OTAGO POWER BOARD

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25852, 24 May 1945, Page 9

OTAGO POWER BOARD

MONTHLY MEETING The monthly meeting of the Otago Electric Power Board, held at Milton on Tuesday, was attended by Messrs W. Cameron (chairman), W. Lee, R. J. Ireland, J. B. McGill, J. R. Copland, A. Anderson, R. H. Michelle, and G. Moore. Prior to commencing business, the chairman referred to the cessation of hostilities in Europe, and a motion of thankfulness was carried, together with the resolution expressing sympathy with the relatives of those men and women who had given their lives in the cause of freedom. The financial statement for the month showed that the receipts had totalled £4716 8s 6d (electricity £4379 19s lid, sundry debtors £265 19s 7d) and the expenditure £9948 4s 2d. Accounts amounting to £lßl7 3s 8d (salaries and wages £896 9s 6d, stock £3OB 7s Bd, meters £l2B 4s, motor maintenance £147 5s 3d) were passed for payment. The engineer reported that several depreciated poles had been replaced with concrete poles on the Palmerston-Dunback road. The change-over from galvanised iron wire to copper wire on the Money-more-Lovell’s Flat feeder had been completed and reconstruction work in connection with increased transformer capacity at the Bruce Woollen Mills had been done. Depreciated poles had been replaced in the Inchclutha-Finegand area. The-production of poles had been recommended and 80 had been manufactured during the month. Thirty-two permits, including 23 for new installations, had been issued.

Assisting Ex-servicemen

The secretary reported that, following the last meeting, he had written to the Rehabilitation Department asking whether the department was prepared to assist returned men financially, either in town or when settling in the country, when power extension or house-wiring was required for the use of power. He had received a reply advising thaU the department had no settled policy by which assistance was given ex-servicemen to secure an extension of house-wiring for power purposes. On the other hand, it had always been open for any ex-service-man who was the owner of a property to make application for financial assistance, and any such application would receive consideration, having regard to the merits of the case. Die communication was received. Mr F. A. Haynes, of Milton, was appointed to the position of mechanic to Ihe secretary, reported that so far no reply had been received from Wellington '“mSSb 1 T ,U H rl 'sh»Uers (Hina-Hlna) *nd subsidy scheme came into ; f °rce proceeding further with their application for power. Loan Approved

Advice was received from the Loans Board that th: boards application for a loan of £25,000 had been approved, the terms to be for 2a y ea » of interest not to exceed 3 P er ., cen '. Thp letter was received, and it was pointed out that the loan was for the purpose of extending Present reticulation in the board s inner area. It was also stated that the Clinton extension would have first priority.

Annual Meeting of Board The annual meeting followed the ordlnYn hfelSort the engineer stated that the number of units purchased last y*ar had been 10,805,637. Power costs had risen approximately 4 per cent ’ A n ? area, due chiefly to the increase in range load and the greater use of bating appliances During the year 10,664 miles of lffifs had been constructed, bringing the total to 710,207 miies. interruptions had been: Otago control area, 16 (22 hours 48 minutes); northern area, 10 (7 hours 50 minutes); southern area, 14 (35 hours 27 minutes). Snow was responsible ioi breakdowns in Central Otago, whi e swans, broken trees and branches by high winds had been the chief causes in the southern area. Preparation for new extension work were proceeding satisfactorily and when suitable labour was available a start would be made with the Clinton extension, the material for which was practically all on hand, witn the balance arriving shortly. Preliminary arrangements in connection with Patearoa and Naseby extensions, as -well as several smaller extensions, had been completed, but the extent to which these could be proceeded with depended on the availability of labour and the more pressing needs of the existing system. The financial statement showed that the loans position was as follows:—No. l: Original Otago loan of £275,000, plus premium loan on conversion £19,000 —£294,000; debentures redeemed £48,000; leaving £246.000 owing. No. 2: Owaka loan of £16,700; repaid £12,647; owing £3853. No. 3- Maniototo-Strath Taieri loan of £23,500 —repaid £5430; owing £18,070. No. 4: Clinton extension —£12,000. Total loan indebtedness £ 279,923. Sink ng funds held by Public Trustee £81,218; unexpended loan moneys held by board £7821. The board owed £10,020 for interest, etc., and £7802 was owing to the board; £26,458 had been paid out of revenue for line construction, and stock on hand was valued at £17,157. Power costs were £18,048. Discounts totalled £4023. Bad debts written off totalled £5 2s sd, and bad debts recovered were £7 9s 2d. Revenue from sales of electricity totalled £60,480, and from servicing account £2954. The profit for the year was £4381. Commenting on the position, the chairman said members would agree that it had been a most difficult year with material and appliances in short supply, and labour, both skilled and unskilled, difficult to obtain. In the circumstances he considered the position very satisfactory, and he would like to pay a tribute to the staff inside and out for the way in which they had carried out their duties. Election of Chairman Mr W. Lee was elected chairman for the ensuing year, his honorarium being fixed at £75. Mr R. H. Michelle was elected deputy chairman. The retiring chairman paid a tribute to him for acting in his stead when he was unable to attend.