HYDROELECTRICITY.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 18263, 23 December 1924, Page 16

HYDROELECTRICITY.

INTEREST CHARGES OX CAPITAL. A report on interest charges on capital involved in the Lake Coleridge hvdro-electricity scheme was presented to the Council of the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce at its meeting last night. The personnel of the committee is—Messrs W. Machin (chairman). P. B. Harris, Cyrus J. R. Williams, and F. W. Woodroffe. The report stated that the capital expenditure on Lake C-oleridge plant to March 31st, 1921, was £500,C00. The interest charged in the balance-sheet at March. 1923, was £20.981, or a little over 4 per cent. At March 31st, 1922, the capital employed was £671,608 ; interest, £35,000. At, March 31st, 1923, the capital employed was £343.033; interest at March, 1924, £44,443. It therefore appeared as if the rate had been increased in 1923 to just over 5 per cent. It was worthy of note that in the Public Works Statement on hydro-electrical development, 1923, the interest allowed by the Department on tlie Lake Coleridge depreciation reserve balance of £54,536' was at the rate of 4 per cent. only. The total capital borrowed by the Government for electrical development was £3.744.740, of which less than half a million bore interest at less than. 5 per cent., and the averaae rate of interest on the whole was 5.8 per Cent. Upon the question of tho accounts of each scheme being kept separate, there were official statements which seemed to make the intention of the Minister and the Government quite clear. In November, 1923. the Minister of Public Works and his Departmental officials met the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce to discuss this electricity question,.,and in a carefully prepared statement bv the late Mr Lawrenoe Birks, read to this conference at the request of the Minister, occurs the following:— "The law provides clearly and definitely in the State supply of the Electricity Act, 1917, that the accounts for each scheme must be kept separate, and no such confusion of the accounts between North and South Island schemes as is feared can be made. "Each scheme must show its own profits and losses, and when all the requirements of the law with respect, to the Government hydro-electric schemes have been fulfilled, any one scheme which then shows a profit will have its rate reduced." Nothing could be more definite than this official pronouncement. Therefore, although the committee had intended to review the question exhaustively o.i its merits, th>*» was not necessary in view of the above statement, and it was felt that the matter had only to be brought to the notioe of the Minister for the proper procedure to bo instituted to give effect to his intimations to the Chamber. It was suggested that the report be forwarded to the Christchurch City Council, and other Canterbury authorities taking supplies from Lake Coleridge, in order that they might make use of it if they so desired. In moving the adoption of th© report. the chairman, Mr W. Machin, stated that it was so complete that there was no need to amplify it. The motion was seconded by Mr C. .7. R. Williams, and carried.