The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-10-11
EFF |C|E N I TYPE TASTE RN GAS MAIN
 NOW BE ING TESTED ]
Service To Start In Few Days Will Remove Complaints
 Of Low Pressure

Commissioner W. l.. Harrison an nounced Wednesday morning in the city hall the completion of the big new high pressure gas main of the Birmingham Railway, Light and Power company which will serve the eastern portion of the city and end the stream Of complaints about lack of pressure that have poured into his office for the past several years Testing of the big main was under way Wednesday morning, and so far all evidence is that it will meet eX- pectations. The improved service is expected to be put in operation, Mir Harrison said, within the next week or ten days. East Lake, Woodlawn, Avonwood, Avondale and the outly ing communities of those districts will all benefit by the new service.
 MT. Harrison was in communica- tion WedD esday morning with F. ". Underwood, who has charge of the gas department of the utility, and J. s. Pevear, co-receiver and general manager of the company. The im- proved gas service is one of the phases of the results obtained by carrying through to adoption and op eration of the settlement ordinance negotiated with the utility company. MT. Harrison said the company has been doing much to meet the terms of the ordinance and each provision is being carried out as rapidly as possible.
 First Results September 1.
 Better gas was one of the things MT. Harrison has been fighting for ever since he took office. First re- suits were obtained September 1, when the high pressure line serving Il, @l..a completed and put in operation. This western line is serving customers of the company as far west as Fairfield.
 The utility. besides putting in the mains to accommodate the increaS- ing demand, has installed the neces- sary pumping machinery of a capac- ity sufficient to meet demands for several years to come. Recently the company installed purifiers to inn prove the quality of the by-product gas of the Sloss-S Sheffield company, which is being used throughout the city.
 The extent of the new mains. MT. Harrison said, is measured in miles for the customers of the company from Fairfield to the source of origin are now being supplied and within a week or so the same increased serv- ice. in quality and sufficient quan- tity will be available to customers llVih diStt ipubiOii SSiiNClS Oii Oul to East Lake.
 Hundreds Of Complaints
 Complaints that had been received by MT. Harrisons department were to the effect that in rainy and cold weather and Sundays particularly householders found it difficult to cook because of the low pressure in the gas service. Literally hundreds of such complaints have been made In recent years. many of them in the nature of petitions to the city for relief. With no contract with the gas company and the utility In the hands of the receiver the city was powerless to give the relief asked. MT. Harrison Included in the settle ment made with the utility provision for the relief asked, took the matter up with the receivers, who were as much interested in better servic as he, and as a result of the long nego- tiations concluded during the sum- mer and ratified when the citizens voted the jitneys out of service, nance into life, accelerated the com- pletion for better services of several sorts and has paved the way toward the utility company emerging from the receivership.
 The commissioner expressed grati- fication that the improvements will be completed before cold weather sets in for the low pressure trouble is much greater in cold weather than hot