GREY POWER BOARD

Grey River Argus, 16 August 1934, Page 6

GREY POWER BOARD

MONTHLY MEETING. The Grey Electric Power Board held its monthly meeting last evening. Present: Messrs W. Clayton (chairman), J. W. Greenslade, J. Mulcare, H. G. Carter, W. H. Parfitt, F. L. Turley, J. B. Kent and J. Smeaton. ENGINEER’S REPORT. The Engineer (Mr Sinclair Trotter) reported as under for the period 18th July, 1934, to 14th August, 1934, inclusive:— Arnold River Generating Station: — The units generated and maximum demands for the four weeks ending 12th August were as follows:—Week ending 22/7/34 k.w.h generated 157,200, maximum demand 1530; 29/7/34 155,600 — 1494; 5/8/34 153,900—1458; 12/8/34 153,(jt>0—1494; total for four weeks — 620,300 k.w. The highest weekly load factor wan 62.7 per cent., and the lowest 60.9 per cent. Reticulation: The outsid e staff have been engaged oil general maintenance, small extensions to mains and connecting new consumers, preparing materials and transformers etc. for installation on the new lines. All the transformers in service on the system have been inspected and a few requiring minor repairs have been brought m for attention, oil filtering and repainting. Power supply has been given at the .-ate of the Kokiri dredg c fo r construction purposes.

Consumers: Since last meeting 22 new applications for supply have been received, making a total to dat c of 3056. Eighteen new consumers have been connected and brings the total nuiqber of consumers up to 3000. Extensions and alterations to 61 existing installations have been carried out; 34 radio sets and 4 elecric ranges have been installed. The connected load for th c period 'is:—Light, present 6.125, previous 1157.115, total 1163.240 k.w. Heat and light 9.800 —2466.370, total 2476.170 k.w. Water Heating 3.0 — 155.450, total 158.450 k.w. Power 18.5 —5092.35, total 5110.85 h.p. Cooking 22.0—1528.6, total 1550.6 k.w. Total load for month 65 k.w. Total load at last meeting 8890. Grand total 8955 k.w.

Brian Boru-Hukarere Line Contract —A further shipment of poles landed ex “Gabriella” on Monday last, leav ing a small balance still to come for ward. However, the contractor now has enough poles to complete his work Progress* on this contract ‘is the subject of a separate report. The report was adopted. FINANCE COMMITTEE. The chairman (Mr Clayton) report •‘d:—Your Finance Committee met athe Board’s Office, Mackay Street, on Tuesday, 14th August, at 7.30 p in. A’l members were present with the exception of Messrs Turley and Duggan. Ir was recommended that accounts 'mounting to £2271 llu Id be passed for payment; Bellvue Mines guarantee; That th e letter from the Bellvue Mine/ bp received and Ithat the party be advised that no mines on the line, which should be paying guarantee, were not <h ing so; Dobson Siding: That, the chairman and Engineer inspect the material at the siding with a view to deciding as to its disposal; Overseas Loan: That Mr Greenslade be asked to attend the conference in connection with this matter in Wellington providing he is present at the Executive meeting of the Municipal Association and also that Mr O’Brien be asked to attend whether Mr Greenslade was able or not and that particulars of nr overseas loans and a copy of lettey from T and G. Mutual be forwarded to Mr O’Brien: Oraugipuku Erosion: That the letter from the District Engineer. Public Works Department, be received and that he be asked to advise at an early date, th e earnings of the men on the work and that the Board uphold the principle that a married man should be able to return to his home during the week-end; Powe» Board Conference.’-. That the chairman secretary and Engineer be authorised to proceed to the Power Board con ferences; Power Boards’ Association: That the delegates to the conference be authorised to exercise their initia tive with regard to th e formation of a separate Power Boards’ Association as distinct from the Municipal Electric Supply Authorities’ Association; that the report of the Secretary be received and adopted; Sinking Fund C’ommis sinner. £16,000 Loan: That the Public Trustee be appointed Sinking Fund Commissioner for this loan; Harbour Board Lease: That the chairman’s re port on the deputation to the Harbow Board be received and that the accept mice of the lease be endorsed on the terms laid down by the Harbour Board: Sliding Rate Consumers: The Chairman reported that considerable difficulty was being experienced in arriving at a decision with regard to tho installa tion of a new rate of charge. It is recommended that this matter be left in abeyance until such time as the Board’s finances were able to withstand any deleterious effects, and until further information was available on which to base the charge; Balanc e of Account: The balance of Power Fund Account i.‘» as follows: Receipts for July £3344 4s 9d; balance o/d £3927 14s 4d; balance o/d 30/6/34 £5356 4s 9d; payments £1915 14s 4d; total £7271 19s Id.

