BULK SUPPLY OF ELECTRICITY

Southland Times, Issue 23335, 20 October 1937, Page 7

BULK SUPPLY OF ELECTRICITY

DISCUSSIONS WITH GOVERNMENT MUNICIPAL ASSOCIATION Several questions affecting the city of Invercargill were discussed with the authorities by the Mayor (Mr John Miller) during his visit last month to Wellington. Comments on several of these questions were made by the Mayor at the meeting of the City Council last evening. Agreements with the Government for the bulk supply of electricity, subject to termination on six months notice by the Minister, were discussed by the New Zealand Municipal Electricity Supply Association, said Mr Miller. The power to terminate on six months’ notice was a clause which the Minister of Public Works required to be inserted in agreements covering anything in the nature of a long term, say exceeding two or three years, a clause to which the Municipal Electrical Association was opposed. The executive considered that agreements should not be for less than five years, and that there should be no restriction. The Napier Borough Council had asked the Minister of Public Works to include in its supply area a block of land which was raised by the earthquake, and the request had been declined. A sub-committee, which included the Mayor of Invercargill, was appointed by the association to wait on the Minister about the Napier request and Invercargill’s position about the areas amalgamated with the city on August 1, 1937. The Minister of Public Works was interviewed the next day, when the delegates were informed that the Minister was not prepared to discuss the matter at the present time. He stated he had brought back reports from Australia, which had yet to be considered by his departmental heads, when it was his intention to go into the whole question of electrical supply. A suggestion was before the meeting that consideration be given to the question of securing uniformity throughout the Dominion in the charges made to the Post and Telegraph Department for lighting public telephone boxes. This matter was referred to the association’s advisory engineer, Mr M. Cable, to investigate. The secretary of the employment division, Department of Labour, was interviewed about certain details of the council’s schedule of works submitted to him, and he reported that the Minister had decided to increase the employment subsidy originally offered. The Under-Secretary, Department of Internal Affairs, was interviewed about the finance required to enable the relief depot to continue to function. This would be possible in the meantime, but at a somewhat reduced scale. The Engineer-in-Chief and Undersecretary of Public Works was interviewed about buses and trams, and the depreciation fund of the latter. A communication had since been received from the engineer which would have the consideration of the Transport committee, and no doubt a report would be presented to the council. The report was adopted.