Early Electrification of Buffalo: 1925 Residential Electric Bill

From GHN

Figure 14.1 Address Side of the Bill

Figure 14.2 The Billing Side

This is the conclusion of a 14 part article.

Previous: Part 13 of 14: Early Electrification of Buffalo: Contributions of Five AIEE Presidents

You may get a chuckle out of the first electric bill for the author's father (Harry Woodworth 1893-1970) for 2-wire 110-V 25-Hz service in the Riverside section of Buffalo in 1925.

Figure 14.1   The address side of the bill. Note Niagara Mohawk-National Grid predecessor ‘Buffalo General Electric Company’. The address is the Electric Building; the entrance was later changed from 33 Genesee St. to 535 Washington St.

Figure 14.2   The Billing Side. Net bill was 5 cents. Note there was no minimum amount and no taxes and that this bill was calculated and posted by hand. Current bills are printed on several sheets of paper with all calculations by computer, which enables all the detailed charges including taxes.