SUPREME COURT ACTION

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 13769, 12 October 1942, Page 2

SUPREME COURT ACTION

ELECTRICITY DISPUTE

Evidence of Mayor

Relations Always Friendly

(Times Special Reporter)

Auckland, Oct. 9

The action between the Tauranga Borough Council and the Tauranga Electric Power Board was continued in the Auckland Supreme Court yesterday before His Honour Mr Justice Smith. One of the principal witnesses for the council was the Mayor of Tauranga (Mr L. R. Wilkinson). Yesterday also saw the close of the council's case, and Mr A. K. North then opened the case for the Power Board. Continuing his evidence Claude William Boak. engineer to the Tauranga Borough Council, admitted in cross-examination that he understood the 10-year 1929 agreement had been extended to September 1943 and he thought it most probable that after that date the Power Board would take all its supply from the Public Works.

"Didn't Trust Board"

Mr North: In view of your protestations about your friendship with Mr Bongard, why did you make the high voltage tests without consulting him? Don't you think it would have been nicer? —As a matter of fact Mr Bongard's son took some tests in the borough and I didn't feel put out about it. There was nothing in that.

Mr North: But there was a case. Wouldn't it have been wiser to have Mr Bongard there to test the methods of making tests? —Mr Bongard wasn't there, he was in, camp. As a matter of fact it occurred to me it was better as it was. Had they known they might have altered the regulators. Mr North: What's that? His Honour: They didn't trust the board —that's what he means. Up to 2 5 per cent, line losses were reasonable, but over that percentage Boak considered that some other factor would be operating. That is, in 1942 and 1941 he did not think the 21.8 and 24.7 per cent, excessive but over that he considered excessive. Boak considered it was reasonable for the board to pool the two sources —our generation and Public Works Department supply—in order to arrive at the actual prices. As far as the Power Board was concerned, the price it paid the council determined the price of electricity to the inhabitants, Boak thought. The council collected £8570 from the board on the agreement rate. Boak did not think taking a limited amount of supplementary supply from the Government reduced the unit cost to the borough. It was often taken to cover water deficiency. The council's generators were of larger capacity than the average supply of water. The council did not have to take the Public Works power unless it suited the council. Supplementary supply prices were necessarily fixed at a higher rate than is the case with regular supply. The peak load in Tauranga county, where dairy farmers in numbers used electricity, was in the summer time. All Boak's calculations were based on his own log sheets and he took account of seasonal fluctuations. Boak admitted that the council was supplying more units to the board than he said it should have supplied as the board's established load for the Power Board for January, 1938, would be.

Re-examined, Boak said the amount of the established load in 1936 could have been supplied to the board after that, guaranteed, in 1937, 193 S and 1939. Mayor's Evidence

Lionel Roberts Wilkinson, Mayor of Tauranga, said he was first elected Mayor in May, 1935, and first came into the Power Board affair when the board applied for a discount in September, 1935. Relations had always been friendly and the council tried'to help them. In 1938 another application for a discount of 2% per cent, was granted. The board' wrote and thanked the council for the discount in June, 1938, and said the board was proceeding with the £50,000 loan. On August 1, 1938, before the loan was raised, a conference took place in order to get the board to comply with the conditions of the agreement whereby the council and board should get together and arranged a new price. There was a record of the conference in the board's minutes. There was a furthere conference in April, 1940, to reopen the question of the prices and conditions and whether the council would expend money- in relation to Aongatete. Various letters were written in August,. 194. X, un<ser Wilkin-

son's instructions and council ail9lE (l| lt .

Afte ' the August i, m terence the board mcml !S ' <m» ters were receiving ***** then on August 23 «*»Pted no bought from the P ubllo J S partment unless there* h : <- ence between the th™ " % t-, , l 'iree nan; February 19, 19 , 9| h favoured to arrange »*!!!> fer-ence to discuss the s JS conmue the good rela^S conference of February o^.. A; ':- Power Board submitted si*' % whichtthey contended- sh o ul > cussed at the same » tae > ranged conference with it ' Works Department and Z * and the council at Ha m ii, on r ' : ■ celled because it could not C on the questions to be Z%* Both the conference of " !i 1938, and that of ftbr J*| were for the purpose of prices. Certain of the six £* serted by the Power Board ll,r;rtentions, including a J the board buy up the counciVs 1 crating plant.

His Honour. Have you \ m , to supply pretty cheap powe Mo J inhabitants of the borough?-^

Cheaper than elsewhere j„ S(| Zealand?—l couldn't say, sir tf.

getting on that way

Cheaper than in the Power Bos area?—lt's cheap also in therm

Board area

"Belonged To People"

Wilkinson said that the cowl was determined to retain its ating plant. It belonged to [t people. Proposals had been mi frequently by the board that it k out the council's plant or ama's mate.

It was not till July, 1941, Witt son believed, that he had \nm from Mr Cooney that the board hti agreed to take all its power iftti 1943 from the Public Works Department. The board had not Informed the council of the fact to the preset; time.

Cross-examined, Wilkinson said i questionnaire to the council from ifboard had put the council off the proposed conference with the I'iitc Works Department in Halite Matters quite foreign to subject Wt ter of conferences had been Into duced by the board. So far 88 Ik council was concerned it wished H discuss simply the question of 0 and conditions in view of the ton cil's necessity of purchasing Go* eminent power.

To his Honour, Wilkinson said k the morning of February 28, ltt the council representatives had I* nitely told the board that they were willing to confer exclusively on the question of P»» provided in tile agreement.

Personally, said Wilkinson,*; August 1, 1938, as represents the council he had been de»» pndeavouring to nail down m sions to a question of prj* machines of the council at J*. were kept going the **J without using any W* power, it would mean that tne power house would have , down after 24-hours because^ mand placed on the reser# stream would exhaust ItW . J period. Even prior to council could not r ; machines a. and it never did. »• j| grad „an ! .haveto»e*' i) ,. would become of no 0116 at aIL Mr the council •* The case foi UIC closed at this stage.