ELECTRIC LIGHT CHARGES

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXII, Issue 160, 22 June 1932, Page 5

ELECTRIC LIGHT CHARGES

NAPIER & HASTINGS HOSPITALS. INVESTIGATION OF DISPARITY. The disparity between the charges for lighting at the Napier and Hastings Hospitals was brought befare the Hawke’s Bay Electric Power Board yesterday afternoon by Mr R. Harding. Taking the charges for the mouth of April last he said that the .-barge for the Hastings Hospital of beds was £43, 8d per unit being cha. a ed for the first 300 units and 6d for every additional unit. At the Napier institution of 70 beds the charge was only £23, 5d per unit being charged for the first 300 units and 3jd for every additional Unit. Mr A. Hobson pointed out that the capital cost to serve the Hastings Hospital was considerably greater than to serve Napier, and the charges had necessarily to be higher. Mr Harding said that the charges per bed at Hastings we;e about 400 per cent higher than at Napier, which he considered was very excessive. The secretary (Mr H. H. Wylie) pointed out that the boroughs read their meters monthly, whereas the board made bi-monthly readings. “That does not get over the big difference between 8d and 5d per unit,” said Mr Harding. “There is a big difference, all right,” said the chairman, Mr T. E. Crosse.

The chairman said that he would have the matter looked into before the next meeting of the board.