POWER BOARD LOAN.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 48, Issue 155, 12 April 1928, Page 4

POWER BOARD LOAN.

Sir, —In reply to your correspondent " Unohoo" I have pleasure in supplying him with the information he requires. . . His references to the sanction of the Loans Board are Quite inaccurate, and the Loans Board did not at any stage refuse sanction. The Power Board asked for a sanction for £15,000 per annum for six or seven years; the Loans Board sanctioned two years supply, with the suggestion that a further loan poll be then taken. This was-obviously an expensive procedure, and on this being pointed out the Loans Board agreed to sanction a poll for £90,000. The suggestion that only £30,000 be raised without further reference to the Loans Board came, in the first place, from the Power Board itself. . The statement of your correspondent that guarantees " are in no sense revenue" is quite absurd, as is also his estimate that the amount unusea on guarantees reaches "many thousand pounds." Our figures show that the unused proportion of guarantees is about 4§ per cent, of the total, while the Board's revenue from guaranteed lines is under 40 per cent, of its total revenue. The unused guarantees, then, amount to less than 2 per cent, of the Board's total revenue, and therefore amounts to a little over £6OO per annum. . The Board is apt required to publish its balance-sheets, but, even so, has never yet been in a position to pub--lish them before they are out of date, owing to the pressure of work on the Government Audit Department and to the audit of Power Boards' accounts being left until last among local authorities. As an example, the audit of the Board's balance-sheet for the year ended March 31, 1927, has not yet been completed. Another year has passed since then, and consequently the 1926-27 accounts will be quite out of date when received. Should " Unohoo" be genuine in his interest in this matter he will be shown the latest statement of accounts and balance-sheet, unaudited, and the previous audited accounts, at the Board s office. . As long as the Board is free to develop it 9 load, unhindered l)y lack of capital, and other Boards are similarly placed, no fears need be entertained regarding the finances of the. Government power schemes in Canterbury. Those schemes are only being extended because of the vast annual increases in the demand for power, and can get into financial difficulties only if, when completed, the supply authorities are unable to increase their loads through lack of capital. F. W. WATT, Chairman.

Sir,—l was unable to be present at Mr Watt's meeting last Thursday evening, but I note the very meagre attendance. Surely that indicates a want of interest in such a vital matter. Mr Watt showed lantern slides to illustrate the development that would take place if he got authority for another £90,000 loan. Would it not have been more convincing if he had produced' a balance-sheet of the past year's working, showing that the 1 £320,000 already expended was paying? As a public service, run by public money, are not the. ratepayers entitled to some explanation of how the affairs of the Board are progressing financially ? It is recognised that the reticulation of densely-settled areas is a payable proposition, but to reticulate sparsely-settled districts is a hazardous venture. The Ashburton Power Board are only retailers. They buy the juice from the Government, break it down, and retail to the consumers. They have had, and spent, £320,000, and now ask for another £90,000, plus 10 per cent £99,000 a total of £419,000, a huge sum to borrow and spend in a County as thinly populated as the Ashburton County. The hydro-electric schemes of New Zealand, with 39,000 voters, have increased our national debt by £l3 for every man, woman and child in the Dominion, or £65 for every household of five persons. It is high time the Government and .local bodies cried a halt with their borrowing, as we are increasing our national debt at an alarming rate, and it is only the fact that we have the privilege of living in a very productive little country that enables us to pay our interest bill. W. ACTON.