Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1925-12-20
Utilities Body Reduces Cur
rent Cost to Lowest Level
in City's History.
RAPID TRANSIT FACES
TOKEN PRICE DECREASE
Three for Is Cents Instead of Five
for As Believed Due by
First of Year.

Electric power rates having been
cut to the lowest level in the history
of the District, the Public Utilities
Commission now has turned its atten-
tion to bus fares, confident that 1t will
be In a position to order a reduction
on the lines of the Washington Rapid
Transit Co. with the birth of the New
Year
A preliminary examination Of the
accounts of the bus company, the con
trolling interest in which was &C
quired last week by the North Ameri-
can Co. of New York. has revealed
to the commissions experts, it is said,
that ii has earned more than fair
return on its physical valuation. AS
a result. the commissions statisticians
figure that the bus fare can be cut
from five tokens for As cents to three
tokens for 25 cents, without embar-
RAISING the income of the company.
however, is not likely to be disturbed.
Clayton Files Complaint.
The commission has scheduled a
public hearing for December 80 on the
petition of William Mex. Clayton.
chairman of the utilities committee
of the Federation of Citizens Associa-
tions, for a reduction in the fares on
the Rapid Transit Co.'S lines. Mr..
Clayton pointed out in his petition
that the company is earning too high
a return.
The reduction in electric rates from
1lz to Z cents per kilowatt hour for
both residential and certain types of
commercial consumers, ordered yes
terday by the commission. will be
computed on all bills rendered Janu-
ary l and thereafter
Two entirely separate schedules for
furnishing electric current were Gre
ated by the commission in fixing the
new rates. One is for dwellings and
apartments called ''residential' and
the other for service to commercial
buildings, factories, hotels, etc, called
commercial. A new rate schedule
described as residential k also was
established to be used for separately
metered electric service furnished for
heating, cooking, battery charging.
electric motors, etc.
Replaces Old Schedule.
1t replaces the retail power sched-
ule B and the heating and cooking
rate of schedule II for electric service
furnished to residences, and Mai. w.
h. r. Covell, Assistant Engineer Com.
missioner assigned to public utilities
work. suggested last night that small
residential consumers now paying the
rates in old sche dulles might effect a
saving by transferring to the new
schedule X.
The reduction will benefit more than
$4,000 electric consumers, 1929 of
whom are in the residential class. The
total minimum saving to these con-
sumers will amount to 1852 216415, pro-
Vlded, of course, that the consump-
ton of electricity the coming wear
equals that of the closing calendar
year. Utilities commission experts,
however, believe that the low rate in
the new schedule X for cooking, heat
ing, etc, fixed at cents per kiowatt
hour for the first 10 hours and drop-
ping to cents per kilowatt hour for
any amount consumed in excess of
that in a month, will encourage the
use of more electricity. If this hap
pens, Maj. Covell predicts that the
commission will find it possible to re-
duce the rates again next year