SUPPLY OF POWER
CITY AND HUTT VALLEY
A REJECTED PROPOSAL
Reference was made by the Mayor, Mr. T. C. A. Hislop, in the course of' the deputation to the Minister of Public Works yesterday regarding the proposed incorporation of municipalities in power board areas, to the proposal made in 1922 that Wellington City should supply the neighbouring boroughs and their environs with electric power. Had that proposal been adopted, said Mr. Hisloiv those areas would have been more economically served than under the present power- board system. ' a
The experienced local bodies, said Mr.. Hislop, had built up schemes over long pdriods. They knew the difficulties of operation, and they knew the dangers that would arise from handing over their institutions to inexperienced bodies with extravagant ideas. ■ Wellington particularly suggested that it should take over the districts outside AVellington,,but the Public; Works 'Department was strongly against this. No doubt the proposal was contrary to all bureaucratic and centralising principles. The prudent local bodies, did not wish to. destroy their valuable assets.
Mr. Hislop said that Mr. J. Linklater, M.P., in the course of his speech on the occasion of the deputation from the Power Boards' Conference, had talked about the power boards purchasing the assets.
"Wellington's electric scheme is worth anything (apart from goodwill) on capital invested, up to £1,600,000, and of that amount less than half- a million pounds consists of loan moneys," said Mr. Hislop, "The rest consists of savings. Similar conditions prevail with other local bodies who qbjce.t to their undertakings being taken over. Nq doubt the Hutt Valley Power Board would like to take over the city's undertaking for the amonnt of the loans, or even for the amount of the capital expenditure, but Wellington City strongly objects to its valuable undertaking, which probably is worth to it J£ 3,000,000, being taken to offset the extravagant undertaking that has been developed in the Hutt and Makara Counties. The Hutt Valley charges, except for certain charges which are not in. conformity with their expenses, are in excess of AVellington's charges. CITY'S ASSETS. "This district had its opportunity in 1922 to combine with the city on the city's terms, but it refused the opportunity. It would be absurd" to suggnst that Wellington should now be doprived of its valuable asset to offset the large liabilities undertaken by this board. - If Wellington's scheme were a failure, as it might easily have been, apart from prudent management, thero would have been, none of this excessive zeal to acquire the undertaking."
Speaking generally of the contention made on behalf of the power boards that -where unified control had been practised there was less overhead expense, which ultimately gave a benefit to the consumer, Mr. Hislop remarked that unified control could have been obtained at the start without extravagance, but the-, rural districts were not prepared-to make the necessary sacrifice, of tiiieir prejudices to obtain unified control. .' They should, therefore, now pay .for their own extravagances.
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Bibliographic details
Evening Post, Volume CXIV, Issue 103, 28 October 1932, Page 12
Word Count
494SUPPLY OF POWER Evening Post, Volume CXIV, Issue 103, 28 October 1932, Page 12
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