The Chairman, referring to the mining company guarantees, said that every consumer on the line had paid a guarantee. With reference to the Dobson siding the Chairman said the Engineer had been over the works and had prepared a statement of the number of sleepers and rails. The Railway Department would be interviewed to see if it would purchase them, or an effort would be made to dispose of them in some other direction. The buildings and site had been advertised for sale, but no offers had been forthcoming. The Chairman said a letter had been received from the Public Works Department in connection with_ tno Orangipuku. erosion, stating that it could not yet be stated what the men engaged on this work were earning.

but that it looked as though they would earn more than £3 a week. Mr Greenslade said the men had been put on a co-operative basis and the Public Works Department had not yet measured up to ascertain what the men were earning. Speaking on the subject of the Power Boards’ Associa tion .Conference, he thought that remits to come before • the Conference should be first sent to Power Boards. Mr Greenslade said this was the rule with regard to the Municipal Conference It was a good idea and would give them some grounds to work on.

The Chairman said the Secretary had not yet received an agenda paper and it was thought that it might have gone astray. Mr Kent thought that the Board should support the formation of an Approval Board. He had suggested at the last Conference that there should be, oue, as it would protect people against buying “cheap trash” which was coming into the country. Some of the electrical equipment was absolutely dangerous to the public. Such cheap articles were only made to sell and not to use. He thought the delegates to the Conference should press this remit. He gave an instance of a friend having bought “rubbish,” which one of the Power Board men had later told him was no good. Referring to the proposal to appoint a Sinking Fund Commissioner, the Chairman said it had been found that it was not possible for the Board to buy its debentures in, and it had been decided to switch over to the Public Trust again. The Chairman said that with regard to the sliding scale proposed, mentioned in the Finance Report, the Board did not want to lose any revenue, and was not in a position to lose revenue. The Board wanted to be fair to everyone, and did not want to penalise anybody. A lot of houses were connected and there would be a lot of rooms to inspect, and generally a lot of information to be gathered. The Board would have to let the matter stay in abeyance meantime.

Referring to the balance of accounts the Chairman said the Board had made up during the month £2OOO and there was no interest to pay out. However, there was interest to pay at some time or other. All the amounts were paid through one account in the Bank. The Finance report was adopted.

Mr Kent said that the matter of radio interference was another matter that should come up for consideration at the Conference. In France there was an authority, such as an Approval Board, which made it compulsory to fit electrical equipment with certain gadgets to prevent interference, although it was impossible as yet to find a complete solution to the complex problem involved. At times, the Board had received complaints, although the percentage of fluctuation was possibly less in this district than in any other centre in New Zealand. Five per cent, either way from the nominal 230 volts at consumers’ premises was allowed by the Public. Works Department.. That was why he thought a lot could be done by the setting up of an Approval Board. The Chairman said Mr Tuney would take a note of this suggestion, and he would do what he possibly could.

The Chairman stated that the Board had an application to supply another dredge with power. It was situated on the Blackball Creek, and there was no necessity to put much line in, so that the Board would not be laying out < great deal of money. The line practically ran past the dredge. Mr Kent said the Board’s advertising should take the form of an informative nature. The Board was out to give service, and had a service to give, and they had got to tell the people about it. Mr Smeaton said the Board was getting a lot of increased business through advertising. Mr Greenslade asked how the fund for financial assistance stood. He suggested that people could be allowed to make time payments. The Chairman said the Board had let out £5OO in all in financial assistance, but only £250 was outstanding. It had ■ been of great assistance to people in putting in the electric light. The terms were 25 per cent, down, with the payments spread over a period of two years. Mr Smeaton said the Board had shown great consideration to consumers. Mr Kent said the Board should consider reducing the interest charge. Tlie Chairman said he thought the scheme was alright. There were no big accounts out. Mr Turley said that the fact that there was only £250 outstanding showed that the scheme was a good one, and he did not think the Board could do any better. The Chairman said the only way the Board could assist was in making the first payment lower.