Power Charges

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28890, 9 May 1959, Page 3

Power Charges

Sir,—l wish to voice a strong complaint against the high rates charged for electric power in the Ashburton Board’s area. From experience of power charges in two southern board areas as well as this one, the difference can only be described as scandalous. An annual outlay of £25 to £3O covered all power used in an average country home using electricity for cooking, water-heating, lighting, etc., in the Waitaki Power Board area. But in similar circumstances in this county, an annual charge of £45-50 seems

to be in order. On inquiring into the power charges. I was supplied with the usual table of figures showing cost a unit, but so far I have been unsuccessful in learning why there exists such a wide discrepancy between this area and others. I think it is time Ashburton and its surrounding county stirred itself into investigating this anomaly.—Yours, etc., R. E. VOLT.

May 3, 1959. [When this letter was referred to the engineer-secretary of the Ashburton Electric Power and G«s Board (Mr H. G. Kemp), he said: “Obviously your correspondent is comparing the present Ashburton tariff with last year’s Waitaki tariff. On the present tariffs in both districts the difference depends on the proportion of water heating on normal consumption which is only 6 per cent.’’]