Gas conversion cost queried

Press, 21 July 1980, Page 16

Gas conversion cost queried

Parliamentary reporter A -joint;'working party set up by the iMnister of Health (Mr Gair) and the Ministerof Energy (Mr Birch) to study household - energy and air quality in Christchurch had recommended that compsenation .for conversion from gas to electric appliances be more than doubled, according to the member of Parliament for Lyttelton (Mrs Ann Hercus). Mrs Hercus has raised the: matter in a question to Mr Birch in Parliament. Mr. Birch agreed that the committee had recommended an increase - in the present .$3OO. grant paid by

the Government, but he could not confirm the figure of $7OO suggested by Mrs Hercus. " • • , ■ - Mr Birch said the proposal did not have the unanimous support of. the committee, nor did it have the support of the Government. The level of Government . assistance: had only recently been increased from $5O to $3OO, he said. “In addition, the Christchurch Gas Company has offered interest-free loans to ■ consumers, who purchase new electrical appliances from, that company to replace their gas appliances,” Mr Birch said.

The responsibility for compensation rested with the Gas Company but the Government assisted the company in meeting the compensation, he said. To the member of Parliament for Yaldhurst (Mr M. A. Connelly), Mr Birch said that the Government had subsidised the manufactured gas industry “very heavily” for many years, both in support of the coal price and the costs of gas manufacture. “Notwithstanding that, the price of manufactured gas is substantially greater than that for electricity,” he said.