Feilding and the Power Board

Manawatu Times, Volume 65, Issue 245, 16 October 1940, Page 3

Feilding and the Power Board

TOWN’S ACTION AIDS RETICULATION The discussion at th'e meeting of the Manawatu-Oroua Power Board on Monday over Feilding’s claim for reduced power charges ignored altogether the important part Feilding played in enabling the board to be formed and the reticulation of the vast country area to be carried out. The chairman of tho board (Mr. J. Boyce) explained what it had cost the board to take over the Feilding electricity plant, and the | iisg of tho figures could be construed that Feilding had been well treated by I tho board. That, however, is not the 'point. Feilding, along with Palmerston North, was invited to sell its plant and to come in with tho .scheme for servicing the countryside with hydroclectricity. During the negotiations to achieve this end it was publicly stressed that, unless the two towns came into the scheme, the idea of creating a board area would fall through, since without a reasonably large consuming centre within the proposed reticulation district, the scheme would be too costly to inaugurate. At a public meeting held in Feilding tho then Minister of Public Works, the Hon. .T. G. Coates, appealed to both Feilding and Palmerston North to come in in order that; the 'power district could bo formed and the matter of reticulating the surrounding countryside put in hand. Feilding. agreed to sell its plant on the understanding that, Palmerston North did likewise, and at. the time it. was understood that Palmerston North would come into the scheme. Later it, was found that; Palmerston North had refused to come in and was at the time busy building a new plant to meet the demand for electricity in the expanding city area. The power district was constituted and Feilding consumers were invited to tako all the electricity they could. Continuous hot water services and electric ranges were advocated and many householders, swayed by the Power Board's appeal for electricity consumption—cheap power—linked up. The reticulation of the countryside proceeded apace and this was rendered possible by the fact that Feilding’s consumption increased, - thus providing tho board with the necessary revenue to enable it to extend the advantages of cheap power to the country and farms. Subsequent developments demonstrated flint, the board had not, anticipated the increasing consumption of tho district and this was revealed in the growing concern over the peak load. The charge for the continuous hot, water service in Feilding was increased and then followed the connecting up of all hot water services with a pilot wiro.to enable the service to be cut off in order to control the peak. Very largely the householders of Feilding made this substantial contribution, or sacrifice, that others, tlie industrial consumer, might benefit. In short, Feilding, by disposing of its plant to the board, made possible the creation of the power district, and was a material factor in providing cheap power for the countryside. These facts were not made plain at the board’s meeting on Monday and overmuch stress was laid on figures relating to what the Feilding plant had cost tho board. It was known before the Feilding plant was taken over that the plant would have to be scrapped as it would not be suitable for the new scheme, therefore the loss on the plant cannot be charged against* Feilding. The board went into tho scheme with its eyes wide open and was in possession of a full and comprehensive report on the Feilding plant. The fact that Palmerston North did not come in must have upset calculations, and while consumers as a whole may not -be accurately aware nf tho board’s costs, they arc aware that the power used comes from national resources and that some boards charge less than others. Quito obviously the board’s first concern in the matter of surplus cash should be that of the consuming public.