POWER CHARGES

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19336, 28 May 1937, Page 4

POWER CHARGES

GENERAL REDUCTION CONCESSIONS TOTAL £7194 BASIC HOUSE LIGHT RATE RECOMMENDATIONS TO BOARD Substantial concessions to consumers of electric power were recommended by the managing secretary of the Poverty Bny Power Hoard in a special report on the tariff submitted at the monthly meeting of the board to-day. The total value of the concessions, measured over a full year, will be £7194, according to the executive officer's calculations, and 4(5 per cent of this total will be applicable to the current year’s aggregate charges to consumers.

The finance committco of the board indicated in its report that the manag-ing-secretary’s recommendations had been before the committee during the month, and that a considerable amount of discussion had arisen on the subject of lighting charges, the recommendations being finally referred to the full board for consideration.

One of the outstanding features of the recommendations was the proposal to put country lighting-current consumers on the same footing as those in town, the reduction per unit to country consumers being ljd, as against a relief of id per unit for town consumers.

In his report, the managing-secre-tary, Mr. R. P. Haigent, suggested that the revised tariff recommended be brought into operation to apply to all accounts rendered after October 1, 1937.

“The effect of this would be that part of the annual aggregate reductions—about 46 per cent —would fall within the financial year ending March 31, 1938. I wish to point out that the full effect of the reductions made in October, 1936, has not yet been felt, and the effect of them on this year's revenue has been estimated as £243U, ” continued Mr. Haigent. Value of Reductions “I estimate the aggregate annual value of the proposed reductions at £7194, made up as follows: — £ Lighting .. .. .. 2,600 Heating and cooking .. 2,928 Power .. .. .. Sol Refrigerating .. .. 37 Water-heating .. .. 306 Community lighting .. 62 Street lighting .. . . 160 Special tariffs and general 250 Total £7,194 “Forty-six per cent of this amount would be £3310, to which must be added £2430 for previous reductions, so that the effect oa the revenue for this financial year is estimated to be £5740. 1 do not think the board can grant more than this amount at the present time.” Lighting Tariffs On the portions of the tariff of mosi, general interest to consumers, the managing-secretary commented: — “ Lighting.—Tariffs L. 1., L.2, L. 3, L 4: 'J’lie general reduction granted to domestic lighting has been id per unit, equivalent io 5 per cent of the current tariff. Country consumers have been brought into line with town rates, the reduction to them being 1 }d per unit. Although the cost to the board of this step will be in excess of £7OO per annum, I think a good deal of irritation will be avoided by making both rates the same. TheHotal cost of the reductions under these rour tariffs is estimated at £1465, and is equivalent to 10 per cent on the revenue received from them. I do not think further reductions than these are advisable as reductions in domestic lighting charges do not produce additional revenue. “Lighting Commercial. Tariffs L. 5, L. 6, L. 7, L.S, L. 9, L. 15, and LAG: (a) Tariffs L. 5 and L. 6: The present

tariffs are the first 100 units at ;>d per unit, with all excess units at 4d. (L. 6, being for country consumers, is id per unit higher.) it is suggested that a reduction of Id per unit should be granted on the first ipiota and Id per unit for the excess units. The greater reduction in the charge for excess units should assist retailers to obtain the benefits of better lighting in their premises, (b) Tariffs L. 7 and L.S: There are only three consumers taking supply under tariff L. 7, and there are none uiider L.S. I recommend that thesh two tariffs be cancelled and the three consumers be placed under L. 5. The charge to two of the consumers under this latter tariff will be approximately the same (they are small consumers), whilst the third, will receive a good reduction, (c) Tariff L 79; This tariff, which is available to community light users only, provides for the first 4 units per 100* watts of connected load to be charged at 5d per unit, with the excess units at 2§d. A reduction oi id per unit for both quotas is suggested. I would recommend, however, that a minimum connected lighting load oi 1000 watts be required for qualification under this tariff, (d) lariffs L. 15 and L.lfi: These tariffs are for commercial signs and under them all units are charged at 3td, with a minimum of 20s per month per k.v.a. of connected load. it is suggested that the first 400 units be charged at ;t)d, with the excess at 2jd, the minimum charge to be reduced to 18s per month per k.v.a. of connected load. The cost of the reductions for commercial lighting suggested above is estimated at £1135 and is equivalent to 13 per cent on the revenue received from this source. It is recommended that the existing minimum charges, except where specifically mentioned, be maintained under all the lighting tariffs.” Heating Tariffs Und#r the heading of domestic heating the recommendations’ included a reduction of tariff ILL the first 30 units to be charged at 2£d per unit, and all excess units at l£d, the proposed reduction being equivalent to 24 per cent. “This may seem a large concession to give, but I am convinced that a considerable amount of new business can be obtained from the reduction, commented Mr. Baigent. Tariff 11.3, for off-peak use of current for heating pur-

poses, was recommended to lie cancelled. Commercial heating was subject to a recommendation that tariff 11.5 be amended, reducing the charge lor tin first 60 units to 2£d, and all excess units to l£d, a reduction of 40 per cent on the existing tariff, the tariff to carry a minimum charge ol_ _2s per month throughout the year, Off-peak commercial heating under tariff H. 7 was affected by recommended reductions equivalent to 14 per cent. Under domestic cooking, the managing secretary recommended a reduction ot tin rate for the first 30 units from 3d pel unit to 2£d. at a cost of approximately £ICOO. with a suggestion that if a further reduction is contemplated by pinboard. the second uuota ol units might be reduced from 160 to 150. The commercial cooking rale, now representing 3d per unit for The first 30 ami LI per unit for the remaining consumption, was covered by a recommendation tor a 2£d charge for each oi tile first o 0 units, lu per unit for the next 270 units, and Jd per unit thereafter.