ELECTRICITY SUPPLY.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LI, Issue 7, 8 December 1930, Page 7

ELECTRICITY SUPPLY.

MANAWATU-OR6UA BOARD. OFFICIALS’ REPORTS. At the monthly meeting of the Manawatu-Oroua Power Board to-day the following reports were received : STATEMENTS OF ACCOUNTS. The secretary, Mr. K. W. Eglinton, furnished a statement of accounts as at November 30 as follows:—Amount of loans raised £510,000; expended to date, £501,683; balance, £8317; power fund advance, £5414; total £13,731. Installations and sales.—Total to date, £121,834 0s 6d; collected, £114,577 11s 4d; outstanding, £7256 9s 2d. Sale of current.—Total for seven months, 1930, £41,270 17s 7d; total for seven months, 1929, £37,183 17s 4d; increase £4087 0s 3d.

Consumers.—Lighting and heating, 4477; ranges, 702; water heaters, 1324; milking motors, 906 ; miscellaneous, 661; industrial consumers, 98; dairy factories, 18; freezing works, 2; street lights, 255; community lights, 76. ENGINEERING WORKS. The chief engineer, Mr W. A. Waters,-reported as follows: —“Lines: The balance of the 11,000-volt line across country between Halcombe and Sanson has been completed and put into service. The Sanson-Ohakea area is now being normally supplied over this tie-lino from the Halcombe feeder. The alterations to give increased supply in the Mangawhata area are now in hand and should bo finalised in a week. Additional load is waiting to come on when it is completed, as both this road' and part of Pike’s Road have been over-loaded for some time past. Two 50 k.v.a. transformers have been erected for the bitumen plant at Himatangi, which is starting at the end of this month, and will be in full operation in January. The load is approximately 75 h.p. Six new transformers were erected during the month; two at Pohangina, two at Aokautere and two at Himatangi. Maintenance work has been done in the Aokautere, Ashhurst, Sanson and Himatangi areas. Further maintenance is due to be done in Kellow’s Line, which work can be carried out cheaper, and with less inconvenience to consumers, now that the new Halcombe tie-line is in service. Automatic reclosing equipment has been installed at Sanson and No. 4 Line. There are now only two more to be put in, at Ashhurst and Feilding. An inspection of the record cards of those in use shows that they save a lot of maintenance work _by the staff through their automatic protective features. During the month the Public Works Department’s inspecting engineer inspected all lines built during the past 15 months. No additions or alterations were required; the work being passed with a clean sheet. The Palmerston North City Council have installed new entrance cables and switchgear and the necessary alterations have been made to our metering equipment to suit the altered location of apparatus. All our work at the power house end in connection with the new line, etc., has been finished. In the future, a i semi-automatic equipment will be installed to separate the two feeders in case of trouble originating in the Fitzherbert area. The following new consumers were given supply during the month: Lighting and heating, 5; water heaters 6; ranges, 4; motors for milking, J - ’miscellaneous motors, 10; additions to existing, installations, 32; total 58. With the exception of a few consumers that are not yet completed, all household heaters have clocks installed outside the borough of Feilding. Those in Feilding have been left pending investigation of the pilot wire system, which is already in use in Palmerston North, and used in several towns of the Waitemata Power Board’s area. As reported at last meeting, a preliminary estimate for equipping those in Feilding was £IOO9. This matter has been carefully gone into, and two estimates taken out, owing to having definite prices from one firm for relays versus estimates from others: Minimum estimated cost, £BB6 11s lOd; maximum estimated cost, £1059 11s. We cannot get any closer until we call tenders for the relays, one of the largst single items in the estimate. lo equip them with clocks would cost £9lO approximately. The pilot wire in this case holds its own in the congested area, and has decided advantages both to the consumer and the power board. Our sub-station operator would have 100 kilowatts under his control by pushing a button, resulting in a saving of up to £BOO per annum. I have every confidence in asking the board to give authority to let us put this scheme into operation for the Feilding borough.”