Low tariff for light power use

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34128, 14 April 1976, Page 1

Low tariff for light power use

Domestic consumers lin the Central Canter- . bury Electric Power Board’s area who use small amounts of electricity will get lower electricity bills after September 1. but other users wall pay slightly more.

These are the main effects of a decision by the board at its meeting yesterday to rearrange its tariff "to be more in line with present-day thinking.” as the chairman

(Mr L. F. Chamberlain) put it. But the board was by no means unanimous. An attempt to defer the proposals for a month got little support, and the board split 4-4 on another amendment designed to spread the percentage changes evenly over the whole tariff. Mr Chamberlain gave his casting vote in favour of the proposed rearrangement, saying his thinking had been coloured by what he knew of the views of a member who was not present. Mr A. M. Oliver. Mr Chamberlain said that when the board put up its tariff from April 1 by 37.7 per cent to cover the higher cost of bulk power, and an-

other 5 per cent to cover its own costs, it had been agreed that the tariff would be revised. The main change in the proposed new tariff was the elimination of the two-part rates for domestic, commercial, industrial, and farm power. The present two-part domestic tariff gave cheaper power to the big user. The new tariff meant that the small consumer would pay less than the 37.7 per cent on consumption of less than 700 units. Bigger users would pay more. The farm rate was increased, but the commercial rate was lower. Mr Chamberlain emphasised that the changes were not to bring in

more revenue. They simply represented a reallocation of the 37.7 per cent increase. Domestic power, under the new tariff, would average an increase of 41 per cent instead of the 37.7 per cent. Farm power would go up 50 per cent, industrial and commercial by 28 per cent. The secretary (Mr I. S. Smith) said a domestic consumer using 300 units would only pay 23 per cent more, instead of the 37.7 per cent. Larger consumers would pay 42 to 44 per cent more. Mr L. P. Manion said that domestic consumers could not pass the increase on. Industrial and commercial users could do this, and farm power was tax deductible. He proposed the amendment

[to reallocate the domestic increase to give a uniform increase. The board decided to review the tariff in a year if there were inequities. From September 1, all Al domestic units will be at 1.77 c. instead of the pre-April 1 tariff rates of 280 units at 1.62 c, and the balance at 1.15 c. The domestic fixed charge will go up from 75c to $1.50. All commercial and industrial units on the Bl and Cl tariffs will be charged at 4c (they were 200 units at 3.83 c and the rest at 2.88 c) and the El tariff for farm supply will be: at 4c for all units, instead of the old 200 at 3.83 c and the balance at 1,52 c.