ELECTRICITY SUPPLY

Southland Times, Issue 20786, 29 May 1929, Page 7

ELECTRICITY SUPPLY

SOUTHLAND POWER BOARD. REPORT OF YEAR’S WORKINGS. COMPARATIVE FIGURES. The following comprehensive report of the workings and position of the Southland Electric Power Board for the year ended March 31, 1929, compiled by Mr Charles Campbell (secretary) and Mr L. B. Hutton (chief engineer) was adopted by the board at yesterday’s meeting:— The board's generating station is situated at Monowai in the Waiau River Valley some 75 miles from Invercargill. The construction of the scheme commenced in 1920, and temporary service was given in 1923. The main supply commenced two years later. There are 10,949 miles of wire in use, including the following route miles of lines: Main transmission (66,000. volts), 145 miles; distribution (11,000/400/230), 2,235 miles. The present installed capacity of the generating plant is 7,050 k.v.a., while the connected loud (not counting the load in Bluff and Invercargill Boroughs where the supply is given in bulk) is 24,012 k.w. The area of supply comprises 7,798 square miles with a population of 68,000. The consumers served direct by the board number 8,298. The authorised capital is £1,650,000. all of which has been raised. The amount expended on the works at 31/3/29 was £1,618,895. The. Year’s Results. The following summarized statement ’hows the year’s results at. a glance:— £ Revenue charges 53,844 New office 3,050 Capital charges .. .. ;. .. 126,435 183,329 Sales of electricity, etc. 105,964 Interest, earned 3,928 Rates (nett) .. 42,722 Balance 30,715 183,329 General Financial Position. Stated briefly, the board's financial position is as follows:— £ Loans raised 1,650,000 Overdraft. 87,472 Creditors (a) .. ~ .. .. 16,686 Sinking funds 171,511 Financing consumers .. .. 94,755 ■ 2,020,424 Value of works, etc., .. .. 1,618,895 Stocks 43,318 Debtors (b) 30,807 Sinking funds 171,511 Cash 90,908 Balance, nett revenue .. .. 64,985 2,020,424 “Creditors (a) £16,686” includes a postponed depreciation reserve payment of £13,844. “Debtors (b) £30,804” includes rates £6,354, electricity £4,672 and consumers’ installation advances £18,615. Cash Receipts from Electricity. The following table shows the cash paid by consumers in settlement of electricity accounts fluring each financial year since the supply commenced: Year ending March 31. £ 1924 6,025 1925 11,405 1926 23,268 1927 81,037 1928 102,467 1929 108,173 An analysis of the revenue from the electricity department since the commencement of operations is interesting:—Current for light, heat and power totalled £170,431 7/7; cooking units totalled £35,814 10/10; water-heating £6,443 3/9; current limiters brought-in £4,506 7/1; payments to make up ’ guarantees amounted to £15,774 1/5; meter rents £10,192 10/6; bulk and industrial revenue £91,838 15/5; repairs £4,234 15/4; penalties on overdue accounts £3,604 8/9; a grand total of £342,840 0/8. The actual cash receipts were £332,247 15/4, after allowing for transfers, bad debts, etc. Amount outstanding on March 31, 1929, was £4,672. Consumers’ Installations. A review of the debits entered against consumers in connection with their domestic installations obtained through the board makes interesting reading. The period covers the years 1922 to March 31, 1929. Wiring up of houses £155,558 15/8; service lines £34,819 6/4; household appliances £65,248 15/1; interest and other chargee brought the total up to £271,002 16/-, of which the sum of £18215 is outstanding. Grand Total of Receipts. The board has received the following cash income during the six years which have elapsed since the first supply of electricity passed over the distribution lines: (a) For electricity £332.247; (b) installations and equipment £252,787; (c) rates £217,539. A grand total of £802,573 in six years from a population of 68,000 people. It is fully realised that, in the meantime, the board’s income from the sale of electricity is insufficient to meet the total annual charges and that a yearly loss is being made. This is a condition of affairs which has been faced by many a large undertaking in its earlier years whereas in its later stages the reverse became the experience and the revenue exceeded the expenses. Southland is a magnificent province with a great future before it. There is every reason to hope therefore that the population will increase and that as a result there will be active industrial development. The demand for electricity should

