inspected. In all, 200,519 infractions have been listed; of these 160,680 have been charged to utilities, 18,098 to cities and 21,741 to individuals and private companies. The Commission in order to save time and expense ordered some of the larger and better organized utilities to remove all remaining unlisted violations in accordance with the interpretation given and violations listed in the inspected districts of the respective utilities. In this way the elimination of approximately 200,000 additional violations has already been ordered without the delay incident to a complete inspection. It is estimated that it will take approximately one and one-half years to complete the inspection work, as practically all of the signal and communication lines have yet to be inspected, and a final inspection of all facilities will have to be made to see that the violations have been removed as directed.

Many of the infractions found have been technical in nature, but an extraordinarily large amount of extremely hazardous violations have been disclosed. The inspection has beyond a doubt been justified from every standpoint and will result in very materially reducing accidents and loss of life, particularly with respect to the workmen. The State of California in this connection is the first state in the Union to undergo such a detailed inspection and the result of the investigation will unquestionably mean a very high standard of construction which can not but help improve service as well as establish the very highest standard of safety that is economically practicable.

The Commission's General Order No. 64, Rules for Overhead Line Construction, governing the construction and maintenance of all overhead power, communication, signal and trolley circuits has now been in effect for one year's time. The standards set forth have effected safer working conditions for employees and have secured greater safety to the general public. It can also be said that new construction and reconstruction in conformity with the rules have resulted in better service.

In spite of the wide variation in construction practices of the different utilities, the new standards have been conceded by all concerned as representing a desirable advance over past practices. Representatives of the electrical workers have indicated their appreciation of the rules by a conscientious endeavor to familiarize themselves with the requirements. This has been demonstrated by the demand for copies of the rules. Approximately three thousand copies have been given out, the large majority going to individuals, the utilities themselves ordering comparatively few, as their own specifications have incorporated the rules.

In addition to demands from other states a number of foreign countries are represented by orders for copies of the rules. The wide interest in the rules and the beneficial results of their application have been more than gratifying to the Commission and give promise of a high standard of overhead line construction throughout the state.

COOPERATION WITH CONSUMER ORGANIZATION.

A gradual development in connection with the procedure before the Commission that is particularly noticeable in connection with the work of the gas and electric division is the increasing cooperation of consumers with each other and with the engineers of the Commission in the investigation of facts and the preparation of evidence. This appears to result from

an increasing recognition that sound regulation must include a consideration of facts as well as a recognition of the requirements of the law.

In recent proceedings involving the electric rates of Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Great Western Power Company of California and Southern California Edison Company, the various cities depending upon the utilities for service have joined together for the purpose of engaging attorneys and engineers and to a large extent their representatives have cooperated with the engineers of the Commission. The California Farm Bureau Federation has also appeared and taken an active part in a number of proceedings involving utilities supplying electricity in agricultural regions. During recent months, the department of the farm bureau organization created to deal with such utility problems has cooperated with our engineers.

FORMAL PROCEEDINGS.

The most important formal decisions in which this division of the Engineering Department has been involved were those issued near the beginning of the present calendar year in connection with the electric rates of Pacific Gas and Electric Company and Great Western Power Company of California. These decisions followed the authorization of temporary increases in rates during the period of high prices and were the culmination of more than a year's work. The hearings involving Pacific Gas and Electric Company alone occupied over fifty court days and resulted in the submission of more than 7000 pages of written and 5500 pages of oral evidence. These decisions effected a reduction in rates. somewhat in excess of 10 per cent, equivalent to a saving to the consumers of both companies of about $3,000,000 annually. The rates of these two companies are now not far from 10 per cent above prewar levels.

Another important electrical decision was that in which Pacific Gas and Electric Company was ordered to make changes in its overhead lines. to bring them into compliance with state law requirements. Following the principles laid down in this decision, a large number of orders have been directed to other companies, ordering them to reconstruct their their overhead systems.

