POWER CHARGES AND DAIRY INDUSTRY.

Shannon News, 11 May 1926, Page 3

POWER CHARGES AND DAIRY INDUSTRY.

’ A CANDIDATE’S CRITICISMS. | CHAIRMAN OF BOARD REPLIES. 'Aifter tlie Council caiidldatee had addressed the meeting of \Virokinb Riding, candidates at Covin on Saturday, Mr T. G. yinoent, the candidate; for the Hioirpwhenua Power Board,,chosen to- contest a seat by the combined dairy companies,, was granted! permission, to speak. - : POWER-RATE ANOMALIES. ' Mr Vincent said that one or two matters in connection with the administration of the Power Board pressed unduly hard on some sections. Firstly, lie would like to know if there was any good reason why a discrimination should be made between flaxmills and dairy companies. The latter paid on the KVA rates, as well as the unit charge. This meant that the highest amount of the peak used by a dairy company for one second during the quarter was the basis of payment during that quarter, and, although he knew that the Power Board’s payment to the Government was on the same basis, he did not see why the flax industry should not be rated in the same manner.’ The latter paid purely on a imit. charge, and only paid for what they used. He quite .understood, of course, that it was essential to the big flaxmills like Miranui and Ross’s to* have cheap power but. he could not agree that the small man should get a similar rate. The overhead charge for each was the same. The speaker asked his audience to compare, say, a one-stripper flaxmill with a dairy company operating in this district., and they would find that, whereas the dairy company’s charge for power would range between 2?,d and 5d per unit, the flaxmill would be pay' ing lj-d—a difference that was too big a disproportion.

Continuing, the speaker said that a good deal had been made by members of the Board about the peakload bogey (for that, was all it- was), and they had been told that the dairy companies pushed up the peak load. Of course they did, so l did the flaxmills. During one period of the Board’s existence the highest- peak of the quarter had occurred- at 11 o’clock in the morning, put up by the cookers, not by the dairy companies. He further contended that last quarter’s peak, which occurred between 7.30 and 8 o’clock, was caused by the flaxmills, as the dairy companies started their business a.t .5.30 a..m. The present rating was, then, an anomaly which should be rectified as soon as the funds of the Power Board permitted it. The Board had said that the dairying rates would be the first to be reduced, so lie took it that the Board had realised for some time that the present rates pressed unduly heavily upon the dairying industry. Continuing, Mr Vincent said the charge for water-heaters, too, was absolutely out of proportion. A heater that they were paying £lO to £ll for only cost £6 or £7. Mr Monk: What about the service? Mr Vincent said that the dairy'companies and industry felt they were entitled to representation on the Board. When- he was making these comparisons and saying that the Power Board had discriminated between industries, lie did not wish his lis teners to think that he believed that because there were certain flaxmill owners on the Board they had used their position to get a very low rate for their own particular industry. Surely, though, if the dairy companies wore charged on their peak load, the other industry should also be charged in the same- way? He wished to congratulate the Board on the manner in which thev bad carried out their business. If there had been anyone on the Board to have placed the position of the dairying industry before the Board as he considered it should be placed, the Board would not have made such huge' initial charges on the dairying industry. If elected lie would do- all lie 00-uld to further the interests of the Board and dairying industry. His first business would be consideration of the Power Board and the dairy industry would be second. (Applause).

THE CHAIRMAN’S REPLY. REDUCTIONS TO' BE. MADE TO DAIRYING INDUSTRY. Mr G. A. Monk, who is chairman of both the Horowhenua County Council and Power Board, was given the opportunity of replying to Mr Vincent. In the first place, he said, the dairy industry was not- without representation ion the Power Board. He had been a dairy farmer long before Mr Vincent became one, and be was still dairying on a scale of some magnitude. Tim industry represented bis bread and butter and he had quite as much interest in seeing i got a fair deal as any othei gen .(- man who might be elected to the Board. In the first- place he 01 ‘ 1 like to point out that of the total 13U0 horse power, nearly 800 horse power was taken by the flaxmills. To make a deal with the big mills, a committee consisting of Mr Matheson, M Overton and himself were engaged m negotiations lasting 7J months, dun ing which time they were fighting ■ flaxmill-ers. He was of the opinion : that they made a very successful deal. Seifert’s mill, for instance, paid the Board £4OOO a year in revenue. It took the same amount of wire and cost the same money to take the power to a cowshed from which the?, would not get £4O a year. Could they compare the two positions? It was frankly admitted, said the chairman, that when the dairy com-

pany rales were submitted, they were purely problematical, as tire Board trad acted on tire rates_ then in vogue in the Waikato, and not a member of the Board had been in a position to sav that it was a just- and fair rate. Last year the Board had a very successful period, and they .recognised that the dairying industry was a primary industry. As the result of a committee meeting held the previous nirelit, he could tell them that a reduction in the charges would be made, but he could not reveal the details at present. With tire flaxmillers thev had made a five years contract—the same period as tire Board’s contract with the Government. * ~ , The chairman pointed out that tire motors in a dairy factory were used intermittently; when a churning was completed it stopped, whereas a flaxmill stripper was running the whole day and was piling up units all day. No dairv factory did that. Then again some dairy factories were running very much cheaper that others. It. was a matter o>f internal organisation so far ns the dairy company was concerned. He pointed out tha the Hiorowhenua district: had not been an easv one to reticulate as they had 10 rim' through much sparsely-popu-lated country, hut they had had a splendid response from the consumers. He did not think, however, that there was a Power Board in New Zealand in a hot tor "position than Horowhenua Tn conclusion, he pointed out that the Board had agreed upon concessions to the dairying industry, long before the elections and the selection of a candidate by the dairy companies, not because of that. They must, however, get more dairymen on the power if they were going to give them £IOOO in remissions. Votes of thanks were passed to the speakers.