then assume much larger proportions than that utilized to-day. General Expenditure. For every .£lOO of revenue the working costs plus charges for administration were £5O 16/-. For every £lOO of revenue the annual capital charges, i.e. for interest, sinking fund and depreciation were £ll9 6/-. The administrative and working expenses including insurances, commissions, etc., as well as an adequate allowance for bad and doubtful debts amounted to £53,844. The following analysis gives a more detailed review of this amount. Power purchased £9B; working main generating station £5,951; roads and bridges’ maintenance £115; main transmission £6OO. Operating etc. of main sub-stations £3,872; service of main distribution lines including faults service £15,892; meter reading £2,069; agreement with Invercargill Borough in re. steam station £2,587; overdraft interest £4,042; management, general expenses and allowance for bad debts £18,611; special expenditure in connection with the new offices amounted to £3,050. The annual capital charges included sinking fund payments of £24,000; interest £91,500 and provision was made for depreciation amounting to £10,936. As a set off interest was earned to an amount of £3,928. Trading Department. A gross profit of £BB5 was earned by the trading department after' allowing for proportion of salaries, etc. Depreciation 5 per cent, was written off the value of the stocks, the result being a nett profit of £260. Capital Expenditure. Works of a capital nature involved £9,243, the chief items being extensions to the distribution lines (£6,218) and additions to the Monowai Sub-station equipment (£2,298). The sale of portion of the reticulation in South Invercargill to the Invercargill Borough plus the sale of other plant, etc., yielded a credit of £3,265 to the capital account. Increase in Consumers. The number of consumers connected to the board’s lines as at the last four year ends gives evidence of excellent progress in this direction; the figures are as follows: Year ending March 31, 1926, 5,547' consumers; 1927, 5,690; 1928, 8,031; 1929, 8,298. It Will be remembered that the year 1927 closed with 8,031 consumers on the books. In' July 1928 We were forced, under agreement with the borough, to hand over

to them those consumers who resided in the portion of South Invercargill recently amalgamated, at the same time taking over a few more from them. The nett loss in total was 211, which makes the figures for 1928 look small in comparison with the 8,031 of 1927. Despite this setback, however, we were able to report a total of 8,298 consumers. Of these, 420 were added during the past 12 months, an average of 1.4 per working day. These additional consumers added 2,207 k.w. to our connected load, which now stands at a grand total of 24,012 k.w. exclusive of the Boroughs of Invercargill and Bluff. The number of extensions to old jobs has been steady, but showed a decided falling off compared with 1927, the total being only 815. This, however, cannot be considered small, meaning as it does that one consumer in ten increased his installation. With regard to electric ranges, it will be recollected that the board aimed to have 1,000 electric ranges connected to its mains by March 31, 1928, and was able to attain that object with a surplus of six. The popularity of the electric range has shown no diminution, and the past year shows an increase of 117—roughly one range every three days. Waterheaters have been slower, but have averaged just under one per week. Motors have gone out steadily, but these are now generally the smaller type of general purpose motor for domestic use. Powerhouse Figures. The figures of units generated for the last three years are as follows — Year ending Total units Number of generated consumers 31/3/27 16,950,720 6,995 31/3/28 21,183,210 8,031 31/3/2922,389,760 8,298 Construction Work. This may be divided into two parts;

firstly, entirely new work involving extensions to the board’s lines; and secondly, alterations or additions to existing lines. The first is undertaken only under the necessary guarantee, and is becoming less and less as those on the borders of the original reticulation are served. The second is necessitated by changing load conditions. As an example, of the 117 new ranges connected, it is safe to say that quite half of them entailed some alteration to existing lines. It has been cur practice to keep one construction party in each of the three areas, equipped with motor lorry etc. and we let them cope with all the work in that area. On occasion, it has been necessary to put on a second party for a short period, if the rush of work has been such as to put them too far behind. Head works Etc.

It will be remembered that at the end of March 1928, the lake level stood at 4ft 6in above temporary sill level, and that the opportunity had been taken to clear some of the debris away from the exit channel. This work was ultimately interrupted owing to the rise of the lake. By April 14, it had fallen to the 4ft. level, but owing to heavy rains rose to 6ft. by the end of the month. Up till the middle of July it varied between 6 and 7 feet, but alternating snow and rainfall caused a rise up to 9ft. by the middle of September. There was then a very heavy rainfall, as will be remembered, 19 inches falling in about 21 days, and this caused the highest peak so far recorded. The lake rose to the 12ft. level, and the outlet had then to be sand bagged. The Monowai River discharge reached 1,500 cusecs, and the W aiau rose to within Ift. 4in. of the powerhouse floor. From the end of October up to March 1929, the lake level averaged between the 10ft. and lift. mark. After the October flood, a retaining wall 2ft. in height was run along the wings of the lake control dam, so that in the event of another such flood, the overflow would be diverted to the middle. The lake side face of the earth dam was repitched with boulders to a greater height than before, to prevent erosion from wave action at the higher levels. The position remains much the same at the pondage area, except that a 12-inch removable flashboard was erected along the top of the spillway for the purpose of increasing the static head on the station. The canal has remained untouched. The trash-racks at the forebay have received their usual bi-weekly scraping and in February each alternate bar was removed to reduce friction. New Machinery. The additions during the year consist of the following:— (1) Two new transformers 6600/66000 volts, to complete the second bank of Monowai. This bank now enables us to make the fullest use of our duplicate busbars, and our duplicate transmission to Winton. (2) Three oil circuit breakers 66,000 volt, for insertion one in each of the outgoing transmission lines and the third as a tie between them. All are now operated from the powerhouse. All the above were supplied by the Swedish General Electric Company. The installation of the transformers was completed in May, and of the oil circuit breakers in June. Further small additions, in the power-house are connected with oil cooling and have given great satisfaction. Power Station Operation. Looking back over the year’s records, one can only conclude that the station operation has been eminently satisfactory. This was in a large measure due to the facility with which certain operations could be carried out after the month of June, when the second transformer bank and the oil circuit breakers became effective. There have been occasions since then on which the new apparatus has been put under severe trial, and it is gratifying to be able to report that it met all the demands put upon it. The heavy load period for 1929 will, of course, not be met until June, but

