GREY POWER BOARD

Greymouth Evening Star, 20 December 1934, Page 5

GREY POWER BOARD

MONTHLY MEETING. The monthly meeting of the Grey Electric Power Board was held last c-vening in the Board’s rooms, there being present: Messrs W. Clayton (chairman), J. AV. Greenslade, .1. Mulcare, H. G. Carter, W. 11. Parfitt, J. B. Kent, F. L. Turley, H. Duggan, J. Smeaton, the Engineer, Mr Sinclair Trotter, and the Secretary, Mr A. J. McDowalll. . The Chairman welcomed Mr Aimcare after his trip to Melbourne, and expressed a. hope that he had had an enjoyable time. . Mr Mulcare thanked the Chairman for his welcome, saying that he had had the time of his life. Through a letter from the Secretary and through the good offices of the authorities, he had had the opportunity of going over what, was one of the greatest elecciical undertakings in the world, and he hoped that at some time in the future his experience there might he of some little use to the Board. An invitation was received from the Town Clerk, Greymouth, for members c£ the Board and their wives, and the Engineer and the Secretary and then wives to participate in the welcome to the Duke of Gloucester at Greymouth. , , . Messrs Templin and Toogood wiote regarding the Board's offer of the si e of the old Dobson power house as a suitable location for the propsed establishment of a factory on the Vest Coast for the Good Year Tyre and Rubber Company, stating that the

Board’s offer had been noted and taut p representative of the company was now on his way from England to go further into the establishment of a factory. . The Finance Commitee recommended that accounts amounting to £6,040 8/5 be passed lor payment, that the Board congratulate Master W. B. Marsden on his line showcard, and express its pleasure at the interest taken in the undertaking; that the matter of the Borough water pumping rate be left to the Engineer to report tao the next meeitng with regai c to present dumping costs; regaining reticulation of Waiuta mine and township, that the Chai.man. Secretary, and Engineer go into the question Oi costs and finance, and report to the next meeting of the Board; that the Chairman formulate a definite policy to be pursued in connection with future extensions; in reference to the application for newer by C. F. Gardner, that, owing to the rapid absorbing of the remaining plant capacity Mr Gardner be asked to put his proposition in writing to assist the Board in its judgment, and that the Engineer report the matter to the next meeting, regarding gates on dam. that the ieport of Messrs Vickerman and Lancaster regarding the adition of .00 k w to the plant at a cost oi £ 10.- >'> ba received; that the question oi the validity of the license and of easements and compensation geneially in connection with the extension be left in the hands of the Engineer and Secretary to report to the next meeting oi the Board; in reference to uncinnloved Wallscnd miners, that the Board co-operate with other local bodies in the district to tn go the employment of the unemployed men on the completion of the Brunner-Black-ball Road. That the quotation tor the whole of the Board’s insurances be given to the lowest tenderci. toe State Fire Insurance On ! cc ’ April 1 next. It was resolved that the line be completed to the sawmill at Nelson Creek on the usual conditions. Regarding the supply of power to Rotomanu. the Chairman reported that ho and the Secretary and Engineer had visited Rotomanu and met the farmers there in connection r\ith supply or power for the distnct. He advised the* Committee that the prospects of the power reaching Rotomanu were more favourable before; that the usual practice of abo - ishing the January meeting be adhered to. The balance ol' Power Fund Account is as follows: —To p c<-525/10/f): balance overdiati ao

vemb-er ' 30, 1934, £10,804/5/4; total P133’9/16/1 Bv balance Novembei t ,MH. £6.121/11/11: Capital £1,150/2/3; revenue,. £G.O.>B 1/11; total £13.329/16/1. The balance-sheet for 1934 has been returned from the Audit Department, certified correct without exceptions, and a copy is now available to any member of the public who desires it With reference to the Finance Committee's recommendation that the Chairman formulate a definite policy to bo pursued in connection with future extensions, Mr Greenslade said it might be advisable for the Chanman, if ho thought fit, to give the public an idea of the obligations 01 the Board regarding extension-.,. The Chairman said the position was rather difficult for the Board in that they had a lot of applications loi rower. There was no loan money ] available, and on top of that the Board had to outlay a certain amount of money every month tor ordinal? work. As they had no loan money they had to icly on the ordinary revenue account. This meant that, the Board could not go on with extensions as they would like to. and he hoped that those who were wanting power would see and realise the position, and make due allowances tor the Board. It was in the interests of the Board to formulate a scheme, and to try to work to a plan. They had to get the revenue, otherwise they cou t not carry on. The extension c> the dam would mean at least £l-,000, and the Board had no authority to borrow. In fact, they did not want to 101 row, as it was considered the Board was canitalised enough already, and the Board was not prepared to capitalise further. That sum for the extension to the dam was only one 01 I the many directions he could indicate ' in which the Board had to lay out a considerable sum of money. So 1 could readily be seen that it was desirable and in fact necessary for the Board to work to a plan with regard to future extensions. There was one matter he would like to mention, anc that was that the Board would have to put as heavy a load as it could or all fairly heavy lines, and not put toe much on weak lines. It should be re membered that putting a small lint out into the- country meant a big out

