M.E.D. Surplus £30,667; Year’s Turnover £1,207,585

Press, Volume XCI, Issue 27679, 8 June 1955, Page 11

M.E.D. Surplus £30,667; Year’s Turnover £1,207,585

From a record revenue of £1,207,585 in the year ended on March 31, the Municipal Electricity Department had a surplus of £30,667. The trading departments had a record profit of £10,739 from a turnover of £167,634.

Last year the surplus was £26,862 from a turnover of £1,123,307, and the trading profit was £7061. ..Presenting the annual report of the department to the City Council Jast evening, the chairman of the electricity committee 'Cr. G. Manning) recommended that the total surplus of £41,406 be carried to ** reserve account for the financing of the department, because of the heavy capital expenditure facing the department and the inadvisability V ra J,si n £ a loan at present. ‘The margin of surplus is very small on such a large turnover, being only 2.5 per cent, on sales of electricity or 1 per cent, of capital invested, Cr. Manning said. “Solely Io1 j “P anc ial reasons the committee and the council look forward to some relief by the possible installation of P ea k load control equipment, which would reduce the cost of bulk power, tne largest item in the budget of expenses.”

During the year the price of copper had soared to the unprecedented slid e ° f £362 3 ton ’ Cr ' Mannin S

Possible Relief Supply is at the cross-roads. Without. a further accretion to storage, restrictions, through quota rationing, must be applied through the winter.” t 1 ® continued. “On the other hand, late though it may be in the season, another period of heavy rain in the Alps would materially relieve the situation.

About £200,000 out of a capital expenditure of £301.436 had been devoted to new sub-stations and heavy underground cable to provide for growth of load. The Waimairi substation, by carrying the load in the north-east area, would make provision ™L incr £L sed loadin e. m the central area. There *vas still a main substation with attendant cables to be provided for at Bexley. That would Brighton and adjacent areas, but the State Hydro-electric Deuntni9s8 C ° Uld nOt giVe supply there

Figures given in the report of the

engineer-manager (Mr J. C. Forsyth) included:—

Inc. 1954 1955 p.c. Max. demand, K.W. .. 72.547 78,314 7.9 Kilowatt hours sold (miU’ns). 278.11 289.1 4 Capital expend. £288,056 £288,853 .3 Working exp's. £212,485 £ 224,942 5.9 Revenue .. £1,123,308 £1,207,585 7.5

Labour Shortage Mr Forsyth drew attention to a shortage of labour, and said it was a constant embarrassment to the department in carrying out all phases of its work.

Although extensions of street lighting throughout the former city area had been completed, much work Remained to be done in Sumner and in the areas of Waimairi county amalgamated with the city to bring the installations up to satisfactory operating conditions. Many of the circuits, particularly in Waimairi, were overloaded and much of the equipment was not in very good condition. It was hoped to make substantial progress during the current year, but the prevailing labour shortage might make- that difficult. Setting out the trading position, the secretary (Mr J. Denfora) said that there was a substantial, demand for time payment accounts, balances on which rose from £85.258 to £107,303. An increasingly noticeable feature was the replacing of old low-priced stoves with higher-priced ones on terms. That was being held somewhat in check by asking for a 20 per cent, deposit on models .which retailed at more than £75.

The number of ranges sold increased from 514 in 1954 to 733, an increase of 42.5 per cent. Refrigerators last year numbered 180, against 160. and the department sold 390 washing machines, compared with 279 in 1954.

On the financial position, Mr Denford said: “Even under favourable conditions, the surplus on a turnover of £1.207.000 was only 2.5 per cent., or 6d in the £ on revenue received. There was no margin for adverse weather. These were the circumstances that so strongly influenced the decision to investigate the installation of peak load control equipment. It would appear that there would be a substantial surplus over the annual costs of the equipment. This would add to the present marginal operating surplus, and tend to stabilise the present retail prices for electricity.” The reports were adopted without discussion.