during the May-June period of 1928, when the load was heavy, the power station personnel handled the variations in load in a commendable manner. Transmission Line. There was only one period of trouble on the transmission; this occurring on Wednesday, February 20. There was a momentary interruption in the early morning, followed by another at 8.45 a.m., as a result of which two sets of strain insulators on the Invercargill sub-station structure were changed. The position remained normal until 7.45 p.m. when a third flashover occurred of a very serious nature, and it was subsequently found to be impossible to maintain 66,000 volts on the Winton-Inver-cargill section, which had to be isolated. All possible tests were carried out, and at daybreak a systematic overhaul of the section from Branxliolme to Invercargill was undertaken. Power was on the line again at 6.30 p.m. The trouble was caused by a deposit of sodium chloride on the insulators, combined with road dust, etc., all of which had ultimately lowered the insulation of the line. Since then we have had no trouble. The only other occurrence worthy of special note was the loosening of an arm on the Gore section, which caused an interruption. This, however, was not of a serious nature. Patrols have been carried out regularly; and every care taken to guard against breakdown. The telephone has received special attention, and certain improvements made which have resulted in a better talking circuit. Sub-Station. In last year’s report, certain changes were forecasted, and these have largely been carried out. At Monowai, besides the installation of old circuit breakers and transformers the outdoor 6600 volt busbars were removed and replaced by tubular copper of sufficient carrying capacity. This work was excellently done, and presents a very neat appearance. The insulated stools, etc., which were necessary with stick operation of disconnecting links are no longer necessary, and have been removed. At Winton, changes are still being made, but will shortly be finished. The two oil circuit breakers to control the InvercargillGore outgoing lines have arrived, and one is in position ready to operate. The whole of the outdoor structure. has been remodelled in such a way as to allow full use of the duplicate incoming lines, apart altogether from placing a circuit breaker between Monowai and the Invercargill and Gore sections. Previously, any disturbance at these ends had a clear run through to the powerhouse, Changes at the Invercargill and Gore sub-stations have been few, consisting

chiefly in adjustments and at Invercargill in the laying out of alternative 'outes of supply should the indoor part of rhe substation become inoperative. A commencement has been made with the installation of the necessary protective relays, which are now compulsory on all House Wiring Inspections.

The organization detailed in last year s report has continued to function satisfactorily. In addition to coping with-new work as it comes in, the three, inspectors are now required to do a certain amount of re-inspection of old premises, and it is pleasing to report that this necessary phase of the board’s operations is now on an economical footing. The value of the Kardex system is again in evidence, enabling us, as it does, to add. one more record, easily signalled, to a consumer’s card. Work on the Test Department. Less new equipment has been handled, but maintenance work has increased. A certain amount of construction work has been done. As there are 1,400 transformers in service, maintenance and repair work on these is considerable. 118 new transformers were sent out and 80 were overhauled. All the main transformer 66,000 volt bushings of one sub-station have been taken to pieces and refilled, owing to trouble with compound leaking out of joints. 1,400 hew meters were sent out and 160 meter complaints investigated. Maintenance and repair work has been

