GAS PRODUCTION

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 18760, 17 July 1935, Page 5

GAS PRODUCTION

PRIVATE AND MUNICIPAL

DOMINION COMPARISON

(Special to tin- Herald.)

WELLINGTON, this day

The financial results of all the gas works in the Dominion are given in the Municipal Handbook wiiicii the Government statistician has just pub iished for the current year, and thi.makes possible an extremely interest iug comparison between the municipal and Hie proprietary concerns, to tl" great advantage of the latter. However, it should be explained at once that proprietary concerns hold the field where it is most likely to be remunerative, in the big centres of population, for the average population served by the municipal works is !)UOO, whereas the average for the company concerns is 28,000.

The result is that although thero are 5(3 per cent, more works under municipal management than proprietary, the latter produce 72 per cent, of the gas generated. That the, consumer gets about the same results, in the way of charges, from both classes of management is the fact, which will appeal to readers as that of greatest importance.

RETURN FROM SALES.

Both classes of gas concerns show that 7s Id per 1000 feet is the return from sales, but the proprietary concerns begin to demonstrate their ad vantages when the surplus of revenue over expenditure is examined, for it is JO.iiti per cent, for the companies, and 8.65 per cent, for the municipalities. The latter also have a higher aveiiigo capital cost in relation to riroduction, and their working expenses are 4J per cent, higher than the companies when compared with the total receipts from gas and by-products. All along the line the comparison favors the proprietary concerns. The average cost of their coal'.is £1 15s per lon, compared with .£2 Is sd; and thoy use l.blcwt of coal per 1000 feet oJ gus generated', whereas the municipal gasworks require I.2ocwt. The average* annual wages per employee is re turned as £"24 for municipal, and £2l'/ for proprietary works. The Government statistician, who provides the basis for these comparisons, does not of course deal with the controversial aspect of the matter, though ho tones off the contrast by stating that although the working expenses and capital charges are relatively lower in the case of proprietary concerns, their average revenue per 1000 feet' of gas sold is much the same, adding: "The higher capital charges in the case of municipal concerns will be largely- accounted for byinterest charges, which in the case oi proprietary concerns would be represented by dividends on shares not included in their expenses.''