GREY POWER BOARD

Greymouth Evening Star, 19 September 1940, Page 10

GREY POWER BOARD

MONTHLY MEETING HELD. —-— / The Grey Power Board held its monthly meeting, last evening; present: Messrs. J. Unwin (chairman), J. Smesitdn, W. Clayton, J. Mulcare, J. B. Kent, A. H. McKane, W. H. Parfitt, A. M. Carroll, and W. Fisher. On the : ,.motion of the chairman, seconded by Mr. Parfitt, it was decided to forward a letter of congratulation to Mr. J. Higgins, on his completion of 60 years’ service as Grey County Engineer. The Greymouth Patriotic Committee wrote, thanking the Board for installing electric light in the soldiers’ shop, Mackay Street, also thanking the engineer and his staff, for their speedy execution of the work. . j Mr. P. J. Twomey wrote, thanking the Board for its donation towards the work among the lepers on Mako- ! gai Island. The trustees of the superannuation) scheme wrote, recommending an al-, teration of Regulation 8 of the agree- ■ ment with the A.M.P. Society. The secretary (Mr. W. S. McClymont) ex- I plained that the alteration would) avoid extra routine work. —Approved. 1 The secretary of the Power Boards’, Association wrote, inquiring whether’ the Board favours a conference . in February or September, 1941. | Mr. Smeaton moved: “That, in the' opinion of this Board, the conference should be held in February.” He said; that now was a time when it was more necessary than ever that Boards and their officers should con- I fer about various matters concerning) the transmission of electricity. Emergencies might arise, and, in the) absence of conferences, there would) be no co-operation between the) Boards. The conference should not; be put back for another 12 months.

Mr. Clayton, in seconding the mo- | tion, agreed that, in the absence of' conferences, Boards got out of touch.) There were many matters requiring 1 attention. j The motion was carried. | The Associate Minister of National Service (Mr. D. Wilson) wrote, regarding the position of Power Board ! employees and military service. i

The secretary said that the letter, was a reply to one sent by the Board! after its August meeting, asking for a; definition of the position of Power) Board employees as regards conscription, and with particular reference to 1 the position of Mr. E. Langbien. | The Associate Minister’s reply said that full consideration had been given to the matters mentioned. The difficulty of replacing skilled men. was appreciated, and the essential nature) of the Board’s operations was recog- i nised. However, the regulations! made no provision for the complete exemption of any industry or occupa- ' tion. A period of postponement had been granted in the case of Mr. Langbein, who was a volunteer, and unless the Board could find a suitable man' to replace him, it was likely that fur- i ther periods of postponement would be granted. As a general: rule, it was not possible to exempt any person) from the ballot, but there was the 1 right of appeal. It was felt that the provisions made would safeguard the interests of local bodies.

LOCAL BODY ELECTIONS ' v The secretary of the Power Boards’ Association wrote with reference to local body elections, scheduled for May, 1941, asking whether the Board favoured a postponement. .. The secretary said that other local bodies had received similar letters. Mr. Smeaton: “I move that this Board is of the opinion that the elec-

tions should be held. I cannot see any necessity for postponing elections of this nature. I do not want to go over the same ground as I have done | elsewhere. The Federal elections 1 are to be held in Australia on Satur- ’ day. If the holding of local body i elections in New Zealand is going to have any effect on the war effort, I 1 think we have a poor chance of win- ■ ning. If one is the Mayor of a bor--1 ough, one looks forward to getting ’ scandalised every election-time, and it is the same with local body memi bers. People have got into the habit ’of looking forward to. elections, and . telling the candidates what they think lof them. The wife of Mark Twain • once feaid that she never knew what a ) monster she had| married, until her 'husband contested a seat in the United States Senate. I Mr. Carroll seconded the motion. j Mr. Parfitt supported it. If a postponement would help to win the war, ! he said, he would be in favour of post- ! poning the elections indefinitely. 1 The Chairman: If the Government 1 do not wish the elections to be held, ;it is a matter-for the Government, and not for the local bodies. - I • The motion was carried. ■ The Power Boards’ Association al- ■ so requested sqpport for a suggestion i that the Government be requested to ' make provision for nominations be- . ing received one month earlier than | usual, in order that the heavy cost of printing the rolls be avoided in the ' case of uncontested elections. f Mr. Kent pointed out that the Board did not use a specially-printed roll. I Mr. Clayton: It does not concern )! this Board, as we use the Borough and ( County rolls. v i It was decided to reply to this effect.

