Evening star., 1939-09-24
Washington Utilities Spending Millions
To Keep in Step With Steady Growth
Gross Additions Since
Stort Of 1895 Top
$4,000, 900 Mark
BY DONALD b. HADLEY.

BY DONALD b. HADLEY.
Washington public utility COM
panies have spent more than $50, ,000-
600 since the start of 1885 to keep In
step with growth, and provide i'm
proved service, reports from the
companies showed today.
While gas meters, electric power
customers, telephones and transit
passengers have increased, and
month after month In most cases
have established still higher all
time records, the companies have
been spending at the rate of more
than 100000 a month to take
care Of the demands upon them.
From the first of 1895 to the end of
July this year, the Potomac Electric
Power Co. reports gross additions and
improvements amounting to $40, ,863-
039, the Washington Gas Light Co.
reports 1850, ,697 spent for the same
purpose in the same period while the
Capitol Transit Co. reports total Of
$12,081, 1859. The Chesapeake e. Po-
tomac Telephone Co. reports gross
additions and improvements in the
District of Columbia from the first
of 1885 to the first of 1899 totaling
SIS, ,340O98. Addition of telephone
expenditures for the first seven
months of this year will put the
grand total for all the companies
we'll above $6O,0O0,0OO Gross ad-
ditions and improvements of the
companies do not include deductions
for discarded equipment.
Pepco Capacity Boosted.
Included In the Potomac Electric
Power expenditures was the con-
struction of a 33,0O0-volt transmits
sion line connecting the Benning
and Buzzard Point plants in 1885,
the installation of IS ,000-kilowatt
generating unit at Buzzard point in
1896 and 1887, construction of $470,-
600 addition to the service building
at Eleventh and Florida in 1887 and
1888 and the starting of the install
lation of new $4,000 kilowatt gen.
Grating unit at Buzzard Point, which
upon completion next year will raise
the capacity of the Benning and
Buzzard Point plants to 305,000 kilo-
watts compared with a capacity of
100000 in 1885.
Those were some of the larger
projects but the bulk of the expendi-
lures have come in the field of dis
tribution, such as the installation
OF new transformers, additional sub
stations, conduits and cables.
Gross Pepco additions and i'm
provements in the various years fol-
low: s4,172,220 in 1885. s3,625,858 in
1886, s5,l97 OPT in 1887, s5.292, ,794 in
1888 and s2,575, ,140 in the first seven
months of this year.
Gas Plants Expanded.
Washington Gas Light Co. and af-
filiated companies serving the Met
ropolitan Area report that substan-
tial additions along with rehabilita-
ton and modernization of plants
have boosted effective plant capacity
fr~n about 58,0O0,00O cubic feet of
gas per day as of January l, 1885 to
approximately 100,00O,000 cubic feet
per day as of July 81, 1899, or an in
crease of 100000 cubic feet in
daily capacity. Additional water
gas sets were installed in 1886, 1887
and 1885, The gas produced is a
mixture Of manufactured water gas
and natural gas.
In that same period. the compa-
nies extended their transmission and
distribution system from 1887 miles
to 1896 miles, or an increase of
209 miles.
The Washington Gas Light ex-
penditures on gross additions and
improvements in the first seven
months of the various years follow:
$802, 148 In 1887 months, $79O, ,989 in
1888 and s86o,704 in 1899.
Buses and Cars Purchased.
Addition of Ais new buses costing
$3,670,00O, 1873 new street cars cost
ing $2,573,0 and track improve
ments costing S3.446O0O are major
contributions of the Capitol Transit
Co. toward better service since the
first of 1885.
Two garages were constructed at
a cost of S612,000 Smaller projects
totaling $1,7s0.869 brought the gross
additions and improvements to sl2,-
OBJ 1863.
Gross totals for various years
follow: $2,873,55S in 1896, s2,45e 400
in 1887 and $l,83s, 1902 in 1888.
Washington, Virginia e. MARYLAND
Coach Co. operating transit lines in
adjoining Arlington county, which
also has been feeling the effects of
spectacular growth, reports that
since 1895, expenditures for new
buses alone have averaged $4,000 a
year and that so far this year, It
has spent s95,oO0 for that purpose.
Phone Equipment Added.
Among the major construction
projects of the Chesapeake g. Poto-
mac Telephone Co. since the start of
1885 have been the new central
Office building at 14th and R streets.
NV. and an addition to the central
office building at Georgia avenue
and Gallatin street, installation of
new equipment to replace old central
off1ce apparatus, the laying of many
miles of conduit to increase the
former duct capacity and extend
service to new areas and the plac-
ing OF large amounts of new tele-
phone cable.
THESE gross additions and i'm
provements include only those in the
District of Columbia. They were
distributed among the various years
Gains Predicted
In Oil and Gas