Evening star., 1936-02-23
CUT
UTILITY REVENUES
AS OUTPUT SCARS
Income About Ten Per Cent
Below 1880 Peak Despite
Gains in Volume.
Special Dispatch to The Star.

NEW YORK, February 22.-In-
spired by the Supreme Courts de-
cision favoring the Government in
the Tennessee Valley Authority case
this week, the statisticians have been
busy figuring out just how the public
utility industry has Jared since the
New Deal came into control of the
National administration.
In 1885 American public utility
companies produced more power than
ever before in history. Today they
are serving more customers than ever
before. But owing to Federal and
State regulation, bringing about rate
reductions, revenues are about 10 per
cent below the 1880 peak.
According to the Edison Electric
Institute, the total output of electric
power in 1885 was -99, ,5OO,0O0,OoO kilo-
watt hours. The previous high level
was 91.O00,000,0 in 1929 Sales per
customer have advanced from 500 kilo-
watt hours per annum to 683 kilowatt
hours per person at the present time.
Costs and Taxes Mount.
Despite this substantial increase in
business, the profits of the electric
power companies, due to increased
costs and taxes, are only 3 or per
cent above the low point of the de-
preston in 1884. And, of course. the
companies are selling service for less
money.
Total generating capacity Of the
utilities has, shown decline since
1888 A net decline was. registered
in 1884 for the first time in the
history of the industry, as the total
of 33,300.0O0 kilowatts was 100000
less than in 1888.
This was ascribed to the shutting
down of several older and less ef-
fcient plants. The approximate book
value of plant and equipment has
remained unchanged at $4,000, ,000,-
900.
Rate Average Down.
Rate reductions to users of domestic
electricity show the following record:
The average rate of 500 cents per
kiloWatt hour in 1885 compares with
$50 cents in 1884, and SAG cents in
1888. In 1929 the rate was 6.33 cents.
The position in which the power
companies now find themselves is re-
fiected in the prices for their shares
on the stock exchanges. The Stand
ard Statistics Corp. average of repre-
sentative public utility stocks now
stands at 89.5, which is approximately
the same as in November, 1882, right
after Franklin D. Roosevelt was
elected President. To be exact, the
average stood at 1877 on November Z,
1882, the day following the election.
The present average price does show
considerable improvement from Febru-
ary. 1885, when the public utility
index stood at 42.1.
The public utility stocks have not
enjoyed rise comparable to that of
the industrial shares.
The low point for the industrial
stock averages was A, just before the
bank holiday. Today the average
price of industrial shares is 1884.
Federal Threat Watched.
While the Federal Government has
made no effort to move into the field
of operations of the telephone COM
panies, the threat of Government
competition to the electric power COM
panies and their corporate structures
has been of great Importance. Along
with it there has been an increase
in State regulation of utilities.
One large corporation recently esti-
mated that of every dollar in revenue
it has to pay out 20 cents in taxes.
According to statisticians Of the Edi-
son Electric Institute, total taxation
on the electric light and power COM
panies in this country increased from
s157, 100000 in 1927 to $3.50, ZOO, ,0C0 in
1885. During that period gross op-
(See UTILITIES, Page 81