AUCKLAND POWER BOARD.

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 295, 11 December 1923, Page 15

AUCKLAND POWER BOARD.

NEW CUSTOMERS

A T RATE OF 100 A WEEK.

Ke porting to the Auckland Electric PnwT Board yesterday (Mr. W. J. wnldsworth. the chairman presiding) the and manacer (Mr. Alex Wyliel Sin conne-tion with the reticulaffieS and addition of load: "Sin,e started the alternating current area reticutetion in 1021 we have covered "rtn square miles and. for some time ni«t. we have been adding customers at the rate of about one hundred per week. Provision is being made to add additional gangs and strength our outgjde staff up to the economical limit. We have already nearly reached Penrose •rith one of our high tension lines continued from Xe-srmar..-t and, immediately after Christmas, we shall be able to go on with the other line through Onehunga to Penrose. We are all the time adding load to our area and station. When the board fame into existence, the return from the Tramway Department was only about £5000 per year: it has now come up to £40.000 per year and. in a few weeks, will be still further considerably increased. We have added many large customers for power both in onr alternating current and direct current areas, and are making preparations for still more. We expect to reach Penrose before Horahora power is available and we shall arrange to pick up there all the load which our hightension mains will carry.

"Our feeders to Kewmarket are going to be heavily loaded after Christmas with the addition of 1000 k.w. traction loan there, so that it will be hopeless immediately to take the bigger loads beyond Penrose. All this area, including Onehunga, Remuera, One Tree Hill and part of Epsom will be eventually carried on the Horahora power. As soon as we make a start on our new line to Avondale, we shall run a hightension line straight through before doing any reticulation on the way.

"Within six weeks' time we shall have our new station quite fairly well loaded, end, by next winter we will have a reasonably good load on it. There is no need whatever to have any anxiety abont lack of load; at the same time. I estimate that the provision being made and to be further made in the future, will meet all our requirements without the necessity of running any of the old plant at Hobson Street which will be exceedingly expensive and uneconomic."

Mr. S. J. Harbutt while congratulating -the staff on the -work done, thought the board should press on with getting out lines to points where loads were "waiting, such as Westfield, Otahuhu, and Onehunga. He also asked for a return showing the capacity and load. The engineer in a report to the board B»id that Westfield and Otahuhu were included in the present programme of the board's work Faulty Kemuera Feeder. The engineer reported that after making a fuller investigation he had come to the conclusion that the numerous faults on the .Eemuera feeder cable were due to the fact that the Californian bitumen was faulty and absorbed moisture. The lead cable was damaged in some way after beinir laid, and became alive, and leakage" took place through the moisture in the bitumen. Units Sold, and Price. In reply to a query by Mr. 11. J. Bennett, the engineer reported during the last half year the average net price per unit of current sold was as follows: Eor lighting, 2,633,467 units, £53,475 12/3—average 4.7 d: for power. 3,829 228 units, £27.504 13/2—average 1.6 d: for domestic supply, 848,725 units. £19,607 8/B—average 5.3d: for traction! 1,366,305 units, £6951 1/10—average l-2d; for public lighting, 148,052 units, £1716 17/2—average" 2.0 d. Tenders for Plant. On the recommendation of the engineer the tender of A. D. Kiley and Co. was accepted for the supply of transformers, the price being £2773; that of Allum Electrical Company for the supply of pole oil switches, price *4M; and that of the Nationel Electrical and Engineering fqr the supply of switch-gear for Penrose, price £1212.