ELECTRICITY.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVII, Issue 17285, 28 September 1916, Page 7

ELECTRICITY.

SERIOUS CHARGES IN COUNCIL. COUNCILLOR SCOTT CRITICAL. V 1 111 1 ' SUCCESS OP SCHEME ARGUED. ’ The ‘Electricity Committee roportod to the City Council last night that during the five months ended August 31 the load had increased by 1942 kilowatts against 1453 kilowatts for the whole of the provious year. The growth _ of tho business was > far beyond even the liberal estimates made last ' year. Provision wtfuld' have to bo made to meet thia increased demand, for while material was obtainable the refusal of new.- consumers could, not bo entertained for a moment. Tho estimates made at the. inception of tho scheme, which were, considered exceedingly optimistic at-,tho - time, provided for a load of 4000 kilowatts, within from five to seven years, and for spreading tho expenditure over this period. The load to-day, after eighteen ■ months’ operation, was 7800 kilowatts." The committee had reported the large increase in the demand for electricity on December 8, and that it hoped to ho able to carry on without raising further capital, hut ■/' the phenomenal increase, together with c- the increasing ratio of new consumers, J made it imperative to reconsider the position. The committee had come to the 1 ' conclusion that it would, be necessary ■to ask for more capital, and a further report would bo presented shortly. ’ Councillor G. Scott said that the re- ’ port had been drawn up by a mau who . .'either did not know his business_or desired to deoeive the citizens. (Dissent.) He was astounded that the : Mayor should allow such a deliberate : misstatement to go out that the load to-day was 7800 kilowatts. Tf there was such a load, the revenue should be .? . 6105,000. The counoil had been misleading the public by mixing up the peak load with consumers’ connections. '* 2•: If this was so, tho electrical utulcrtaking was a bad business. On September 10 the Government/report showed the ;/ city’s peak load at' 1360 kilowatts. The report was merely the forerunner ot V request for more capital, which he hoped the ratepayers . wcMld decline. The council had estimated for £107.000, hut had asked, for £120,000 to nave plenty of money in hand. But not only the £120,000, but an additional 10 per cent had been expended, making a total of £136,000, yet a detailed report on the finances of the electrical undertaking was not forthcoming, because the committee was ashamed to give it. The whole undertaking had been most shamefully mismanaged, in a most autocratic manner. It was time tnat it went back, to the Government, under which lighting would be cheaper, and industries would boom. The committee should be ashamed of such extensive connections without the business. There was no £6OOO profit as alleged. Ho hoped the ratepayers would object to ■further expenditure while the Mayor or ‘ the Electricity Committee was in office. He moved to refer the matter hack to the committee. . ~ ~ , Councillor J. O. Jameson said that .Councillor Scott should prove' charges of malpractice at once or withdraw. Ho had charged the Mayor and committee with wilfully deceiving the right,”- assented Councillor Scott. : , , Councillor Jameson said that an expert should be called in to report on the matter, and if . Counoilllor _ Scott was right the Mayor should resign. Otherwise he should.resign himself. . ' ‘ “Certainly,” said Councillor Scott. “ I will place this report and the re£ort of December 6 in the hands of a lagistrate or two competent citizens, and get their decision. I say this, that the committee do’not know their business, or have attempted to deceive the public. That is the statement I make. It is a most serious one. :. The Mayor called on Councillor Scott to sit down, but-Councillor Scott replied, “ You cannot bluff me this time. ’ “ You will not bluff the council, cither,” said the Mayor. “ Councillor Scott makes such wild statements that no one would take them down. >,* Councillor Peek, in seconding the amendment, said that-some Councillor Scott had made certain statements about street lighting and the committee had promised to bring down a full statement at the next meeting, but it had never appeared. The committee had vastly exceeded its estimates. ~ , Councillor J, M’Comhs said that the essential facte were that Lake Coleridge was a good scheme, which meant very cheap electricity. Councillor Scott 1 would require to make a very much longer speech to convince the council of the unfairness of the report. Ho had not stated the factor of diversity, ~ and might have stated the estimated! ratio of 1 peak load to connected bad. j’ui The estimated peak load bad been 4000 kilowatts and the connected load 6000 ■ ' -kilowatts. Tf the city had .a peak load :• of 2000 and a connected load of 7800 - it meant that it was doing 6uch good business that it must have more capital. They would be doing a disservico to the city if they did not say “ the ‘scheme is such a great success that you must give us more capital to make ■ft a still greater success.” .Councillor A. S. Taylor said that Councillor Scott had made so many .statements of malpractice without backing them up that he was not going _ to, follow his latest allegations. The ' committee’s report was simply information, and the crxix of the position had been touched by Councillor M’Combs As for Councillor Peek, the report on street lighting, covering six pages, had been presented at tho next u meeting. • * * Councillor D. G. Sullivan asked 'whether the engineer had drawn up 'the report. i U No,” said Councillor Taylor; , “whatever is' in it I take the responsibility for.” , . The Mayor challenged Councillor ‘Scott to prove that the interim balancesheet was false. Of the 2100 consumers 25 per cent paid lets than 3s a month, and 50 per cent less than 4s a month for lighting. The scheme had been an unqualified success, and it was no y wonder that more money had to bo Bpenv._ Councillor Scott was continually enlarging the council with. raising the rates by Increasing the lighting charges beyond the estimates, bait he had it in writing from Mr Black that he did not include capital charges in the amount for street lamps, which tho city’s charges covered. The' Mayor added that Councillor Scott was continually making reflections on the council and its officers, and never made any attempt to prove them. It was most deplorable. “ I challenge you to take the platform,” said Councillor Scott. “I would if I bad my notes,” said the Mayor. The amendment was lost, and the report was adopted. Councillor Jaracton urged that Mr Edgar Stead should be asked to report on Councillor Scott’s allegations, provided that he should resign if-they were disproved. Councillor Scott said that ho would accept the condition if Professor Scott were asked to report also. A motion to this effect "was rejected by ten votes to three, and the matter then dropped.