ELECTRICAL ENERGY

Manawatu Standard, Volume L, Issue 139, 12 May 1930, Page 6

ELECTRICAL ENERGY

MANAWATU-OROUA BOARD. REVIEW OF OPERATIONS. The following report for the ended March 31, 1930 was submitted to the meeting to-day ot the Ma Oroua Power Board by the ch • ■uv t A Vo«sl, M P.“ The board lias now been* constituted since it is five tears and four mo ' we received a supply from Mai feaha - The following additional instalUitmn._ have been made during the tea . 6 ing and heating 240, electric ra k 150, milking motors 130, water heaters 234, miscellaneous motors 1/8, industrial motors 23, street JigHting community lighting -3. In a n the above, we have made many small additions to existing installations the additional connected load for the being 2213 kilowatts, the total connected load now being 15,29/ kilowatts exclusive of Palmerston North, made up by the following installations: Eight ng aiid heating 4368, ranges motors 835, water heaters 1224, miscellaneous motors 562, dairy factor 18, industrial 96, street lights 200, community lights 76.

LOANS. "The board has now raised the total amount of the loan authorised, £o(JU/JW and the chief engineer will submit a report to the next meeting on t • e question of further capital expenditure. CAPITAL EXPENDITURE. "The capital expenditure for the rear amounted to £30,317 4s, the unexpended loan moneys amount to Lbbo10s sd, the loan stock in hand amounts to £3320 7s sd, and the advance to the power fund £11,948 7s Id. REVENUE AND PURCHASE OF CURRENT. "The revenue and the purchase of current during the past six years have U„r>„ v,* f„lln„--

INCOME AND EXPENDITURE. "The income for the past year has been as follows:—Profit on trading and miscellaneous, £6OO 2s (3d; interest on advances, £'sll 16s 8d; sale of current, £71.503 Os 8d; total £72,(369 19s lOd. The expenditure has been as under: — General expenditure, £9829 0s (3d; purchase of electricity, £27,580 Is 7d; interts and sinking fund, £29,644 13s; profit on year's working, £5716 4s lid; Depreciation provided, £5268 3s lid; nett profit on year's working, £348 Is. From this it will be seen tfiat -we are able for the. first time to make lull provision for depreciation, and this amount will be paid into the special fund with the Public Trustee. This leaves a balance of £5159 Is lid still to be met within the next two years, and I feel confident that this will easily be accomplished. In any case, any difference in depreciation, as already explained, after the expiration of the next two years can be paid if necessary in 14 equal yearly instalments. It will be, however, gratifying to members to know that Ave can pay the full amount this year and have a small surplus. SINKING FUND AND DEPRECIATION. "The total sinking fund accrued on all loans amounts to £41,543 Is 8d and the total nf the depreciation fund invested amounts to £3035 Is Id. These amounts are'invested with the Public Trustee, bearing interest at 51 per cent. PURCHASE AND SALE OF CURRENT. "The'estimate for the sale of current for the year was £69,000; actual sales, £71,503 0s 8, and the estimate for the purchase of current was £26,000, actual cost £27,580 Is 7d. From this it will be seen that our return, 259 per cent, has not improved since last year, 275 per cent. With the installation ot the time clocks it is anticipated that this will improve during the coming year or at least hold it from going back. The sale of current was made up as follow: Lighting, heating and cooking, £30,356 19s 9d; water heaters, £62b6 0s 8d; industrial power, etc., £8667 9s lid; milking motors power, £13,472 15s lid; street lighting, £BIO os 8d; community lighting, £l7/ 4s sd; bulk supply, £11,753 4s 4d. STAFF AND TRANSPORT. "The total amount paid for wages for the year was £9702 and the total cost of transport £2988 which includes £550 for depreciation. 1 would point out that our maintenance charges up to the present have not been high, and most of the lorries have been used for construction work and have thus been charged to capital, but the amount charged to revenue will increase. CONSTRUCTION WORK.

