SALE OF ELECTRICITY.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 112, 17 June 1914, Page 9

SALE OF ELECTRICITY.

CONFERENCE OF BODIES. In the City Council Chambers last evening a conference' was held between the City Electricity Committee an<T delegates from various local bodies as to the terms on whieh Lake Coleridge power will be retailed to the local bodies. The eity had submitted the following proposals:— (1) The charges for current to consumers in other local authorities' districts to be the same as those charged to consumers in the city, plus any addition to be made under clause 4 hereof. (2) The Christchurch City Council to read all meters and collect all ac- j counts, and do all the work of adminis- j tration, and be responsible for mainten-1 anee of the reticulation. ( (3) Each local authority to raise the j necessary loan for reticulating its dis-! trict and provide the interest and sink- j ing fund on the loan raised. These | charges would be in addition to those j for current mentioned in clause 1 hereof. (4) Each local authority to fix the | sum to be added to the charges men- | tioned in clause 1 Hereof for Ihe pro- j vision of interest and sinking fund. (5) The Christchurch City Council I shall supervise-the work of reticulating j the several districts: a charge of 5 per cent, on the capital cost of reticulatior, I etc., to he paid by the local authority j for engineering supervision. J (6) In the event of the charges to , consumers in the city being increased ' or reduced, the charges to local authori- ; ties to be varied accordingly. ' The Mayor (who presided) said that I the Electricity Committee had con ski- j ered the matter from every point of j view, and had submitted their recom- j mendations to the local bodies. He had j favoured a Greater Christchurch elec- j trical scheme, and he thought that that j would appeal to this conference. He ! had been informed that in Auckland the j charge was 7d for the first hour, and 2d ! for all after. In Coventry, the charge was 6il for the first hour, 3d for the second, and Id after. The terms proposed by the Christchurch Council were much lower than either of these. The j local bodies naturally wanted to get the power at the cheapest rate, and the City Council wished to secure that for them. It might turn the rate I was too low. Cr. Taylor said that the council considered that their proposals conveyed the utmost that they were prepared to j go, consistent with financial safety, j They might find even that they had j taken too optimistic a view of the sub- j ject, but he believed that the demand, i'or power would surprise them. It was to the city's interest to build up as* large a consumption as possible, and to attract the local bodies as customers. Kef erring to clause 4, Cr. Taylor said j that the extra charge would not come i out at more than per unit. ; Mr Bullock: To each consumer. I Cr. Taylor: Yes. It might only be i VI, but the local bodies could ascertain j that for themselves. I Mr Bullock said that the proposals j were much more favourable than those i which were submitted at the previous j meeting, lie suggested that the charge ! on the cost of reticulation should be the actual cost, instead of 5 per cent. He also suggested that the local bodies , whieh took power from the council should have representation on the Elec- . trical Committee, with a deliberative; voice in the proceedings. In reply to Mr Helliwell, the Mayor, explained" that the charge of <>d a unit Tor the first hour was really an esti- : mate, based on the experience gained i with the council's present plant. , Mr Helliwell asked Cr. Taylor what ! tonus the <-ounc.il would give Eiccarton j. it' Eiccarton joined the city. Cr. Taylor said that Eiccarton would then get the same terms as North Richmond, but would raise its own loan. Mr L. Birks quoted what he described as a typical case of an outside area. He allowed a population of 5000, With 1000 houses, and 400 "consumers. There

would be 10 miles of electric lines, 200' lamps, and a capital outlay of £4400. The annual interest and sinking fund charges at 6 per cent, would be £264-. He allowed an average per house of 12 units per month, whieh would, work out at 2/- to 2/6 per house per month. The consumption would be 57,600 units per year. Street lighting would take up 23,000 units per year. He fixed th-j interest cost per unit at .79d, or just a shade over £<l. This did not include any allowance for power, whieh might \ reduce the interest charge to M. Mr Helliwell asked whether the City Council intended to make a profit out of the scheme. The Mayor: No. Mr Helliwell: Then the council is doing this out of pure fondness of lieart? The Mayor: The people will have to pay for it. As long as I am on the council I will bitterly opposa any proposal to use the scheme- to make profits. . Mr Helliwell: Suppose you. do make a profit ? The Mayor: Then the cost will come down. We don't intend to declare a dividend or use the profits to> reduce tho rates. If there is a small profit it should be applied to a contingency or reserve fund. There was a long and somewhat involved discussion as to the terms on which Eiccarton would be supplied, the Eiccarton delegates contesting the equity of any extra charge to the suburban areas. The Mayor of Woolstori (Mr J. Graham) said that Woolston would probably get experts to report on. the proposals of the council, and get to work on them. He congratulated the council on its revised proposals; (Jr. Taylor said that if the charges could be reduced to the local bodies, with safety to the city, it would be done. He suggested that the local bodies should now approach the council. The Mayor said that he would be one of the first to advocate a revision of the charges if experience warranted it. He strongly advised the local bodies, in raising their loans, to raise the money as it was required. He thought that the council's proposals were foundation on which they could build. Or. Taylor, in reply to Cr. Keynolds, said that lie anticipated that ultimately the loans would be pooled. He pointed out that the city would probably have a loss for the first two years. It WQuld be five j'ears before they had a payable load. Mr Birks stated that his services would be available to the local bodies in coining to decision on the council's proposals. The meeting concluded with a vote of thanks to the committee for the information it had given, and a vote of thanks to the chair.