done and the assembly and installation of current transformer sets for large consumers, and outdoor meter boxes. It is found that most meter troubles come from meters installed under verandahs, etc. in the early period of supply and these are gradually being altered. 45 ranges have been erected and 104 sent after test. The smaller type No. 2 and No. 6 ranges are becoming more popular than the larger No. 3 range. 50 motors were sent out and 20 repaired, the repairs consisting chiefly of bearing trouble. New makes of ranges, motors and other appliances have been examined and compared with other makes, also tests have been carried out on new types of meters, switches, fuses, etc. Shipments of appliances and apparatus coming to hand have been examined and stored ready for sale or for use. The following apparatus has been made and erected: 21-66000 volt disconnecting switches for sub-stations at a considerable saving in cost; indoor hoisting gear to handle the Winton sub-station main breaking down transformers of 5 tons weight; 11000 volt sectionalizing oil switch equipment for Orepuki tie. Insulator caps for sub-stations, horn gaps, etc., for main line telephones; the lighting, heating and telephone equipment of the new offices was installed; Winton sub-station has been re-designed and is at present being altered; repair work on airbreak switches, fuse bases, etc., has been fairly heavy together with repairs to small electrical appliances, radiators, etc.;

refilling of H.T. fuses and the testing of gloves for troublemen, over 40 pair being in use, occupies one man for a considerable time every month; examination of large industrial plants is being carried out as time permits; and involves checking of meters, testing of maximum load, and individual loads ol motors. Fault Service. For the purpose of analysis, faults are divided as follows:—

Grand Total 5,617 faults. The total for 1926 was 5,538, and for 1927 was 5,219. This year’s slight increase is to be expected, due largely to the increase of 420 hew consumers, and the increased maintenance of old lines. The relation between the figures for the three

areas is natural, reflecting as they do the relative number of consumers in each. The fifth- column gives last year’s totals, which afford an interesting comparison. The totals are so .close as to be remarkable. They differ essentially in one line only, viz., the high tension and low tension transformer fault line. Here we see an increase of 407 attendinces, and this may be put down to (1) more careful high tension fusing; (2) higher loading and more blowing on the low tension side. Earth Testing.

This work continues, but largely as a result of the good earths established during the original round, we found it possible to dispense with one of the earth testing units, and have so far, for the greater part of the year, been able to keep up with the re-inspection with one party only. Apart from the difference in time necessary to establish a satisfactory earth, and merely to test it later, there is a considerable saving in recording. The system may now be considered well established and stnobthly running. System of Receiving Consumers’ Payments. Some time- ago the board entered into an arrangement with the banks throughout Southland whereby the banks acted as agents for the receiving of consumers’ payments—a system which worked admirably in air respects. It suited the consumers quite well to be able to go to the banks, hand in their accounts and cash and get an immediate receipt as from the

board —it satisfied the board because the work was carried out to perfection by the officers of the banks and the cost to the board was quite reasonable. At the same time a scheme known as the “Advance Payment System” was introduced. Under this scheme a consumer could pay his whole year’s bill in advance at a discount of 21 per cent. Unfortunately, however, in November last the banks notified the board to an effect which made it clear that if the board wished to continue the services of the banks as collecting agents then the board would have to pay a rate of commission six times as much as that charged heretofore. As this involved the board in an increase running into a fairly round sum the board felt compelled to cancel the arrangement with the banks. The board decided to renew the system under which consumers are enabled to pay their estimated “year’s consumption” in advance (at a discount of 21 per cent.), thus providing a means by which consumers can obviate the necessity for making remittances throughout the year. New Office Buildings. The move to the new office buildings was. made at the end of January, and we are able, to look back on four months’ occupancy, and appreciate fully the advantages oyer the old order of things. Previously, it will be recollected that the administrative heads were on a top floor, while the remainder were downstairs at the back of the building. This could not be an ideal

arrangement. To-day we are collected on the same floor, practically within sight of one another, with all our records to hand, and with office furniture conveniently situated. The staff works in greater comfort and more hygenic surroundings, undoubtedly does more and better work, and enjoys better health. Not the least of the blessings is an inter-communication telephone system that will work. From the point of view of the public there has been nothing but gain. The office was laid out to suit their convenience just as much as the convenience of the staff, and from the moment of their entry into the building they must see that the matter of giving them attention has not been lost sight of. Appreciation. To the chairman and members of the board we express our sincere thanks for the very full and sympathetic consideration given to our reports and recommendations and we readily acknowledge a fine spirit of co-operation. It has made our work a pleasure. The staff throughout the whole service have earned our highest regard. It has been a year of unusual difficulties in some respects and most excellent and special work has been performed in a very efficient man-' ner.

o 03 "cJ >—< V 03 C O "c £ cS 0 rt 0 0 O 00 CM O t—< <2 IS £ CM O r-4 <2 H.T and L.T. transformer faults 410 774 715 1899 1492 H.T. line faults 89 62 172 323 306 L.T. line faults 86 26 127 239 252 Service line faults 339 74 362 775 833 House wiring and house fuse faults 276 290 693 1259 1177 Appliance faults 154 390 578 1122 1159 1454 1616 26515617 5219