Evening star., 1942-08-20
Gas Rate Case
Recessed for
0PA Data
Henderson Aide to
Give DutusSeekinq
To Prevent Boost
By DON s. WARREN.

BY DON ,. WARREN.
A recess of about two weeks has
oeen ordered by the Public Utilities
Commission in the rate case of the
Gas Light Co. to permit
the Once of Price Administration
to prepare data on the economic ef-s
fects of the impending consumer
rate hike and to enable PUG Chair
man Gregory Hankin to plan final
on variety of issues.
The adjournment yesterday after
the company had completed teSti-
mony showing that according to its
views, the sliding scale plan of the
company should operate to permit a
rate increase of s357 500, or between
3 and per cent on customer bills
taken as whole.
Figures presented by the commits
sion's staff, not counting on any
major change in accounting for op-
Grating expenses, call for smaller
rate boost, of about 1928, ,488. De-
cision on rates for the new billing
year. which was supposed to begin
/, will be withheld until
Ine hearings are cOnCluQeQ.
Increases Gauged.
Should the company's proposed
rate schedule be adopted. 1t was CAL
culated by company witnesses that
the average domestic consumer
would have to pay 13 cents more
per month; the small commercial
and industrial consumer about IL
cents more per month; and the
large commercial and industrial
consumer about s202 more per
month. The average house-heating
customer, according to S. S. Mason,
company rate engineer, would have
to pay about so cents more per
month. or $3.50 more year.
Unless the OPA utilities counsel,
Harry R. Booth, and PUG Chair
man Hankin can muster strong
reasons for an upset, it appeared
that some measure of rate increase
will be ordered, under operation of
the sliding scale plan which brought
rate reductions each year until las.
year.
Mr.. Hankin has suggested that
perhaps the rate payers should have
been given much greater decreases
in the past than they got, but yester-
day the PUG majority overruled
him on question of striking
81 055 900 from the company valu-
alton on the ground that land values
should be counted as to original cost
instead Of on present value ap-
| praisal. Brig. Gen. Charles w.
Kutz and James H. Flanagan, the
other members, ruled in effect that
| If this question should be raised it
should be done later in a separate
| hearing
Firm Opposes OPA Move.
At the close of company testi-
mony, Mr.. Booth as agent for Price
Administrator Leon Henderson,
| asked for delay of three or four
weeks to prepare evidence to show
the effect of the rate boost on eco
nomic conditions and to question
whether the company would suffer
any substantial hardship" if the
rate boost were not granted. Ear
ller he had stated that utility rates
were not subject to OPA control.
His request was at once opposed
by E. Barrett Prettyman. company
counsel. who argued that issues
raised by Mr.. Booth were inmate
rial to the pending case. particularly
since the PUG had ruled beyond
the scope OF this case the proposal
by Mr.. Hankin for adoption of diff
ferent method of land valuation.
Mr.. Booth declared the company,
by its own calculations, had made
during the past test year an earning
OF more than 5 per cent and that
Mr.. Prettyman had indicated the
company would suffer no real hard
ship if no consumer rate increase
were granted. He also suggested
that the company was seeking
higher rates in order to compensate
for higher Federal income and ex-
cess profits taxes it foresaw.
He agreed there was a delicate
question" of whether the commits
sion would be breaking faith under
the sliding-scale agreement if it
denied rate boost after the COM
pany in past years had been re-
quired to give rate reductions, but
he asserted the need for preventing
an increase in cost of living and the
war effort overshadowed such con-
siderations
Mr.. Prettyman retorted that the
initial rate of return allowed the
company under the sliding scale
plan was not an element of the
proceeding and that increased taxes
referred to by the company were
not anticipated nor estimated but
were actual as paid in the last test
year. More important, he said, were
a Is per cent increase in wages
granted company workers in the
past year and an increase in the cost
of fuel.
Subject to Call.
Chairman Hankin then asked how
much time Mr.. Prettyman thought
he tMr, Hankin) would need to pre-
pare for his cross-examination of
witnesses, and when the answer
was "a few days" Mr.. Hankin said
he had other duties to perform.
In the v''ndup, it was announced
NAA| NSA'''''AoSAcil iidtt dCIIUeu W dC-
Journ for two weeks. subject to call
thereafter by the chairman. but that
If Mr.. Booth reported he was ready
earlier the hearing might be re-
sumed sooner than two weeks.
AS outlined from the company
standpoint, the proposed rate boost
would be distributed as follows: To
domestic consumers, $193 200, or an
increase in their bills of about 3.83
per cent; to house heating consum-
ers (93 per cent of whom will be
added to the domestic schedule and
the remainder to commercial sched-
ules), $ll4,000, or boost of 5.42 per
cent; to commercial and industrial
users, s46,900, or boost of 3.18 per
cent; to the off-peak E schedule,
$500, or an increase of AIT per cent,
and to wholesale apartment use,
schedule F, $4,000, or boost of 2.2l
per cent.