HUTT VALLEY POWER BOARD

Dominion, Volume 23, Issue 150, 21 March 1930, Page 13

HUTT VALLEY POWER BOARD

CHARGES FOR MILKINGMACHINE SUPPLY A meeting of the Hutt Valley Electric Power Board was held yesterday afternoon. There were present: Messrs. A. W. Press (chairman), A. J. McCurdy, A. J. Hobbs, J. W. McEwan, W. H. P. Barber, E. Windley, A. Walker and A. Anderson. , ~ x The only correspondence that led to discussion at ail lengthy consisted of letters which had been received from Mr. A.- K. Barnes and the Stokes Valley Ratepayers’ Association. The first contained a petition to the board signed by 17 persons, and complained of the standing charge per horse-power per annum on milking plants. The second dealt with the minimum charge for lighting. The chairman, who asked that both should be considered together, said that each of these matters was dealt with under the new schedule, and that reductions would take place in consequence. Mr. Windley, however, said that it was far more fair to dairymen to increase the price per unit of power and to reduce the anomalous tax. He supported the petition. It was obvious that there was a difference of opinion as to the proper system to use for milking machine charges, as other boards used other methods. He thought that the petitioners had good" reason to complain. Another , member said he knew at least two other boards that charged 6d. a unit for power used on milking machines. If the board did ahythink like that, he said, some of their own consumers would find themselves paying more than they did at present under the horse-power rating scheme. “We should think twice before we change the system,” he concluded. No action was taken, the new schedule of charges which comes into operation on May 1, being adopted at the meeting. A letter was received from Mr. G; A. Smyth, of Plimmerton, complaining of the inconvenience caused to consumers in his district caused by having to buy and dispatch postal notes to the board erfch month in payment of their accounts. He asked either that the accounts should be rendered every two months, or that a depot be established somewhere in the district. The latter was considered at the same time as one from Clendon Bros., of Lower Hutt, who offered to act for 30/- a week as a payment depot for. the board’s accounts. Both communications were left in the hands of the general manager for him to deal with them as soon as possible. It was decided to forward a cheque for £l/1/- with the board’s best thanks to Mr. J. Northcott, of Taita, as a recognition of his work in extinguishing a fire which was threatening to burn through one of the board’s poles, on an important supply line. Accounts totalling £4473/18/9 were passed for payment. The engineer’s report showed that services had been connected during the month as follow: — Lower Hutt. 39; Petone. 12; Eastbourne. S; Upper Hutt, 17; Western area, 14; total. 90. A resolution was passed giving power to the genera] manager and accountant to operate on fin imprest account.