"NO DIVIDEND."

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 140, 15 June 1937, Page 11

"NO DIVIDEND."

POWER BOARD PROFIT.

PREVIOUS BIG REDUCTIONS.

HELP TO LOCAL BODIES.

Representatives of local bodies in the area of the Auckland Eeleetric Power Board attended the annual meeting of the board yesterday afternoon by invitation and heard the joint statement of the chairman, Mr. W. J. Holdswortli. and deputy-chairman, Mr. S. J. Harluitt, 011 the operations of the last 12 months. Mr. Harbutt presided in the absence of the chairman, who was prevented from attending owing to illness.

In. moving the adoption of the report, a summary of which appeared in yesterday's "Auckland Star/' the Hon. T. Blood worth, M.lj.C., said he regretted that Mr. Holdsworth was laid aside, and he expressed the hope that it would not be long before he was again in charge of the board's affair*. The board refldere<T a great service to the people. The nmin object of the undertaking was to give service to the people and not to make profits.

Mr. E. H. Potter said that only one thing had been forgotten in the joint report, and that was the dividend. If they were attending the annual meeting of a company and the year had been successful the question would be how much money was available for the shareholders- Nothing had been said about a reduction in coat to the consumers. As a rule a good year ended with some recommendations for returning something to the users of electricity.

Impossible This Year. Mr. S. I. Crookes said tl at- it was impossible to do much this year in the way of reductions. The total profit for the year wa« just over £17,000. Reductions made last year amounted to over £50,000, and the year before the reductions amounted "to £48,000. That meant that the board in two years had made concessions to consumers amounting to approximately £100.000. They could not go on reducing rates indefinitely. Mr. J. Park referred to the initial year of the board when a guarantee had to be given for the use of 15,000 k.w. He drew attention to the rapid progress ■that had been made in a comparatively short number of years. The chairman said that last Thursday the peak load was 47,000 k.w.—the highest ever recorded* by the board. The board took from Arapuni to-day « greater supply than Arapuni produced when it wa« first established. The report was adopted, together with the report of the general manager, Mr. R. H. Bartley, which traversed the same ground as that of the joint report, but with more detail. Later in the proceedings the chairman said that the surplus was not sufficient to make a general reduction. It would hardly be noticeable. If applied to domestic supply alone it would mean a reduction of only one-twentieth of a penny per unit. He moved that the manager prepare & report indicating what could be done to use a portion of the surplus to assist local bodies in respect to street lighting. All the money could not be devoted to that object, as a considerable portion of the surplus was earmarked for other purposes. The motion was carried.