ELECTRIC LIGHTING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13723, 13 April 1908, Page 6

ELECTRIC LIGHTING.

ARE CHARGES TOO HIGH? - MAYOR'S REASSURING STATEMENT '* The City Council's bill* for electric light-, ? ing. circulated last week, were received with not a little alarm by th« various customer* who complain 'that- the prices ch*r»ed *** <, excessive, and threaten that it" seme nut. \ ferial action is not trad* in Ut%. ij«. mediate future they will discontinue th* m rvice awl revert to §».*. whirl* they con. tend is much cheaper. The following p*. { titters, signet? by a large number of the ag. i ' gri«ved customers. lxw» iwn forward* to y the. City Council : — S ,

'"We. the undersigned. wish to draw at- -Tif tent ion to the prices with which we hare been charged by the City Council for the consumption <»i the- electric current. Appended is a table, showing the cost of get ,- for the same period for lighting our re- ;, spective ptemises. Unless your Council can reduce the charge for the consumption SfS of electricity we will be reluctantly compelled to discontinue the service, especially ' in view- of the fact that the winter i* ap- i' propelling, and we wil* require more lightn - ing. You will also notice that we hare been charged the fid' rate, of 7d per met,. We were told that 7d per unit was the rata for the first horn* of consumption, and 2tl per unit after she first h"U.. Trusting you will give the matter nation, etc.** The appended list, which gives the prices charged fur electricity av compared with that for gas for the co»Tes}«mding period of - Lest year, is as follows; —If. C. Wiles, chemist. neon-sheet, (seven weeks). electricity £6 3s 2d, gas £1 5s 8d; H. Btf-, litho, Queen-street (two weeks), electricity rii 5s lOd, gas 2s 6d ; Messenger Bros. , Qtuvnstreet, electricity £10 10*, gas £6 14* 6*|; 'Frisco Framing Company (fire weeks), elvc- : tricity £1 Is 3d, gas £>s T<i (including a ring): H. Black, Queen•street (six weeks), electricity £1 19*- 2d. gas during the months of January and February, £1 Is 5:1; Fenton and Co., electricity (seven weeks), £2 5s 7d, gas (eight, weeks) £1 12s 4d; A. ,h. Pasco© (three weeks), electricity 15s lid, gas ss. The Mayor (Mr Arthur M. Myers) mi being seen by a Hmui.n representative last evening said he could te.idtly understand that customers on receiving their accounts V were some what thinned, but when he went inlo the matter mote fully he felt confident ihat he would be able to demonstrate that there was no justification tor this. Customers at present were charged 7d per unit, and a iter this were made an allowance on a graduated scale on the number of units consumed. 'i he system wis adopted on the recommendation of Mr. W. G. 1. (*<** - - electrical i!:ginecr. We (the flavor) admit ted that it was somewhat complicated, but went on to say that tile City Council Electric Committee was already going into tne whole question with a view to placing it on a mole satisfactory footing. " There is no 'reason, ' concluded Mr. M vers, "why the experience* of other electrical installations should not be the same in Auckland, and you can depend upon it that I shall take an early opportunity - ring up the present apparently unsatii factory p ion." ~-:l