NEW POWER CHARGES

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28552, 3 April 1958, Page 12

NEW POWER CHARGES

Adjustment By M.E.D. The City Council’s electricity committee has agreed that the introduction of the new power charges, which had been fixed as coming into force on April 1, will be spread by an assessment of charges. Cr. L. G. Amos, chairman of the committee, said yesterday that a special meeting had been held to consider the statement of the Minister in charge of the State Hydro-electric Department (Mr Watt)—Cr. Amos described it as a "bombshell”—that price control may be imposed on the retail sale of electricity if consumers were not charged at the old rates ruling up to March 31. The committee had agreed that the Minister’s “direction” on power charges for domestic and commercial consumers would be met from April 8, and that the new charges would be introduced at weekly intervals after that date, Cr. Amos said. The decision would be effective immediately, and ratification would be sought at the next meeting of the council. New Account Forms

The secretary of the M.E.D. (Mr J. Denford) explained that there might be some confusion caused by the use of the new account forms, but meter readers would take the following action:— They would calculate all accounts at the old tariff until April 3. No-one would thereby be penalised; in fact some consumers

would have some April units charged at the old rate. Accounts issued on April 1 and 2 would be cancelled and amended accounts at the old rate posted next week.

In each week after April 8, rates would be charged on a modified scale which would assess units used as 7/Bth on the old rates and one eighth on the new rate. On April 15, a new modified scale would be used, assessing units used at six-eighths of the old rate and two-eighths at the new, and so on. The new rates would come into operation fully on the reading on the readers’ second round about the en(i of May. No-one should be penalised by the new method, which lagged a little after the actual time of consumption, Mr Denford said. Surprise Announcement

The Minister's announcement took most supply authorities by surprise, mainly because supply authorities had announced their intentions of introducing the new rates on meter readings after April 1. Some consumers of the M.E.D., having read that Mr G. H. Battersby, the engineer-manager, had said it was “rough justice” but that there were insufficient meter readers to enable readings to be made throughout the district on March 31, read their own meters on Tuesday and took the figures to the office, seeking to pay on the old rate on power consumed up to then. They were told that the department could not accept payment, but that their figures would be kept on the personal files in case there was an adjustment of accounts.

Mr Battersby said that if consumers' own readings were to be checked, the work involved might be more than that needed to make assessments. Assessments had no legal standing, he said. That was one reason why the supply authorities had not wanted assessments, as any time they had been used in the past there had been many arguments over the assessments.