“During the year we have constructed 34 miles of line, the total route miles erected to date being 570. In addition, many lines have been changed to higher voltage to meet the increased load. The total length of copper used on the undertaking to date is 4060 running miles; 19,706 poles have been erected and 53,032 cross arms erected. GENERAL. “I would like to be in the position to recommend the board to revise the tariff, but considering the extra interest charges that will have to be paid on loans raised last year, and the extra charges for transport and wages that will be charged to revenue for the coming year, and the large sum we pay to the Government for power, I regret that I am unable to make any recommendation at the present time. I also recommend that the capital expenditure be very carefully watched during the coming year on new lines. I desire to express my thanks to members of the board for their co-operation and help during the past year, to the staff in general for their loyalty and the interest they have taken in the affairs of the board. In Alessrs W. A. Waters, chief engineer, and K. W. Eglinton, secretary, we have two excellent officers and I appreciate their co-operation and assistance; their main object has always been to give satisfaction to consumers and carry on the business at the lowest possihle cost.” ENGINEER’S REPORT. The report for the past month submitted by the chief engineer, Air W. A. Waters, was as follows:—“The new Palmerston North line is now well in hand, and advice was received last month from the agents that the Kaiingo was to sail from Sydney* via Newcastle, with our poles, on April 30th. Later news in the Press gives nltemrl movements of this ship, so that the actual date of arrival of poles ,s uncertain, and we will be lucky to get them by the end of this month. The question of negotiations with the Railway Department regarding the Kelvin Grove crossing has been finalised, also the matter of crossing the railway reserve near the borough power house. The special angle poles for Kelvin Grove crossing have been erected and concreted, also anchor poles and the railway crossing at Terraco End. A shut-down of 41 hours took place on Sunday night, May 5, when, with 15

men employed, the work of carrying out the final connections of the line to the sub-station at Bunnvthorpe was completed, so that the Bunnvthorpe end of the new line is now ready to be switched on at sub-station. The Pohangina feeder has been also connected back to its own switchgear, as it had to be temporarily diverted to enable the new Palmerston North cables to be erected. “The alterations required at the Palmerston North power house terminal poles were completed during the shutdown on the same night. The position of this line now is that, after the poles arrive, about a week or 10 days should see the line completed. All the holes are dug where possible, waiting for poles. The 100 concrete poles have arrived and are being carted to Alangaone Road and Te Awa Settlement, and a start will be made on these jobs immediately. The Karewarewa extension will also be put in hand, as this £ 16 Mjuigaoue Hoad are require*! for the milking season. The half mile or line in Old W ellington Road lias been completed and livened up. Larger were erected in Foxton Line, Cloverica and Jones Line, while four new traii‘>iormers were also erected at Makino Road, Robert s Line, Fitzherbert, Rongotea. Recently we have had several breaks in the 3,300 volt wires in Xannestead’s Line. A critical inspection disclosed further breaks developing, so. to avoid any more risks, we re-wired the two miles with new 7-16 cable. The cause of this trouble is vibration, but ?, ¥P still obscure, je following new consumers were added to the system during the month —Lighting and heating 6, ranges 4, water heater 6, motors for milking 1, other motors 10, additions to existing installations 31, total 58. The biick room to house the new mam switch at Bunnythorpe, i s completed, ready for the new switch when it arrives During the month a power arc started on a condenser oil switch in a bricl: cubicle, due to a mouse getting into the substation, but our oxistmg main switch successfully cleared the terrific short circuit which followi * ,°d in the main switch was changed immediately to keep the switch m perfect operating condition to deal with future short circuits of great severity.” x

been as 1 ollow : — Purchase Revenue. of current. £ s d £ s J 1924-25 .. . 8,911 1 3 2,646 2 11 1925-26 .. . 29,892 8 10 7,748 6 9 1926-27 .. . 41,200 10 3 12,751 10 0 1927-28 .. . 50,531 0 3 16,150 13 10 1928-29 .. . 60,309 15 3 21,880 16 10 1929-30 .. . 71,503 0 8 27,580 1 7 V-1-llTT-T>T?