State regulation of electricity supply tariffs: recent German legislation compared with British tendencies

The authors give particulars of recent State action in Germany and France for the standardization of electric supply tariffs. Typical stages of domestic electrification in Germany and Britain are compared with the cost of the supply to consumers. German practice in regard to hire-purchase of apparatus, account collections, and undertakers´ rate commitments, is discussed. Current tariff practice in Great Britain is reviewed, with its results to date and the probable interaction between charges and load growth. Consideration is given to the extent to which a unification of charging methods could be applied without restricting the competition between electricity and other forms of heat energy for use in the home, the probable extent of this application in the future, and its relative importance in relation to the magnitude and costs of public supply.