Hydro-Electricity

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XV, Issue 186, 6 November 1925, Page 3

Hydro-Electricity

H.B. POWER BOARD LOAN. EXPLANATION to RATEPAY’ERS. Next Tuesday the ratepayers in the Hawke’s Bay County and Taradalc Town District will be asked to sanction a loan for £300,000 for the purpose of reticulating th© district to receive current from Mangahao and Waikaremoana. In order that ratepayers may be able to discuss the loan from its various aspects meetings were held yesterday at Waiohiki, Puketapu, Waimarama. Pakowhai, Maraetotara, Stortford Lodge, and West shore. They were all well attended and considerable enthusiasm was shown. Members of th© Hawke’s Bay Electric Power Board were present and explained the scheme amd the benefits to be derived from hydro-electricity. At each meeting an engineer of the Board was in attendance and detailed many of the technical uses of electricity, more especially in the home and its application to the farm for doing all classes of work. At Pakowhai where there was a large attendance Mr. J. B. Andrew (chairman of th© Power Board) said that members of the Board intended visiting every part of the district ta explain th© schern© and answer questions. Although they would have liked to have had the current from AVaikare moana, the Mangahao scheme was onlv part and parcel of the three-key system —Arapunui, Waikaremoana and Man gahao were each part of it. Th© scheme was so arranged that if trouble arose at any on© place the current could be switched over on to the othei two, so that continuous current could always be maintained. As soon as tha Mangahao scheme became overloaded the sooner would Waikaremoana ba gone on with. The current would come from Mangahao, but part of tha cost of the work would be charged against Waikaremoana, as it was a part of the work. 'The scheme foi which the Power Board was asking support had been endorsed by Mr. Gouvain, an Auckland engineer, and was approved of by the Public Works Department. ADVANTAGES TO BE GAINED.

There was practically nothing that hydro-electricity could not be used for, and the benefits derived were numerous. It was a national scheme and it was intended to extend far back int< the outlying parts of th© county sd that county settlers should be able to enjoy the same comforts as town dwellers. Th© idea was to reticulate immediately certain areas. The pneo of th© current would be 8d per unit It was not intended to run out hungry lines into th© county without a guar antee of 13 per cent to cover interest and working fund on the cost of th© work. If the poll was successful tho Napier Power Board’s largest customer would b© linked up by April and the freezing works a little later. The Board would be then assured of a cer tain amount of income. EXCELLENT PROPOSITION. Mr. Andrew explained that the general rate to be levied was to meet interest and. sinking fund. It was really only a form of security and ho was confident that it would never be collected. Power Boards all over New Zealand were meeting with success and he considered that Hawke’s Bay should do as well, if not better, than other districts. The Board had not rushed into the scheme but had given it most careful consideration. It was undoubtedly with the excellent prospects one of the best propositions in New Zealand. It was quite possible that Hastings would come in before very long and so assist the county settlers. An important point was that Power Boards were not allowed to make a profit; they had to either extend their lines or reduce their charges. The engineer. Mr. Lancaster, dealt with the question of cooking by electricity and explained the use of the ranges. Cooking results from electric ranges were far better than by any other type of range. With the addition of the automatic device food could be put on to cook and there was no need for anyone to be in attendance until they were ready to prepare for the meal. He stated that th© Board also gave financial assistance for the purchase of electrical ranges, etc., and repayments wer© made on an easy system, it was possible to get electrical wood choppers and clotheswashers. Part of th© loan, a sum of £2S,OCX), was required lor financing consumers for house wiring. A number of questions were satisfactorily answered and the meeting closed with a hearty vote of thanks to th© members of the Board and the engineer for explaining the scheme in detail. Meetings will be held at Clive Hall and Napier South School at 8 o’clock this evening.