l897.
 

1896.
 


 

Dec. 31.
 

Dec. 31.
 

Increase.
 

8,7 tr
 

7,898
 

813
 

382,291
 

309.369
 

72,922
 

7,201
 

5.559
 

1,642
 

19,380
 

15.953
 

3^427
 

756,438
 

613,991
 

142,447
 

No. customers.
No. inc. lamps,
No. arc lights.
No. motors, h. p..
Total equiv., 16 c. p.,   .

Adding supplementary service, or emergency connections with
isolated plants, the installation figures on all services combined,
reach a total of 837,366  16 c. p. lamp equivalent.

The decrease in the cost of current reported in the previous
year has been continued, and in bettering ratio, during the year
past. The economy obtained from our engines, non-condensing,
has, indeed, been so close as to cause surprise among electrical
engineers. During the coming year, it is proposed to increase
operating economies further by running the large direct-con¬
nected engines as condensing engines, by aid of condensing and
water-coolmg apparatus to be installed at both the Duane and
26th Street Stations.

From March 1st to October 1st the entire Edison system was
operated exclusively from the 26th Street Station during the
night and over Sunday, and for the entire summer the opera¬
tions of the i2th and 39th Street Stations were suspended, in,
the interest of economical operation.

The operating economies, in connection with the large exten¬
sion of business, permitted considerable reduction in rates.
Your Directors thought it wise to broaden the field of the
Company by lowered prices and thus to insure increase in
value for the securities rather than to increase the rate of
dividend. Accordingly, a wholesale rate for large buildings,
based on the electrical unit of the kilowatt hour, was adopted,
which has successfully met the competition of isolated plants.
Discounts for long-hour average use of lamps have been
extended during the latter part of the year to monthly bills of
$50 or more, instead of $200 as heretofore, which it is expected
will cause many customers who have been using gas and elec¬
tricity to replace the gas altogether by electricity.

Electricity has the advantage over gas, as an illuminant, that
although it cannot be stored cheaply in large quantities, it can