Evening star., 1939-01-27
Potomac Electric
Rates 10 Be Cut
By $394,085
Apportionment Within
Various Glasses Still
To Be Decided

Consumer rates charged by the
Potomac Electric Power Co. will be
reduced by 1894 ,Os5 during the next
II months under a decision by the
Public Utilities Commission an
nounced today as public hearings on
the annual adjustment of power
rates under the companys sliding
scale were completed.
Just how the rate savings will be
apportioned among various classes
Of consumers is yet to be deter
mined, but the commission indicated
at least some Of the rate cut will
be given to residential consumers.
During the hearings, tbe company
contended that the amount avail
able for rate reductions beginning
next month should be only some
$500 900, or roughtly $40 900 less than
the figure reported by B. NJ Bach
man. the commissions chief ac-
count. However, at the request of
the commission. the company today
submitted a proposed new rate
schedule providing for rate reduc-
tions totaling s3940S5, the figure
announced today by the commission
for the rate cut.
Asks New Schedule.
The commission found that the
yNpNrHNcol fN rv{xf i,.f1 liz,
all the rate reduction to commercial
users assigned to urban schedule E.
While the classification applies to
the whole city, most Of the power
users under this schedule are 10
Gated in the Chevy Chase area.
While withholding judgment on
the new rate order, Commission
Chairman Riley E. Elgen directed
the company to submit another pro-
posed rate schedule which would
apportion some of the rate cut to
residential consumers. The COM
pany was advised to prepare this
schedule so that the total amount
OF the rate cut would be apportioned
roughly among residential and COM
mercial and industrial power users
in the ratio to which they had con-
tributed to the excess" earnings
1894 ,085. One official estimated that
residential consumers had contrib
uted roughly 40 per cent to this
sum.
William NICK. Clayton, chairman
OF the Utilities Committee of the
Federation of Citizens Associations,
asked the commission to consider
that commercial schedule users of
power are in position to pass their
power costs along to their customers,
but that residential users cannot do
this.
DR.. William Mcclellan, power
company president, declared that
residential consumers of the District
have lower rates than those of al
most any other city in the country
and he insisted the company could
not continue year after year to re-
duce residential rates.
Rankin Wants Further Cut.
Meanwhile, Representative Rankin
OF Mississippi, chairman of the pub
lie power bloc in the House, said
rates in Washington could be re-
duced with safety to the legitimate
investors to AZ cents a kilowatt
hour for the first 20 kilowatt hours
per month, l cent a kilowatt for
the next 40 kilowatt hours and
y cent a kilowatt hour for the ex-
cess. He explained that these are
the rates adopted a few days ago
IN Tacoma, Wash.
Mr.. Rankin yesterday demanded
from the District Public Utilities
Commission that the light and
power rates in the District be re-
duced at least as low as the T. v. A.
yardstick levels. He called atten-
ton today to the fact that last year
the Potomac Electric Power Co.
bought electricity wholesale, laid
down in Washington, at 2268 mills
per kilowatt hour and sold it retail
at an average of 2.035 cents per
kilowatt hour. In other words, he
said, they charged more than nine
times as much to distribute this
(See PEPCO. PAGE All