COOKING BY ELECTRICITY

Te Aroha News, Volume XLI, Issue 6572, 5 February 1925, Page 5

COOKING BY ELECTRICITY

STOVES ON HIRE SYSTEM BY THAMES POWER BOARD Important recommendations were adopted by the Thames Power Board at its meeting on Tuesday with regard to the sale of electricity for cooking. The eH&irman (Mr Claxton) said that

#'e Board had recently revised its tariff with a view to encouraging the use of electricity for cooking, and the Finance Committee proposed to offer to) place up to 50 stoves in homes, giving the people accepting them the right to make them their own property. To show how it would work out he would take- a concrete example. Assuming that a stove would cost £25 and the installation £5 there would be a capital outlay of £3O. It was suggested that the Board bear this outlay. Repayments would be made over a period of eight years, and interest at the rate of per cent, would be charged. This would represent £3 15/- per annum, plus £1 19/- for in|grest, or £5 14/- per annum or 9/6 per month. It had been found that no matter how they might urge the advantages of cooking by electricity it was difficult to find anyone who would be willing to spend £25 or £3O in order to make the experiment. If under the proposed scheme it was found by anyone who was using a stove that he could not go any further the Board would take back the stove Jnd release the consumer from further payments. In two years the amount paid off would be £7 10s and provision was made for the consumer if he pleased to pay the difference between that amount and £3O and make the stove his own property. If the consumer continued for eight years the Board would then pay for the sfyve. He was quite satisfied. after four years' experience that once a stove went in under the hire system it would never come out. Some of the stoves may be badly used by careless people but for this they would be compensated in other ways. He had not been able to find any private firm that was actively and intelligently pushing the sale of electric stoves. With the stoves sold by pri’'{me iirms the only object was to ..lake a profit out of the stoves, but what the Board was aiming at was a greater consumption of electricity between the peak loads.

Mr Pohlen said it was questionable whether the electricity would be used between tne nours of 10.30 and 4.30, as ngii/jjiy people cooked dinners at njpjpKy The chairman said that a large percentage of the cooking would come between the peaks. It was difficult to say when most of the cooking was clone. The percentage of electricity that would be used in the day compared with the night was debatable. Mr Thomas took op the same position as Mr Pohlen.

The engineer said that if they had igfl, stoves the connected load would be 500 kilowatts. The actual effect of the stoves between 11 and 1 o’clock would be about 50 kilowatts. When cooking the full load would only be necessary for about 20 minutes, but after the stove was at the right heat the load would be reduced and it liuld be assumed that the time at which the full load would be required different consumers would vary. The proposition was quite a sound one from the Boaid s point of view. Assuming that they had 100 stoves on hire and they got £lO from each stove (a low estimate) the Board would receive £IOOO a year and they would add only 50' kilowatts to I the load from Horahora, so that they would have £SOO for extra capital ex--1 penditure —extra transformers and i extra sized lines. The extra expenditure on lines would only be necessary if a number of the stoves were close together. In many cases the lines j would carry the extra load. , The chairman said they only proposed to put in 50 for a start. Flatt: The effect would be the same if 50 motors were installed. Mr Price protested against the proposal on the grounds that it was unfair and gave one set of ratepayers an advantage over another at >the cost of the general ratepayers. ' The engineer had told them that the actual profit would be £IOO and if jthey only got GS pen cent, on the cost . of* the Stoves the margin of profit would be very small. They had to take into consideration the office expense and depreciation, and he was satisfied that the proposition was not a paying, one. He asked if it was rWo vth taking the risk for £IOO. If the stoves were put in it. would necessi+n.te the strengthening of many of the country lines, about which they Were already receiving many com--4

plaints. Right through the country there were complaints that the supply was inadequate at milking time. He was not going to be a party to giving one section of ratepayers an advantage over another. He took it that approximately 100 heaters were connected up and these gave a revenue of £406 19/3. If inducement was given to connect heaters the Board could increase its revenue without any further expense. If water heaters were extended to the towns as well as the country he was sure hundreds would be put in. An additional 100 at £4 would give them £4OO profit. Mr Arthur, in supporting Mr Price, said the scheme was a novel one. While he was anxious to see the ratepayers using stoves he did not see why there should be any difference in the terms on which stoves and motors could be used. He thought the period allowed for payment too long for a delicate article like an electric stove, which was quite different to a gas stove. If the scheme was adopted and it led to a great demand for stoVes the cost to the Board of 1000 stoves would be £25,000. He expected that to prove the scheme it would cost £2OOO, and they were not justified in laying themselves out to such an expenditure, and he would move as an amendment that they get the considered opinion of the engineer and the actuarial, opinion of the manager. They were trying to put the cart before the horse. The arguments put up on the previous evening before the committee were based on the use of three stoves in Thames. Were they to conclude that the rest of the people in the Thames were not in a position to pay for electric stoves (laughter). With regard to the time at which most of the stoves would be used Mr Arthur said he was of the opinion that the majority would come on between 4 and 7 p.m. He was of the opinion that the stoves which would be given out on very favourable terms would mean an additional expense in strengthening the lines and transformers, and the hire purchase systejn was not satisfactory with these J delicate articles. He thought that before adopting the present proposal they should extend the privileges with regard to motors to share milkers.

