Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-11-21
ELECTRICITY RATE
NEXT YEAR MAY co
BELOW 3 u CENTS
Commission and PepCo Agree
on $3.50, 900 as Amount
to Be Used for Cut.
NEW SCHEDULE is DUE
TO BE SUBMITTED SOON
No Intimation Made of How It
Will Be Made Up-Public Hear
ing on Subject Omitted.


come to an accord as to the amount to
be used for electric rate reduction in
1881. No public hearing on the subject
will be called. The new rates remain TO
be decided, but the amount of the re-
duction fund is sufficient to bring the
primary domestic rate below 3l2 cents
per kilowatt hour, should all of the
fund be used for this purpose. This
would be the lowest in the United
States.
A written statement issued at the
Offices of the commission this morning
stated that the amount to be used for
the reduction would be $830.000, in
round figures. This represents the
commissions calculation Of one-half
Of the excess over 71a per cent on the
weighted valuation of the company for
1880 earned by the company during
1890, with the last two months estimat-
Cd. The amount rs calculated by the
company was $728,0 900.
The large difference, Chairman Mason
NJ. Patrick Of the commission described
to refusal of the commission to yield
on the proposition that the company
should include in its value figure all
money spent in building or acquiring
new properties during the year, unless
the property had actually been put into
service. Even then, weighted" figure
for the new property was used. Thus,
II, for example, the company put into
service q new piece of property on
November l, 1t was allowed only one
sixth Of the cost Of the property in
its value figure, since the property
would be In service only one-sixth Of
the year.
New Rate Is Due Soon.
The statement said that within a
short time" the company viii submit
a new rate schedule for ratification.
While no hint is available as to how
the new schedule viii be made up, some
idea can be CLEANED from the allot-
ment of the excess last year. Then
S27I 900 out of the available $685., 900
was allotted to reduction Of the pri-
mary domestic rate, and this produced
q reduction of five-tenths OF q cent
per kilowatt hour. Thus If the entire
sum this year were to be applied to
the primary domestic rate It would
be possible to have q rate below 3h
cents. How low this rate actually goes
depends entirely on the decision Of the
commission as to how much Of the
available fund is to be used on the
domestic and how much on the other
schedules. The domestic rate could
be dropped To. 4 cents and still leave
about q half 3 million dollars TO ap-
ply to other schedules,
In return for the company's yielding
to the commissions figures on the re-
duction fund the commission yielded
to the company in the matter of the
retirement Of the building at Fourteenth
and B streets, recently purchased by
the Federal Government as part Of its
new building program. The commits
sion allowed the company to retire this
building at cost, $2,434, 900, rather than
ct the price paid by the Federal Gov
eminent, $500 900.
The formal statement issued by the
commission contains no mention Of the
public hearing sought by William NICK.
Clayton of the Federation Of Citizens
Associations. Gen. Patrick stated TO
reporters, however, that there would be
no public hearing. Asked as TO what
ruling had been made on Mr.. Clayton's
motion, the general said that 1t had
not come before the commission at any
meeting yet. Presumably this means
that by the time the motion comes up
for action the subject matter win have
become moot.
The statement Of the commission, in
full, il as follows:
November 81, 1890.
'In order to nix the rates which may
Power Co during the year 1881 1t was
necessary to determine the amount APP
plicable to the reduction Of rates as
set forth in the court consent decree
which Is now in force.
THE company's own computations,
IS reported TO the Public Utilities Com
mission, made this amount, In round
figures, $4,000.
The Public Utilities Commission FIX
sana - k1,A
erty, as of December 81, 1880, based
upon the agreed value In the consent
decree as $40, 4l2, 342.43. This figure
included all additions and betterments
actually completed and put in service
during the year and duly weighted. It
does not include the cost Of any in
complete construction projects.
Agrees to Retirement at Cost.
'The commission found IL impossible
10 ascertain. from the records the figure
ct which the Fourteenth street property
Of the company, sold to the United
States, was included in the value agreed
upon, and fixed by the court as Of the
list Of January, 1925. It, therefore, con-
scented to the retirement of this prop
erty at cost, with the understanding
that no part of this retirement figure
would be charged against the retirement
reserve set up Dy the company. luis
materially reduced the amount which
the company would otherwise accrue in
operating expenses for depreciation.
1.-THE commission estimated the re-
suit Of the company's operations during
the months of November and December,
making its gross receipts for the year
$40 $780, 10.53. The commissions figure
for the total allowable and deductible
items for the year Is $5,275, 254.88,
making the net earnings of the COM
pany during 1880 $685., 555.65.
Seven and one-half per cent on the
value figure given above amounts to
e3,7o5, 924.65.
1.-THE difference between this sum and
the net earnings Is 81 .669, 63l.
The commission, therefore. deter
mined the amount applicable TO the re-
duction Of rates for 1881 to be one-half
Of this last named sum, or in round
numbers, $S3e 600.
within short time the company Is
20 submit to the commission 4 new
schedule of rates which will effect this
reduction, and 1t is expected TINT the
commissions order win fix thes,s new
and lower rates Sc that they may go
into effect on and after January l.,
1881"