lay, and there was probably not much ( revenue, immediate at any rate, when the money was laid out. . To Mr Kent, the Secretary said the ] I balance-sheet would be forwarded to the local bodies in the area. - 1 Mr Greenslade: Perhaps all the , local bodies will reciprocate, even the Hospital Board! Mr Kent: They are always available too. Mr Greenslade: We never see them, b °The Finance Committee’s report was received and adopted. ENGINEER’S REPORT. . I The Engineer’s report, as follows,|

was read and adopted; —Arnold River Generating Station: The units generated and maximum demands for the lour weeks ending December 16, totalled 576,300. The highest weekly load factor was 62.75 per cent., and the lowest 54 per cent. During the holidays the annual inspection of the generating plant will be carried out at times when load conditions permit of one- generator carrying the total load. No extensive dismantling, repairs or renewals are required. Reticulation: The outside staff have been engaged on general maintenance, connecting new consumers and extending mains. A considerable amount of work has also been undertaken in trying to locate possible sources of interference with radio reception with successful results in eliminating the cause in some cases, but without result in many cases owing to the interference arising wholly from various kind's of interfering apparatus or machines used by consumers themselves. However, this aspect of the matter is being taken up by the Post and Telegraph Department, who arc the controlling authority, in an endeavour to eliminate or minimise preventable interference from these sources. Consumers: Since last meeting 15 new applications for supply have been received, malting the total to date 3164. Fifteen new consumers have been connected, and brings the total number of consumers up to 3147. Extensions and alterations to 47 existing installations have been carried cut. Eleven radio sets and five electric ranges have been installed. Two special resolutions in connection with the conversion of the Board’s loans were confirmed.

CONCRETE POLES? = The Engineer submitted a compre- = hensive report, giving a comparison of = the costs of various sizes of concrete = poles from 35 ft. to 25 ft. Gin., with the = costs of de-sapped ironbark poles. He = reported, inter alia: — = Tlie concrete poles concerned were = made by contract last year in fairly | large quantities for a recently formed = Electric Power Board. The greatest dis- = parity in price is shown on the smaller = sizes of poles. For instance a 30 ft. = concrete pole for a working bending = moment at the ground line of 18,400 lb. = ’fl. costs £3/16/3 against £l/18/8 for = a 30ft. de-sapped ironbark pole which = could carry nearly twice this loading = according to the P.W.D. regulations. A = 25ft. Gin. pole (concrete) costs £2/6/5 e against £l/10/- for a 26ft. de-sapped = ironbark pole allowed to carry a great- = er loading than the concrete pole. Con- | crete poles are of course not nearly so S strong as equivalent dimensioned = Ironbark poles. The whole of the ten- = sion stresses are taken by the steel = reinforcing and the compressive stresses by the concrete —concrete hav- = Ing a low tensile strength. The Go- = vernment regulations specify a factor = of safety of 4 for Ironbark poles and | a factor of safety of 2 for concrete = poles. This means, in other words that = flic ironbark polo must not be loaded a to more than one quarter of its break- = ing strength, while the concrete pole = may be loaded to half its breaking s strength—a concession given to con- | crete because it is recognised that it = will not deteriorate due to decay like = a wooden pole. ’The advantages of concrete poles are firstly their permam = ency and secondly appearance. The dis- = advantages am: Greater first, cost in § most areas. Harder to handle and more care required in transporting, = special lifting and erecting gear re- | quired. Practically impossible to trans- = port them over rough country as the)’ cannot be snigged over the ground. If = they are adopted they must be manu- | factored in large batches the number 5 made at one time having a consider- § able bearing on the cost hence a fair = amount of money must be tied up in = keeping stocks of all types and sizes ~ required. They must be made under = proper conditions by experienced work- = men. Poles cannot be altered once s they are erected and each pole must " be moulded with the required number of gains and provision for fittings to 1 suit any position or type of line re- j quiring different arm construction. = Pole steps must be abandoned as : they practically prohibit the handling ; of the poles if moulded into the con- ; crete. Pole steps are always fitted ; to wooden poles at the erection site. : A concrete pole offers no insulating : protection to a lineman working on it. ; although a dry wooden pole does so , to a marked degree and in the event ■ of contact with one live wire on low tension work the effects are mild, ex- : perienced men are not involved in ; serious risks, and can work on the ; low tension system so far as severe ; shocks to ground are concerned in ; comparative safety. High tension ciicuits are not worked on alive, the very special methods of carrying out this work not having been adopted so far to any great extent on distribution systems in this country. Certain 1e-

