POWER RETICULATION.

Manawatu Standard, Volume L, Issue 221, 14 August 1930, Page 2

POWER RETICULATION.

* AMALGAMATION DESIRED. TOWN AND COUNTY INTERESTS. (Special to “Standard.”) FEILDING, Aug. 14. “This is a matter which concerns the ratepayers and one which appeals to me personally, too,” stated Or. A. Campnell, chairman of the Oroua County Council, at yesterday’s meeting ot the council in reterrmg to the paper read by Mr K. YV. Eglinton, secretary of the Manawatu-Oroua Power Board, aff the recent conference of power .board secretaries in which he advocated the co-ordination of town and country interests in regard to the reticulation of electric power. “This paper was particularly well received by the conference,” continued the chairman, after lie had read the paper to the council, “and I think it was also adopted by the general corn ference of power boards. It is full of sound common sense and so far as it concerns us we should assist in bringing about this desirable result.” The speaker then went on to refer to the position of Palmerston North with the ivianawatu-Orouav Power Board and stated that probably nothing could be done at present to disturo the five years’ agreement Palmerston North had with the Power Board in regard to tlie supply of power. As matters stood Palmerston ’jjlbrth ran its own plant to cut down the peak load and so deprived the Power Board of any diversity, attached to the load at all. Cr. Campbell said lie saw a danger in a portion of Mr Egiinton’s paper in that it would tend toward nationalisation of power hoards, and this lie was against as a much more economical distribution of power could be made through power Doards. If the Government saw that boroughs were making profits out of their plants there was always the- likelihood, too, that it would step in and say: “\Ve will take it over and run the whole thing ourselves.”

Cr. W. McLennan said the chairman should be thanked for bringing the matter before the council. There was certain valuable information in the report that concerned the council that members should have knowledge of. Cr. W. Greenhow pointed out that there was also another feature, and that was that, when the late Public Works Department’s engineer waited on the local bodies to induce them to come in with tlie power boards, he was very definite on the point that if the power boards were established every consumer of power would come under the jurisdiction of the boards. In the Manawatu-Oroua Board’s area, however, Palmerston North had stood out and it had always been a surprise to him that it had had the power to do so. _ . The chairman said that the solution could be found in there not being a Government in power strong enough to enforce the principle. It was, of course, obvious that Palmerston North was saddled with an expensive gas plant and the electric scheme had to help to carry the cost. In his opinion, however, it was not a case for parochialism. Palmerston North was an easily reticulated area and the amalgamation of town and country imprests in these matters was designed lor the benefit of all. Cr. It. McDonald: Palmerston North would benefit in the long run if it did come in. The chairman: There are electrical authorities who are of the opinion that it does not pay Paymerston North to run its big plant. Cr. A. B. Shannon agreed with the earlier remark of the chairman that Palmerston North had entered into a five years’ agreement with the board and that nothing, could be done until that term expired. The chairman said that it would take about that time for the existing position to become understood, but the present was the time to tackle the matter. It was finally decided, on the motion of Crs. Campbell and Greenhow, that the Oroua County Council would lend its support to any niovememt along the lines outlined in Mr Eglinton’s paper.