ELECTRIC POWER

Stratford Evening Post, Issue 72, 20 June 1928, Page 2

ELECTRIC POWER

I POSITJQN IN TARANAKI. J USE OF AVAILABLE SUPPLY. ! ■ *< i ■ MINISTER INTERVIEWED. ,■«" «"' Approval of the principle that 'available sources of electrical power I supply should be fully utilised before further expenditure Is made on | developmental works Avas expressed 'by the Minister of Public Works (the [Hon. K. S. Williams) in his reply to a deputation from the Ratepayers' | Association of the Taranaki power district which waited on him at Stratford yesterday with a request for a comprehensive investigation of the affairs of the Taranaki Electric Power Board. This arose from a suggestion that New Plymouth, needing more power, should take it from the hoard, providing the board's sclK.me is capable of producing what has been represented.

The deputation, numbering eight, had Messrs N. H. Moss, of Stratford, and I. J, fcridger, Mayor of Eltham, as its spokesmen. Mr Moss said that the affairs of the Taranaki Power Board wer. e in the second biggest mess in New Zealand, Southland being first. The expenditure to date was understood to b e £460,000, exceeding the original estimate by £IIO,OOO. The chairman had said recently that it was £475,000, and one of the complaints was that no exact figures were available. The deputation contended that the original estimate of the revenue (£38,000) was unduly optimistic. To meet all expenses the board needed from £45,000 to £48,000 per annum, which was more than double the present revenue. The deputation contended that, considering the population of the district and the conditions prevailing, the position of the board was hopeless. They asked, not for financial; assistance, but for investigation by Government experts. ; • .' They also desired an authoritative statement by Public Works Department as to the amount of power available, which was stated by the board as 4000 h.p. and by the New Plymouth Borough Engineer as IS9O k.w., showing that there was

(considerable argument as to capacity. They also desired an investigation of the vicious system of local body public works being carried out 'on the 5 per cent, commission basis, jAs the result of this the extra] '£llo,ooo spent on the Tariki headI works had benefited the engineer Jwho drew up the scheme, instead of his having to bear any responsibility for the estimate being exceeded. A full investigation was desired of jthe financial position of the hoard, I details of which were not made available by the hoard to the ratepayers, and as to the capacity of the board's district to consume the power said to be available. \'sj IS IT 20,000 H.P. SCHEME? \ Referring to New Plymouth's need ' of power, Mr Moss said there was no reason why the Tariki scheme should not be made a central supply. It had been originally estimated as a 20,000 h.p. scheme, and the deputation wanted a report by Government engineers as to the possibility of extending the present work sufficiently to make it a provincial source of supply. Meetings of ratepayers had been necessary to drag out what information was made public, said Air Moss. He reviewed difficulties said to have been experienced in getting the "hoard to disclose its position and instanced the point that of the £IIO,OOO above the estimate already spent on the headworks, Che board had only explained where £15,000 had gone. "It seems a strange thing that ratepayers of a power board have less powers to ascertain the position of affairs than have shareholders in any private company," he said.

Mr Moss said th e board's area was 286 square raises. It .contained 17,000 people, who used only S9l milking machines worked by electricity. Trrom this area and from this population the board hoped to derive £45,000 a year in revenue, yet in the Central Power Board district, which consisted of 752 square nilies and 24 694 electrically driven milking machines, the actual revenue only amounted to £33,000. NOTHING DONE. In 1026, continued th e spokesman, a petition was presented to the House asking for an investigation into the affairs o E the board. Thsi request was approved, but unfortunately nothing was done. Had the position been investigated at that time and before the scheme was completed something might possibly have been done. To-day, they earn, estly asked for the assistance fo the departments technical knowledge.

The New Plymouth borough was known to be short of po»vjr and the South Taranaki Tower B) u\l was in heed of a supply. "If the Taranaki Board has surplus power we see no reason why it should not be developed as a central distribution station," he said. '"Originally it was calculated that the scheme could produce 20,000 h.p., and if this is a fact it might he good business to proceed with the full development and supply current to the other districts where the demand exists.' Mr Moss went on

to say that only a report from departmental engineers would be acceptable, for ratepayers were not inclined to welcome any further reports from the board's engineers. AVAILABILITY HATE. Turning to trie matter of the availability rate, Mr Moss pointed out that people outside the rateable area had had a vote on the original scheme, yet were not called upon to pay the rate. The Taranaki Power Board was the only body in New Zealand that had used such a rating system as a general principle. The availability rate was a departure from all recognised systems of rating, and its warranty was based on the question: Could the population within the rateable area hope to return a revenue capable of meeting the requirements of the board's expenditure? The Minister: Then the board is not proposing to levy a general rate? Mr Moss: No. We say they should use both the general and, in some districts, the availability rate. One man I know spent over £IOOO in putting in a private hydro-electric plant. He has no use for the current f rom the board, but because he omitted to get a license he still has to pay £3O a year in rates. Mr E. Walter, M.P.: Quite a number of farmers in this district use water-power pumps to drive their milking machines. They also have no use for the power and have to pay the rate. Mr Moss: Yes, and most of these Hutchieson pumps were installed before the Power Board was even thought of.

THE ELTHAM VIEW. Mr I. J. Bridger, Mayor of Eltham, dealt with the objections to the availability rate. Eltham desired exemption from the rat e on the ground of individual hardship, which he explained, and also that the borough gas service v/as bein.g prejudicially affected as people wer e being forced to give up gas in favor of electricity. It was contended that a general rate would inflict less individual hardship and produce approximately the sam e amount. Mr Bridger said it was recognised that big users of electricity were at an advantage under the availability rate, hut non-consumers were paying a large part of the burden , which the former should bear. Ke remarked that when old-age pensioners were called on to pay £3 or £4 as availability rate, the Government would he justified in deleting from the boards' powers the clause relating to this rate. Mr Walter remarked that the Eltham Borough gave an enormous vote in favour of the Power Board. Mr Bridger replied that the borough desired to have the electric power; hut strong objection was made to the availahility rate. In reply to the Minister, Mr Moss said a considerable part of th e district was not reticulated. 'lt was hoped that some means of relief other than tinkering with the sales would be found.

MINISTER'S REPLY. The Minister said that a start had been made by his deprtment with a measurement of the water available for the Taranaki board's scheme, but Mr Ball (district engineer) was not yet ready to give his opinion. The crux of th e question was how much power was needed in the Taranaki province, rather than only in the Power Boards district, and from what sources could it be made available at the cheapest rate. He promised the help of himself and the Government in adjusting matters between authorities having or requiring power. It was not much use people putting money into the production of more power when in an adjacent district there was power that could be used more economically than that which they were hoping to' get. Th e Minister said he would also go into the question of deleting the boards power to impose .the- availability rate. On his return to Wellington lie would go carefully into the whole question of the investigation asked for.