Possibly the most far-reaching single decision involving gas matters was that ordering changes in standards of service which followed laboratory studies and field investigations of approximately two years' duration. Another important decision was that approving an agreement between Southern Counties Gas Company and the city of Santa Barbara, establishing the conditions upon which a pipe line would be built for the transmission of natural gas from the Ventura oil fields to Santa Barbara. While the introduction of this natural gas will result in no immediate change in rate, the increase in the heating content of the gas supplied will be equivalent to a reduction in rates of approximately 20 per cent. Although they involved the establishment of no new principles and might, for that reason, pass almost unnoticed, a large number of supplemental orders were issued carrying out the provisions of the automatic gas rates established by previous decisions. These orders made effective

fuel oil, and as pointed out elsewhere in this chapter, were equivalent to a saving to the gas consumers of the state of over $2,000,000 per year.

An itemized list of all formal proceedings decided, involving matters. other than security issues, is included.

GAS AND STEAM PROCEEDINGS DECIDED DURING YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1923.

ELECTRIC PROCEEDINGS DECIDED DURING YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1923.

While the foregoing covers in general the progress of the work of this division of the Commission's Engineering Department, certain developments in fields outside of the Commission's direct activities are of great interest because of their bearing on present and future gas and electric utility service. We refer particularly to work which has been done in increasing the voltages at which electrical energy may be transmitted, to the continuing development of the water power resources of the state and to the present tremendous production of natural gas and fuel oil in southern California.

NATURAL GAS SITUATION.

During the past year there has been an extremely rapid develop

Large numbers of new wells have been drilled in these three fields, and at Signal Hill the extent of the probable productive area is now well defined, and most of the possible locations have been drilled. In Santa Fe Springs the western limits of the field have not yet been entirely defined, and many new wells are now being brought in with prospects of a considerable number of highly productive new wells in the near future. In the Huntington Beach field a large portion of the activity has been the redrilling and deepening of the early wells which tapped only the upper sand. The deep drilling to about 4500 or 5000 feet into the second zone has very greatly increased the production of this field, both in regard to oil and natural gas.

The Signal Hill field has now passed its peak of natural gas production. In November, 1922, this field was producing a daily average of 230,000,000 cubic feet. At the present time production has declined to approximately 195,000,000 cubic feet, and it appears that upon the completion of wells now drilling in the upper part of the field that a further and very rapid decline will be experienced. Geological estimates indicate that within three years the total gas production of this field will be in the neighborhood of 25,000,000 cubic feet, or less, daily.

Santa Fe Springs is proving to be the most remarkable of southern California fields, particularly in regard to its oil production, the quality of which is very high, and the average yield per well extremely large. Natural gas developments have gone ahead very rapidly. In November, 1922, the total production was about 70,000,000 cubic feet per day, whereas at the present time it is 200,000,000 cubic feet per day. The continued drilling in Santa Fe Springs will doubtless sustain the total gas production for some time, and it is possible that the decline of the field will be slower than at Signal Hill.

The production of natural gas at Huntington Beach has increased very rapidly during recent months with the deep drilling now in progress. Total gas production amounts to about 130,000,000 cubic feet per day, with prospects of some increase over a more prolonged period than may be anticipated for Santa Fe Springs or Signal Hill, as the area of this field is about 2500 acres, as compared with 2000 acres at Santa Fe Springs, and 1000 acres at Signal Hill.

Natural gas production has been largely restricted in all of the other important southern California fields, including the Midway and Elk Hill fields in Kern County, because of curtailment of oil production by the larger operators.

Approximately 83,000,000 cubic feet of natural gas per day are available to Los Angeles city through the lines of the Midway, and Southern California Gas Companies, and about 45,000,000 cubic feet per day are taken by Southern Counties Gas Company from Los Angeles and Orange County oil fields.

While oil production has increased very rapidly and field prices for crude oil have dropped to low figures, there have not been any recent changes in the prices charged the gas utility companies for fuel oil for the manufacture of artificial gas.

Because of the large available supply of natural gas in southern California, and the possibility of providing an inexpensive service of very high quality, domestic and industrial gas sales have increased rapidly during the past few years. At the present time there are practically