ENGINEER’S REPORT. The Engineer (Mr Sinclair Trotter) reported as follows for the period August 21 to September 17, inclusive:— Reticulation: The outside staff have been engaged on general maintenance, connecting new consumers, and the following works:—Eleven kv line construction Ahaura to Atarau, extensions' to low tension mains, and

dismantling Stillwater-Arnold old 11 kv circuit strung on 33 kv transmission line. The Grey River crossing at Ahaura has been completed, and cable strung as far as the Atarau School. The temporary transformer station for dredge erection has been completed at the dredge site. The pegging of the Hukarere-Maimai 11 kv line has been completed. Some routine testing of earths in country areas is under way, and a small amount of routine maintenance on pole transformer stations has been carried out, and a new transformer has been installed to deal with increased co-operative colliery load at the Nine-mile. Consumers: Since last meeting, 14 new applications for supply have been received, making the total to date 4809; 21 new consumers have been connected, bringing the total number up to-4837. Extensions and alterations to 42 existing installations have been carried out. Nine electric ranges and seven washing machines have been connected. Ninety meters were removed and fitted for various reasons. The re-inspections for the month were 95. Load: Load conditions so far in the present quarter are slightly less than for the corresponding period of last year, due to one small dredge being laid up and other mining consumers being off for short intervals for overhaul. Possibly the milder temperatures have also had some' effect in reducing the amount of power used for heating purposes at this time of the year. Some advertised shut-

downs on subsidiary lines have been made on Sundays, for the purpose of eliminating radio interference. The report was adopted.

Mr Mulcare asked what the position was . regarding the Blackball street lights, one of which was stated to have been out of action for a week. Was anyone responsible? The engineer said that any failure of lights should be reported, but on many occasions this was not done. It sometimes occurred that every person living near the defective light thought that someone else had reported it. On the motion of Mr Mulcare, seconded by Mr Fisher, it was decided to place a notice on the screen at the Blackball theatre, advising people where to lay complaints. Mr Mulcare said that there were a lot of complaints regarding interference with radio reception at Blackball. Thanks to the engineer, the day after a similar complaint was made at Ngahere, the trouble was remedied, and the people .there were grateful. The engineer might be able to remedy the trouble at Blackball. It was believed in some quarters that the new dredge was causing interference with reception in the township. “A lot of people cannot get race results in the daytime,” added Mr Mulcare, “and they feel pretty badly done by!” ' ' Mr Kent said that the location of the cause of interference was really the job of the Post and Telegraph Department.

The engineer agreed that the Department was supposed to locate the interference, and to notify the Board. The Board had no authority to go on private property, such as a dredge. However, if the Board’s staff did find any faults, they would be attended to. Mr Clayton said that the Department’s inspector could be informed about the complaints.

FINANCE COMMITTEE. The Finance Committee reported -that accounts paid since the previous meeting amoimted to £lO7O/13/7, and accounts amounting to £1152/5/3 were passed ’’for payment, making a total of £2222/18/10. The Electricity Controller acknowledged the Board’s letter regarding the 5 per cent, increase in all wages and salaries. The recommendation of the chairman ahd engineer, that the Board purchase a Bedford truck as tendered for by Schaef’s, Ltd., at £396, was adopted. It was further decided to call for tenders for the Plymouth car, used by the faultman. The secretary’s report was approved, as follows, for the period August 20 to September 16: The consolidated bank account balance stands at £18,802/1/7. Accounts tod>e passed this meeting: £2,222/18/10, less accounts paid since last meeting £1,070/13/7 — £1,152/5/3; total £17,649/16/4. The August, 1940, meter-readings totalled £6,490/4/9 of revenue, an increase of £450 approximately over the same period in 1939. Financial assistance totalling £4,144/5/10 has been given towards the purchase of ranges. Deposits and instalments paid have reduced the balance outstanding to £1,573/16/3. The large power accounts are in good condition, only two consumers' owing more than the current month’s account.

KUMARA JUNCTION PROPOSAL. —• SUPPLY PROBLEM DISCUSSED. The Chief Electrical ’Engineer, Public Works Department, wrote, inquiring whether the Board is prepared to take the necessary steps to make power available to the prospective consumers in the immediate vicinity- of Kumar a Junction, It

was stated that, for the past two years, numerous had been received for supply, but efforts to obtain it from Westland Power, Ltd., had been fruitless. The nearest line of Westland Power, Ltd., was six miles from the Tramway Hotel. Supply could be given from the Grey district, but it was understood that the Grey Board did not wish to supply power in conjunction with Westland Power, Ltd. Would the Grey Board, after investigating the position, be prepared to pass the necessary resolution to enable supply to be made available, such supply to be furnished by the Grey Board over the existing 11,000-volt line over the Teremakau River, the question of boundaries to be settled by the Grey Board and Westland Power, Ltd. Mi’ Clayton moved that the Engineer submit a report.