search work recently undertaken has revealed that a good wooden pole line whore the insulation of the poles has been destroyed by affixing uninsulated metal guys near the head of the pole is much less prone to lightning disturbances, than lines fixed on metal poles or concrete poles. This fea- ’ ture of a non-insulating support can, 1 of course, be eliminated by using an ; over-rated insulator. Nevertheless the use of concrete poles is making head- ’ way. Methods of manufacture have 3 been improved—the amount of rein- ' forcing steel required has been ’ brought down to a minimum, and the ! weight reduced for a given strength by paying particular attention to the 5 shape and distribution of the material. ’ Ironbark poles have many advantages ’ which cannot be easily disposed of, but ’ sooner or later they require replacing ' and when a high tension line becomes ’ old the shut downs for pole rcplace- ’ ments become intolerable to consum- ■ ers if ring main feed is not availt ;ible. Ultimately the whole line has to l)c rebuilt. !. Mr. Smeaton pointed out that the construction of concrete poles heie would mean keeping the money on the ; Coast, would create a great deal of 1 employment, and would be a good deal T cheaper here on account of the availI able resources, than in most parts oi e New Zealand. He said there was no II question about the difference in the 0 appearance of the two poles, and the ’ fact that they would last so much e longer was a big consideration. Mr. Greenslade said that if suffi-

cient inducement were offered, a company such as the Hume Company, might be prepared to build the poies here. One great disadvantage was the fact that the concrete poles could not be carted over rough country as there was on the Coast, as easily nor as safely as the ironbark poles. The Engineer said concrete poles could not be used on such a line as the Barrytown line, but, as had been pointed out, they would be ideal foi the Ikamatua line. Mr. Greenslade asked what would have been the added cost on the capital oonstructiou cost of the Totara I Flat Hue?

The Engineer said it would have i been about £1 a pole extra to have done the line with concrete poles, about £4OO on a capital expenditure < of £9,000. ! Mr. Kent said what was the use of discussing concrete poles when in 20 years' time all current would be carried underground. I Mr. Greenslade: Yes! You might have wings by that time! Mr. Turley: He’ll never get wings! Mr. Turley said the time had arrived when the Board should do no more importing of poles, and all replacements should be made by concrete poles, imide on the (toast, thus keeping the money and the work here. j The Chairman said a couple of hundred poles would have to be made at a time for the job to be done econo-1 mically. It would be no use trying to ( do 20 or 30 for a job. It might be: possible to get local bodies interested: in the idea of having the poles made on the Coast, other local bodies hav-j ing pipes and concrete slabs for foot-, paths manufactured. I On the Chairman’s suggestion, it was 'decided that all local bodies bp circularised after the holidays, asking (heir co-operation in the proposal. Mr. Parfitt raised the question of the amount of water in the Arnold .- River. He said he had heard several! rumours round the town taht there j was little water in the river, and he I thought the public should have an assurance from the Engineer that there was any amount of water available. The Chairman said he paid a visit to the dam a week or two ago. and then the plant was not. using half the quantity of water there was in the river. ' The Engineer said that there was

now more water in the river than dur-1 ing the dry spell in 1928. The. Board , had nothing whatever to fear in that | direction. ' I The Chairman extended the compli-j ments of the season to all membei s I and to the staff. He said the year had. been fairly strenuous for the Board,' ■ but he could congratulate the mera-| hers on the way they, had carried on the business of the Board, and thanked them for their valuable co-operation drring the vear. The staff had had what was probably the hardest year in I hr- life of the Board, particularly the Engineer and the Secretary, and lie wished to congratulate them on thenwork, and to thank them for their, . co-operation. ' j Mr. Greenslade, on behalf of the other members of the Board reciprocated the Chairman’s good I wishes. x ' l Mr. McDowall (Secretary) thanked j the members for their good wishes, ' ; and said the staff appreciated the fact that thev were working for what ' was probably the best Power Board in , New Zealand, from the staff point of ! view. ! I