Friday, May 31, 1945
DETROIT JEWISH CHRONICLE and The Lep! Chronicle
L ige Six
Mr. and Mrs. Detroit .
Are your gas rates
Disclosure by a Detroit newspaper that
Detroit's • domestic gas rates are far above
those in other industrial cities raises the ques-
tion of responsibility. Because Panhandle
Eastern supplies natural gas from the South-
west to Detroit, and is vitally concerned in
any rate comparisons, it publishes the follow-
ing additional facts to clarify the situation.
•
E VERY HOUSEWIFE ... every business-
man .. knows that the price of any
article is largely controlled by its cost to
the seller. This is true of food, clothing,
furniture, automobiles . . . yes, and it's
usually true of GAS.
So it should be extremely interesting to
every Detroit housewife who uses gas
only for cooking and water heating to
compare the price she pays with the price
which the Gas Company pays.
And, it should also be enlightening to
compare these Detroit prices with the
wholesale and retail costs of natural gas
in three other sister cities to Detroit, all
important in the manufacturing world.
For example, we know that the average
housewife in Detroit uses approximately
1800 cubic feet of gas each month for
cooking and water heating.
For that amount of gas she pays the
Gas Company the sum of S2.00.
of gas which they sell to the housewife for
S1.44.
What is the average price to the house-
wives of Pittsburgh, Cleveland and To-
ledo for the same amount of gas? The
average cost for those cities is only 51.44.
But at Detroit the local Gas Company
pays an average annual rate of only 201/2c
per 1000 cubic feet to the Pipe Line Com-
pany—buys 1800 cubic feet for 37c. But
it sells that gas for $2.00.
In other words, the Detroit housewife
pays 56c more for the same amount of gas.
Why? Is it because of any higher price
which the Gas Company at Detroit might
have to pay for natural gas from the Pipe
Line Company? Not at all! In fact, the
reverse is true!
The local Gas Companies at Pittsburgh,
Cleveland and Toledo buy over 80 per
cent of their gas from pipe line companies,
and produce the balance of their require-
ments. For all of their gas these companies
pay an average rate of 25c per 1000 cubic
feet, or a price of 45c for 1800 cubic feet
In other words, the local Gas Com-
pany charges the Detroit housewife more
than 5 times the price it pays. This differ-
ence of 51.63 is called a service charge."
The average "service charge" on 1800
cubic feet in Pittsburgh, Cleveland and
Toledo is only 99c.
Isn't it strange that the Detroit house-
wife must pay 39 per cent more for gas
despite the fact that the Gas Company at
Detroit pays 20 per cent less than the
Gas Companies at the other cities?
•
PANHANDLE
TRANSPORTING NATURAL GAS FROM
COMPANY
WORLD'S GREATEST RESERVES
-
4 {t41.
"*. ' *•,<‘ 4
•
fr
Panhandle Eastern
produces and trans-
ports natural gas
from the Southwest
to the "gates" of
Detroit, where it Is
sold at wholesale to
the local gas utility
for distribution.
K A N S AS
NE1S'
YORK
CITY