ELECTRIC POWER BOARD.

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 28 April 1925, Page 7

ELECTRIC POWER BOARD.

TARANAKI BOARD’S ACTIVITIES. THE MONTH’S PROGRESS. ■ X The monthly meeting of the Taranaki Electric Power Board was held at Elthahi yesterday. There were present : Messrs. H. G. Carman (chairman), T. R. Anderson, IV. H. Were, J. T. Belcher W. V. Harkness, C. E. M.cGinness, R. ,1. Knuckey, H. 11. Climie (engineer) and IN’. J. Tristram (secretary;. NEW MEMBER WELCOMED.

Advice was received from the Eltliam County Council that Mr. R. J. Knuckey had been appointed a member of the board, vice Mr. J. L. Campbell who had resigned. A welcome to Mr. Knuckey was extended by the chairman, who said the board had been fortunate in having good hard working members. He knew Mr. Kncukey to be an efficient worker in any movement in which ho became interested, and Mr. Carman felt sure that Mr Knuckey would prove a worthy member of tne ooard. Mr. Harkness said the county Council was to be complimented on having elected Mr Knuckey to the vacancy,

and also congratulated Mr. Carman on his re-election as a representative ol the Eltliam Borough Council. In suitable reply Mr. Kncukey intimated that he was pleased to be numbered with the 'board members, and he would endeavour as far as possible during his stewardship to exercise his influence in the best interests of ratepayers and the progress of the power scheme. ® Mr. Belcher also said that the people of Eltliam were to be commended on •their wisdom in re-electing Mr. Carman, and the whole district was fortunate in retaining him as .chairman. He made reference in terms of-praise to the manner in which Mr. Carman had discharged the office, and hoped he would long continue as the chairman of the hoard.

Mr. Anderspu added that all members of the hoard echoed the sentiments expressed by the previous speaker. APPLICATION GRANTED.

% . An application for permission to erect a private telephone line from the Tututawa Post Office to her residence, a distance of approximately, half a mile, received from Mrs. S. A. Doris, was granted. - HYDRO DEVELOPMENT.

The engineers (Messrs H. W. CUniio and Son) reported, inter alia, as follows :

Main Tunnel —This has advanced 300 feet during the mouth through wet ground, and in three weeks’ working time. • Contracts. —The contractor. Mr. C. Speck, continues to make steady“pregress with Ins contracts for the Ratapiko dam embankment and road deviation. He has now placed in the darn over half of the total quantity. The embankment, which is now twenty feet high, is capable of forcing through the. diversion tunnel any floods that may occur through the winter. Mr. Tuck, contractor for Downes Tunnel, is now in 560 feet and is driving in fair country. The contractor lias completed the Mangaotea culvert, and finished one half of the one at Salisbury Road. \\ r liile waiting for the concrete in this to set, lie has commenced the excavation for the culvert on the Tariki Road. The contractor has set nil the board s crusher, smd' has made a start to crush about 750 yards of stone from the Waitara River, dumped on the Motukawa Road near Mrs. Crow’s house. With line weather, this work should he completed within a month. It js proposed to distribute about 500 cubic yards of this stone alongside the Motukawn Road for maintenance, and the balance to be carted to the power house for concrete work. The same contractor, Mr. Crigg, has delivered about 400 yards of boulders at the power house site, which will Ire crushed there as soon as the crusher is available.

(Excavation of power house site. Owing to the difficulty of working many men on this job. the contractor will " not complete the excavation for another week. In the meantime the erection of the power house is held up. Steel pipe line.—During the month some of the steel pipes have arrived, and the contractors, the Dunedin Engineering and Steel Co., have commenced preparations for its erection. With a staff of sixteen men they expect to complete their contract in about four months’ time. Tail race. —Tt has been possible to work only a few men on this job, but given fine weather it should be completed this month. It is proposed, however) to get this gang to excavate the turbine pit as soon as the contractor for the power (house site has completed his contract. Linesman’s cottage. —The erection of this cottage has been commenced on the original site near the temporary power house, and Mr. Codd expects to complete the work in about ten days’ time.

■i \ Rainfall records. —The rain gauge has been transferred from the Waipuku Tollgate to the board’s property at the lieadworks. The board’s thanks arc due to Mr. Martin, who for eighteen months has kept an accurate record of the rainfall at the tollgate. It is interesting •to note that the rainfall, during this period, lias been 10} inches more at Waipuku than at Tt%verdale, Norfolk Road, four miles away and two hundred feet lower -elevation. Up to date the rainfall has l>een the lowest recorded for'April for over forty years, and is only about twenty-five j>er cent, of the average rainfall for this month. , Stream flow.—The Manganui River has been low. except for a few days about the 14th. inst., when melting snow on the mountain caused a rise. An accurate measurement of the water on the 24th. inst. indicated that it would supply a demand of 4000 h.p. on a 50 per cent, load factor, at the main power house! without seasonable storage. RETICULATION.

The engineers reported as follows: — Role erection. —All poles are now being erected on piece work. Poles have been erected as follows : —Rawliitiroa apd Anderson roads, 80’ poles, 4 special structures and 9 service poles; Cheal Road, 85 poles, 1 special structure; Finnerty Road, < poles 1 special structure; Durham Road, 75 poles, 0 special structures, 11 service poles; .surrey Road, 16 poles. Opunake Road has. been completed to Cardiff, and special switching structure erected near the monument. Service poles have also been erected on the Cardiff, Climie, Hastings and Hunter roads. On the main transmission line the poles have been erected from the Eltliam sub-station to the ang'e in the Beaconsfield Road.

Wire has been erected as follows: — Main line 9 miles; Hastings Road and services; Mangawhero' Road and Mountain Rond south of Eltliam; Hunter Road . services ; Finnerty Road to Ngaore factory; Opunake Road from Malice to Cardiff ; Roto, Surrey and

Dudley roads; service to No. 2 adit and services at Waipuku. Transformers—Nine transformers have been erected on the Mountain. Opunake, Hastings, Dudley. Kohete, Sole and Finnerty roads. Thirty-two transformers are now in operation, and another twenty-two are ready with the exception of the fuse cutouts. Work in hand.—The Elthani gang are now employed erecting a loop line from the Cheal Road via the Wingrove, Waihapa, Robson and Bird roads to the Skinner Road. The gang in the north lias commenced erecting on the Kaimata Road. It is proposed to complete this loop to the Mountain Road via the junction and Dudley, roads to supplement the existing line supplying power from New Plymouth.' Proposed work. —On the completion of this work it is proposed to commence the line to Toko and further eastward to Douglas should; the response to a canvass warrant it. It is proposed to extend the main transmission line north of Beaconsfield Road via the Stanley and Crovdou roads by contract.

The reports were adopted. Mr. Martin whose services in connection with rainfall record's in the hydro report, was accorded a vote of thanks and granted an , honorarium of £5.