thou-
| oe'h' supiS i'tt VI khs solu, was
ed down. The commission will allow
Q cents to be set aside.
| The wholesale rates are not only
made applicable to the individual con-
sumers in the District, but also to the
| three distributing gas companies IN
I Maryland and Virginia that obtain
their supply of gas from the WASH
| ington Gas Light Company and the
| Georgetown Gas Light Company.
| Wholesale Rates Explained.
"It has been alleged" says the COM
mission, "that to grant lower rates to
the large consumers would corre-
spondlngly increase the rates to tho
small consumers, but an analysis Of
the business of last year shows that
| the adoption of Wholesale rates which
are applicable without, as we'll as
within, the District will serve to in
crease rather than decrease the reve-
nues of the companies.
"Tn other words, the large connim-
ers in the District have been over
charged in the past and the large con
sumers without the District have
been undercharged to q greater cx-
| tent"
The decision of the commission has
no effect on the rate paid by the
Government for it's gas. The Govern
ment still Will continue TO pay 10
cents per 1000 cubic feet until Con-
sress sees at to make a change In
tho rate.
The commission orders the instarls-