REEFTON ELECTRIC LIGHT.

Greymouth Evening Star, 22 February 1911, Page 8

REEFTON ELECTRIC LIGHT.

DISPUTE WITH UNDERWRITER’S ASSOCIATION.

INCREASED PREMIUM ON IM PROYEMENTS.

The consumers of the electric light in Reefton are in difficulties with respect to the Eire Underwriters Association.

Some time ago the Inspector of the Association from Wellington made a personal inspection of each installation, with the result that all were condemned. The owners of th premises were then notified that unless the installation was made to the satisfaction of the Association’s inspector'at Wellington the insurance premiums would be increased. The electrician at Reefton was then notified as to the manner in which the installation was to be carried out, and immediately a large number of the consumers went to a great expense (running from £lO to £4O in some instances) to have their buildings re-in-stalled.

In the meantime Reefton was transferred from the Wellington branch of the Association to the Christchurch branch, and a new inspector sent to inspect the work done. This gentleman evidently has been trained in a different school to the Wellington Inspector, as instead of giving a clean cert : - ficate, attaches a letter to the certificate that the work has not been done in accordance with the local conditions, and requesting the same to be attended to.

In conversation Mr Addley, Secretary to the Association at Christchurch, who is now on a visit to Reefton, stal - ed that improvements in the installation of buildings are continually being introduced. Surely it would be very hard on those persons, who, having spent large sums of money would be notified that an improvement had been found, and that the work must be re-done. Following the instruction another inspector who had got hold of a new idea might go on and the work again be altered, until goodness knows when it would end—probably not until the owner of the buildings was a bankrupt.