GREY POWER BOARD

Greymouth Evening Star, 15 June 1944, Page 2

GREY POWER BOARD

MR. PARFITT NEW CHAIRMAN

| Mr. W. H. Parfitt was appointed Chairman at the annual meeting of the Grey Electric Power Board, i which was held in conjunction with the monthly meeting last evening. Mr. Parfitt was nominated by Messrs W. Clayton and A. L. McKay, and defeated Mr. P. Blanchfield, nominated by Messrs J. Ryan and J. B. Kent, by five votes to three. Mr. Parfitt, in returning thanks, said he appreciated the honour of being Chairman for a second time. (He held the position in 1936-37). In the absence of the retiring, Chairman, Mr. J. Mulcare, through indisposition, Mr. Clayton was voted to the chair at the beginning of the meeting, also present being Messrs Parfitt, Kent, Blanchfield, Ryan, A. L. McKay, W. McGilchrist and L. N. Downes. The Chairman’s annual report, which was read in Mr. Mulcare’s absence, recorded a net profit, subject to audit, of £12,716, this being also subject to small adjustments. Recalling that in 1927, when the supply vwas commenced, £9,028 revenue from sales was received, the report proceeded: “It rose to about £33,000 per annum in the years _ 1931-35, when it started to climb again, mainly on account of the sale of large , blocks of power to dredges and mines. In 1936 we received only £16,000 from the sale of electricity for motors etc., and in the year just ended, £.52,783, a figure that bulks largely in the total revenue figure of £94,000-odd. During this period the average price per unit sold has dropped from 1.91 pence to .76 of a penny and the number of consumers has risen from 739 to over 5,300. The Board is repaying I the capital borrowed for the scheme , and to date has appropriated for this purpose £75,800, largely from sinking funds, but an annually increasing amount direct from revenue. During the year another loan of £16,000 was completely disposed of by repay- - ment of the last £2,000 from sinking funds, £1,551/15/- was paid off several small loans, and the sum of £6,900 paid from sinking funds off the Conversion Loan which has been reduced from £191,385 in 1936 to £141,385. The fact that so large a proportion of our revenue comes from the sale of power to dredges and mines requires that the Board should tread carefully against the day when this load drops back, as even the most optimistic must believe it will. When it goes it must not be supposed that the domestic and commercial load will remain at its present figure, because, being largely dependent on the mining and dredging ’industries, it will fade away when they die. In the case of this and other Boards the reticulation of sparsely-populated areas and the question of the rehabilitation of returned soldiers go hand-in-hand, and no scheme for either is of any use without money. The Board has outgrown its present office and a year ago agreed that plang for a new one should be prepared when possible. Our Depreciation Fund is not quite £B,OOO, on assets of almost £200,000.” The Chairman concluded his report by recommending that as money became available £3OOO be invested in war savings as an addition to the general reserve, £lOOO in the common fund of the Public Trustee as Depreciation Fund Commissioner, £lOOO in an insurance reserve, and £3OOO as the first instalment of a building loan, the last two sums to be held on fixed deposit or short-term war loan. SECRETARY’S REPORT

The Secretary (Mr. W. S. McClymont) reported, inter alia: “Gross revenue from the sale of electricity now appears to be within striking distance of the £lOO,OOO mark, having jumped to £94,048/13/6 from £82,740/18/1 at March 31, 1943. Domestic lighting revenue has gone back by £295, although the units consumed have shown an increase of 66,000, reflecting the penny per unit reduction made early in the financial year. Electricity consumption under every other heading has increased, with a corresponding rise in revenue, especially in resuect of power, which has climbed to £52,783 from last year’s figures of £45,799. The Government has received . £41,458 for power supplied, against £38,701, but the costs of maintenance and management show comparatively little increase. One loan only was raised during the year,’, £7,000 from the Colonial Mutual As- , surance Co., at 3J per cent, uplifted I on 1/4/43. As this money was raised to recoup the Power Fund Account for the cost of erecting the lines to Burke’s Creek and Waipuna, and as no other major reticulation job was undertaken, sundry small capital works had to be financed out of the Power Fund account. The interest bill showed a reduction, due to this and to the £10,451 of principal repaid on the different loans. Sinking Funds remained stationary at £B,035 and will continue so unless the Board ever borrowed money on any other than a table basis, an unlikely happening.” The estimates were adopted as follow:— i

Income—Public Lighting, £1,710 Domestic service £25,500. Commercial, £13,000. Power, £53,852. Discounts lost, £6OO. Interest from Fixed Deposit £lOO. Total £94,762. Expenditure.— Operating charges: Cost of Power, £42,588. Distribution Maintenance, £7,700. Public Lighting £3OO. Management and General £B,000. Tools renewal, £3OO. Total £58,988. Capital Charges.—debenture Interest £7,800. Sinking Fund appropriation £8,035. Loans repaid out of revenue, £1,608. Capital expenditure from revenue appropriation, £6,000. Total £23,443. Estimated surplus for year £12,331. The Chairman’s honorarium was again fixed at £lOO. . , , The whole Board was appointed Finance Committee and the meeting day was retained as the third Wednesday in each month.

MONTHLY MEETING Accounts totalling £ 1357/19/9 were passed for payment. The Clerk, Grey County Council, advised that Messrs Clayton, Mulcare and Ryan had been elected County representatives. Mr J. Smeaton, who did not seek re-election, thanked the Board for its letter of appreciation of his long service.

The Town Clerk, Christchurch, advised that Messrs Kent, and R. T. McMillan were each supported by three boards for the position of representative of the South Island Power Boards on the South Island Local Bodies’ Executive.

The Engineer (Mr Sinclair Trot-1 ter) reported that the line staff had been engaged on general maintenance of overhead lines in Blackball, Dobson, and Greymouth. A start had been made with the erection of one mile six chains of 11 k.v. line at Reefton for supplying three small collieries. Further short extensions in this area on the coalfield would) probably be required in the near fu-1 ture. A new sawmill in the Arnold; district was being built and would! .involve a short extension, well under* 'a mile. Since last meeting three new applications had been received and, permits issued, eight new consumers had been connected. Applications now totalled 5,286 and consumers 5,288. The Secretary, in his monthly report, stated that the Power Fund Ac-count-bank balance was £8,493/4/5. Cash takings since the May report to- ■ tailed £3,975/6/8. There was out-

standing on consumers’ financiallyassisted range sales an amount of £2,044/4/8 out of a total of £12,187 14/9. During May the “A” (Greymouth) and “C” (part country area) groups were read returning a revenue of £9,691/12/1, which included May 1 large power readings totalling £3.278/18/11, all of which had been paid.