Mr McKane seconded the motion, with the proviso that the Chief Electrical Engineer be notified of what action had been taken. There was quite a 'lot to be considered, including the matter of cost, and the question of whether the material was available.

Mr Clayton agreed to the proviso. Mr Smeaton: We have already had a report from the Engineer. “Several reports,” said Mr Kent.

Mr Smeaton: Mr Trotter is familiar with every phase of the business. If he thinks the load would be good, I for one would be prepared to pass the necessary resolution to-night. The chairman said he understood the Engineer was in favour of taking it over. The Engineer said that, so far as the Board was concerned, the load was all right. There were two hotels, the railway houses, and 11 others. Mr Kent: To my mind, this matter has been held up much too long. Those people have been there, and juice has been available. They have been unable to get it, simply because different people have been unable to come to an arrangement. Now is the opportunity, and we should grasp it with both hands, and get on with the job as soon as we can. To ask for a report, when we have several, is only wasting time. Anything we can do to give the people juice as soon as they can get it should be done. The way to do that is to move the necessary resolution, to put the machinery in order to confer with Westland Power, Ltd. Mr Clayton said he did not; remember seeing a report from the Engineer. There was the question of whether the necessary material could be secured. The Engineer said it could not be obtained at the present- time. Mr McKane said he was not aware, when he seconded the motion, that the Engineer had reported on the matter. Mr Carroll said it looked as if Mrj Trotter had reported, as he was, familiar with the details. Mr ■ McKane said that they could count the prospective consumers on their fingers, while riding past on a bicycle. In reply to a question, the Engineer said that the matter had been under consideration for two • years. Mr Kent: It even went to the floor of the House. It is a funny thing that members of this Board do not know. Mr McKane said he remembered one party applying for a transfer of territory. The chairman said that the Public Works Department wished to know whether the Board was prepared to take the territory over, but they could hot do anything until they had a conference with Westland Power, Ltd., through the Westland Power Board. Actually the Board pould not decide on anything that night.

Mr Carroll: We can decide that we ■ are prepared to agree to the spirit of i the letter from the Public Works Deipartment, but we cannot go any i further until Westland Power, Ltd., • agree with us on certain things. | The chairman moved as an amend'ment: “That, in accordance with the ) wishes of the Public Works Department, the chairman, Engineer, and I secretary arrange a conference with ' representatives of Westland Power, Ltd., through the Westland Power ; Board, with a view to effecting the I transfer to the Grey Board of certain territory now part of the district of Westland Power, Ltd.” Mr Kent seconded the amendment. Messrs Clayton and McKane thereupon withdrew their motion, and the chairman’s amendment became the motion. Mr Mulcare: Would it pay to put a line down to Kumara Junction, if there is nothing beyond it? Would it pay to put it in for those few houses? Mr Clayton: It is not a line. The Engineer said that there had been a line in existence, but it would have to be rebuilt. The line was now on the other side of the river. Mr Clayton: Did your previous report give an indication of the cost to the Board? The Engineer explained that, at the time he reported, all that was necessary was to put up a transformer, but the same conditions did not apply to-day. Mr Mulcare, speaking as a G'rey County Council representative, said he would like to see the County completely reticulated first—for instance, Barrytown. He had a feeling that Barrytown was different from most dredging propositions, as the new dredge was leaving the ground in better condition than it was before being dredged. When the dredging was completed, the farming properties would still be there. Mr Kent pointed out that Board members were agreed that the supply should go through to Barrytown, but they could not do the work at present. Mr Mulcare said his point was that it might not pay to go to Kumara Junction. He wasj quite satisfied that the Engineer could not build a line for Kumara Junction residents alone, and make it profitable, if there was nothing beyond it. There was a certain amount of prospect in it, said the chairman. The Engineer said that the Board would not be allowed to build a fine, without the imposition of safeguarding conditions. • Mr Kent: Those people have got to have the juice. I don’t care who does it. Mr Mulcare said that the Government would not allow them to build the line, unless it was a profitable proposition. A certain return must be secured on the capital expended. Mr Carroll: The only thing we can do at present is to agree to the principle. Mr Kent: I think we forget some-! times that this is a public service. | “No one will allow us to forget,”) remarked Mr Parfitt. | Mr Mulcare: We have farmers) within three miles of the Greymouth) Post Office, who have not got the) juice—at Kaiata, for instance. Mr Kent: Whose fault is that? Mr Mulcare: They have not got it. It does not matter whose- fault it is. Mr McKane said it was absolutely impossible -for the Board to supply the particular man referred to by Mr Mulcare. The chairman’s motion, that a conference be arranged with Westland Power, Ltd., was ’carried.