Mr Strange said the experiment was in the "interests of the Board. Almost the same arguments as they had listened .to against the proposal had been heard when the Board decided to finance the motors and installation. Fortunately in that case they were able to make a charge against the land which could not be done in this case. It had been said time and again that it would be an advantage to use up more of the load between the peaks. The Board could not lose even if the stoves came on the peak load because the diversity factor wbuld make them safe. Even if they had to strengthen the lines and transformers they would still be safe. They had received very definite information bearing on the scheme and to ask for more was only an attempt to postpone its operation. If the first 50 stoves were not successful the Board need go no further. There was the possibility of some of the stoves getting into the hands of careless people but they could exercise care in deciding who should have them.

Mr Flatt said he did not understand why there should be any opposition to the proposal. As for it being an experiment the Board had been experimenting ever since it had been in existence and had been fairly successful. The whole outlay would be £IOOO, and on the first month they would receive back £250, so that only £750 would be outstanding. Had they never experimented some farmers would never have had motors, neither would they have had the building in which they were in. Taking Paeroa, it' being a town Mr Arthur: Being what? (Laughter.) Mr Flatt said the heaviest load would be in the middle of the day at Paeroa and he was sure some of the boroughs would take advantage of the proposition. Before two years were over many who took the stoves would pay for them and be glad to do so. A member: Assumption.

Mr Flatt: I could put my hands on half-a-dozen in Paeroa who would do so. As for the time payment system it had been in vogue for years with sewing machines, gramaphones and Pianos. If a stove got slightly knocked about there was no reason why the Board should not have it put in order by their own workmen before letting it out to the next consumer, the cost of repairs and Avhat had been paid being taken into consideration. There was nothing to risk and they would be able to see after a practical demonstration whether the load would be affected. Without being optimistic he believed that the Board would

be able to extend the hours for the experiment to after 5 o’clock. Mr Willey said he was not against the experiment, but would like the eight hours reduced. He also suggested a time switch. The chairman said there would be serious objections to a time switch.

Mr Anderson said that farmers in his district were not getting satisfactory treatment and he would support the amendment. The chairman said that so as to have the stoves distributed in a way that the load in any district would not be unduly affected the applications would be dealt with by Mr Sprague.

Mr McCormick said he favoured the experiment. In his district there had been several inquiries with regard to stoves. He pointed out that if larger transformers had to be installed the old ones would be used somewhere else so that there would be no loss. He was prepared to put in an application for a stove himself that day and he was sure he could get orders for four or five before the following night. The chairman said he had a fixed opinion that the experiment was a good one for the Board to make. He had made careful inquiries about cooking by electricity and he had not been able to find one who knew what it cost. Two private individuals at Thames had purchased stoves with a view to trying out the experiment, and after a few years trial he was able to say that cooking by electricity was within the range of the average worker. He could not see that there would be any special advantages to any ratepayers under the scheme. All would be on the same footing in making applications. It had been said that a man or corporation who never made a mistake never made anything else. He had not found any firm, big or little, who were prepared to bring the cooking stove within the reach of the people, and the Board if it had electricity to spare should endeavour to find means for utilising it. Quite a number who were prepared to use electricity for cooking were unable to face the initial cost. The financial burden with regard to electric power schemes was very heavy and in proportion to the number of men and women using electricity would the relief in rates be on the large sums of money borrowed. The people wanted electric power schemes, but unless the people consumed electricity these schemes would not pay. Referring to the difference between the terms on which motors and stoves could be obtained Mr Claxton said that the moment a motor was connected up an addition was made to the Board’s charges to the Department, but that would not be the case with stoves and the Board would get a more direct benefit. The owners of the experimental stoves at Thames had given the Finance Committee full particulars as to the cost of working and this information was available to any member of the Board. Dealing with the cost of transformers and lines Mr Claxton said that the engineer’s estimates were always conservative and in this case they assumed the worst that could occur. It was not conceivable that the whole of the 50 stoves woold be close together in one area and the probabilities were that they would be well distributed, in which case there would be little necessity for larger transformers or stronger lines. Replying to a suggestion that anyone would be able to demand a stove the chairman said that a stove or any electrical appliance dil not come within those things that a ratepayer could demand. Answering Mr Willey on the length of time allowed for repayment for a stove Mr Claxton said that a man in the trade had told him that he thought the scheme good enough to sell stoves on alone without the current. A 10 years’ life was very safe to work on but a suggestion that eight years be the period was agreed to. He was prepared to have the period two years but wanted the payments made reasonable so as to ensure an' honest trial. As for the time switch they could not dictate to consumers as to when they would cook. People would not change their dinner hour to suit a regulation by the Board. He moved that the Financial Committee’s recommendations be adopted.

Upon the Finance Committee’s recommendation being altered so that the period for repayment should not exceed eight years the voting was G for and 6 against. The chairman gave his casting vote in favour of the adoption of the report, which was therefore carried.