THAMES VALLEY POWER.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 18950, 23 February 1925, Page 7

THAMES VALLEY POWER.

Sir.—l have read with interest'the letter from Mr. F. H. Claxton, chairman o£ the Thames Valley Power Boaro. Mr. Claxt<m's figures are simply statement of income and expenditure. 2No one can tell from a cash statement whether a business is paying its way or otherwise. _lt is; remarkable that the Thames Valley Board, finds it necessary to goad the public into becoming consumers by the levy of nonconsumers' rate. It would be interesting to know why there is such reluctance* and whether it is going to be necessaty to resort to the same means if the Waiteraata power district attempts to function; independently. The account of the board's transactions as supplier of the electrical equipment, as distinct from energy, shows a .profit ot £SOOO, and thereby supplements the de« ficient income from the sale of energy.That is only another means of making a. consumer pay. He pays on the purchase of materials "and on the installations, instead of 1 paying something higher as the price of current. The impression left on. my mind bv the figures is that the ratepayers of Thames Valley have rendered themselves responsible for a special rata as securing £550,000 —an enormous burden—and that the board is having a soinewhat heavy struggle to avoid the necessity of putting up the price of energy, of sinking a punitive non-consumers" rate, or of collecting a special rate. The board had to resort to something beyond ordinary trading methods, and the methods actually ! employed point to a struggling, anxious existence* There are several facts regarding the Thames Valley Power Board which the public of the Waitemata power district should know. In no year up to the present has ,tlie board paid the whole interest and sink-ing fund out of its revenue. lis has not written a penny off for deprecia-i tion —nob even off such things as its motor equipment and other assets which depreciate rapidly. It will be time enough for the Thames Valley Board *to vaunt its position when it can dispense with any non-consumers' rate, and write off; a proper depreciation on its enormous capital outlay. Arthur E. GreenseadE. Northcote, February 19. Sir, —The letter in the Herald of Feb'* ruarv 19, from Mr. F. H. Claxton. chairman" of the board, is in one respect reassuring, as it indicates an estimated profit of £1246 for the financial year. _ There are usually two sides to a question, and I should be pleased if you would publish the following facts - In December, my council wrote to the Thames Valley Power Board seeking information, asking, among other questions, for a copy of the board's balance-sheet for: the year ended March 31, 1824; a statement of the loss which it is necessary to make up. To this the following reply was received :.*'(1) Balance-sheet for March 31, 1924, is now being audited. A copy will be forwarded on receipt from the printers; (2) the amount proposed to be raised is £5883." This rate is for the current year, and discussing the letter on its presentation to my council, I said: "If £5883 is the loss to be made up, apparently the power board are losing over £IOO per week." I notice Mr. Claxton now says the rate will produce between £4OOO and £SOOO, so that it has shrunk since he wrote otir letter; but apparently the amount is not the principal factor—it is as a " stimulus " thai it finds,its real value. It may be of interest to note that this " stimulus " is not to be applied in the boroughs of Thames and Te Arolia. but their representatives on the board have the right to vote that it shall be applied elsewhere. In the borough of Paeroa there is no suggestion that .the reticulation is unprofitable, but the "stimulus" which is being applied is a rate 40 per cent, greater than the hospital and charitable aid "levy, or equalling 25 per cent, more than would be required to pay interest and sinking fund on the capital needed for an adequate gas works. Electricity at such a cost to a town is economically unsound. " ' Mr. Claxton has at least supplied the real reason for striking this rate. That it is not required for revenue purposes, but is purely a coercive measure, makes its striking'much harder to justify. At the request of the Paer.oa Chamber of Commerce I am calling a public meeting to discuss the rate, when its positive injustice will be more fully disclosed. The Thames Valley Power Board has done much valuable public work, but in my opinion the " non-consumers' rate," as we are experiencing it, is decidedly wrong, W. Marshall, Mayor ol Paeroa,