WAIRERE POWER BOARD

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXVI, Issue 3439, 5 March 1932, Page 5

WAIRERE POWER BOARD

MONTHLY MEETING. The monthly meeting of the Wairere Power Board was held yesterday, there being present Messrs. E. Tolme (chairman), C. K. Wilson, G. Nelson, R. Boddy, M. A. MacKenzie, F. C. Davidson, the secretary, Miss Bond, and the engineer, Mr. Harvey. A letter was received from the State Fire Office in reply to a query from the Boaid as to tne position regarding the insurance # of - the consumers who did their own "snigging" of poles on their own property when an installation was made. The letter stated that the insurance only covered men who were in receipt of wages from the Board: The chairman stated that the position was a peculiar one. Consumers who helped in the installation were allowed a concession and it was a question whether this concession did not come under the meaning of wages. Mr. Wilson said that the Board should not run any risk in the matter, and moved that all men who did their own "snigging" of poles or helped in the installations should be placed on the pay-roll, so that they would be covered by the Board's insurance. The resolution was carried.

A letter signed by a number of suppliers to the Aria Dairy Factory complaining that the power had of late not been uniform, and this led to • a lot of trouble with the separators.

Mr. Nelson said, in reply to the suggestion that the trouble may have been caused by an obsolete separator, that this was not the trouble. If the power was irregular it would cause a lot of trouble.

The engineer stated that he had been told of this trouble, but the difficulty had been overcome. There had been some trouble with the Aria feeder, but this had been rectified, and there had been no further complaints. Mr. Nelson said "that the trouble might have been caused by the sawmill taking a heavy load, but inquiries had not proved this. The engineer stated that the river had been lower this year than he had ever seen it, and this might have been a contributing cause of the irregularity of power. Mr. MacKenzie endorsed the remarks of the river regarding the lowness of the state of the river. On one day last month one could walk across the river near the headworks without wetting the feet, all the water in the river going through the pipes.

The engineer stated that he would watch the supply at Aria and remedy the complaints if they occurred again. The question came up of issuing a debenture of £SO for which the Board, had the necessary authority. The engineer stated that this amount would come in handy for the purchase of a load recorder or kilowatt meter. The time was coming when the Board would find this meter of great value in keeping the peak load down and would enable the Board to give a concession to those not using power and light at the peak load. It was decided, however, not to take any action in the meantime, the feeling being that the cost of raising fjuch a small amount was prohibitive.

Surcharge on Overdue Rates.

A lengthy discussion took place regarding the surcharge made for overdue accounts, a court case with the Board on this matter now pending.

The chairman said that this was quite a business proposal, and the Board was quite justified in making this charge^ Mr. Wilson stated it was a matter for surprise that this matter had not been dealt with by the Power Boards' Association. County councils and other local bodies had the power to make such a charge, and he asked why Power Boards had not the same power.

On the motion of Mr. Boddy, seconded by Mr. Davidson, it was decided that a remit be sent forward to the Power Boards' Association that every be made to have this charge placed on a legal basis. In supporting the motion members expressed the opinion that if there was any question about the legality of the charge, legislation should be provided to clarify the position.

When dealing with a letter from the Power Boards' Association, asking if the Board had any remits to forward to the annual conference, Mr. Wilson expressed the opinion that the fees charged to Power Boards by the Association should be cut down, as it was questionable whether the Board was getting value for their fees. On the motion of Mr. Wilson, seconded by Mr. Davidson, it was resolved that a remit be sent asking that these fees should be cut down by 20 per cent.

Cutting Down Trees

In his monthly report the engineer stated that it would be advisable to employ additional labour to cut back trees, as the heavy growth during the summer was endangering the lines. Mr. Davidson suggested that unemployed labour under No.. 5 scheme might be available for this work and save expense. The engineer said that experienced men were necessary for this work and it would be dangerous to employ such labour. Mr. MacKenzie asked whether this cutting of trees could be done so that the work would hot be an annual charge on the Board. The chairman stated that this was a matter that required co-operation. He had seen County Council and Public Works employees cutting down trees and now Power Boards had to do the same. One set plan amongst all the interested bodies would save a large amount of expense for all. Mr. Wilson said it appeared that in some cases it would be better to divert the lines instead of having the annual expense of tree-cutting. If it cost £SO or £6O to shift the lines it would give a permanent relief , from this recurring expense. The engineer said that in some cases there would be difficulty in deviating the lines, as there, were the Post and Telegraphic regulations to comply with. He had the assurance

from a number of consumers that they would help in cutting down trees that were interfering with the Board's lines. On the motion of Mr. Davidson it was decided to authorise the engineer to employ the necessary labour for tree-cutting. On the motion of Mr. Nelson, seconded by Mr. Davidson, the chairman and engineer were directed to inspect and make a report on the lines on the Totoro Road to see if the line could be diverted instead of cutting the trees along this line. Mr. Boddy pointed out that many property owners did not realise that if a tree belonging to them fell across a line and caused a death, the owners would be held responsible.

Miscellaneous.

In the engineer's report it was suggested that the outlet race be deepened approximately by two feet. This would give an additional 10 horse power for every foot. The cost would be between £4O and £45. After some discussion Mr. Boddy moved that the work be carried out, but the motion was lost on the casting vote of the chairman.