GREAT PROGRESS

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 25, Issue 3759, 22 May 1936, Page 6

GREAT PROGRESS

TE AWAMUTU POWER BOARD.

CHAIRMAN’S REVIEW AT ANNUAL MEETING.

A remarkably fine record of achievement is shown in the report of the chairman, Mr J. T. Johnson, presented at the annual meeting to-day of the Te Awamutu Electric Power Board,, covering the year ended March 31st, 1936. (We quote: —

The year ended March 31st, 1936 has again shown a considerable increase in new connections, being the highest number since 1931, the connected load having increased from 6851.192 kilowatts to 7458.337 kilowatts. The number cf new connections to our lines exclusive of small heating appliances, electric irons, grillers, radiators and radios, increased our connections by 275 as shown in the following statement, the figures for the previous year being in parenthesis :

Bulk supply, 3 (3); dwellings, 1,642 (1573); businesses, 238 (219); public halls, 28 (28); churches, 17 (17); hotels, 6 (6); schools, 18 (18); street lighting, 5 (5); cowplants and separators, 896 (832); other power plants, 559 (488); electric stoves, 269 (251); water heaters 620 (586); total, 4,301 (4,026). In addition to the above there were 241 extensions to existing installations. These extensions and the new connections, shown in the above statement, have increased the Board’s connected lead by 607.145 kilowatts which must be taken as eminently satisfactory frgm. the Board’s point of view and an indication of the improvement aril progress of this district.

The Board’s maximum demand for the year was 1219.2 kilowatts, being exactly the same as in the previous yean, and considering the large increase in connected load is particularly satisfactory and gives the Board the high diversity factor of 6.12 which is the relation of the maximum demand of 1219.2 kilowatts to the connected load of 7458.337 kilowatts. The diversity factor for the previous year ■was 5.62.

The units sold show a decrease as against the previous, years, being 5,822,963 for 1935-36 as against 5,840,399 for 1934-35, a decrease of 17,436. This is accounted for by the fact that a large dairy company considerably reduced its purchase of electricity f-iiom this Board and is now generating the greater part of its requirements with its own plant, having taken 309,170 units less this year than for the previous year, and the Board’s growth for the year was unable to offset that large number of units by the shortage shown, namely 17,436. As regards the financial side of the year’s operations, the revenue from sales of current alone, amounts to £29,346 5s 4d as against £30,162 Ils 6d for, the previous year, a decrease, of £Bl6 6s 2d, being a decrease of 2.7 per cent. This decrease is also due to the loss of part of the same dairy company’s load. The revenue from all sources for the yaar, including the sum of £l,OOO withdrawn from the depreciation fund reserve and (brought into nett revenue account is £30,718 9s 9d.

On the year’s transactions as disclosed by the annual accounts to be presented at to-day’s meeting, the neltt revenue account shows the position as follows; Credit balance from income and expenditure account £13,688 9s sd, plus rent of house £6l 6s 4d, interest on financed installations £57 15s 4d, interest on investments £229 6s 3d, amount withdrawn from depreciation fund reserve £llOOO, sale of sundries £l, total £15,017 17s 4d. As against the last mentioned figure there are:—>

Interest and sinking funds £9,728 5s 6d, superannuation £147 13s 4d, bad debts written off £B5 19s 2d, depreciation funds reserve £lB7 5s 9d, furniture and fittings £l5 12s 9d, conversion of Puniu 3,300 v. circuit to 11,000 volts £1504 8s 3d, totalling £11,669 4s 9d. This leaves a credit balance in the nett revenue account of £3,348 12s 7d which, added to the previous year’s balance of £3,344 Is 9d carried to the appropriation account, makes the> balance now carried forward £6,693 14s 4d. fflhe revenue per unit sold is 1.21 pence as against 1.24 pence for the previous yelar. , The operating cost per unit is, without .the cost of conversion of Puniu circuit, 1.07 pence, as against 1.09 for the previous year. Including the cost of Puniu line conversion in the year’s expenses brings the cost up to 1.13 d per unit.

The following gives an interesting comparison of the revenue from sales of current and the number of consumers for each year since the Board’s first year of supply:— Year 1922, amount, £1,292 17s sd, consumers 348; 1923, £7,031 13s lid, 666; 1924, £10,912 13s 4d, 856; 1925, £14,579 ss, 9d, 1018; 1926, £17,772 ss, 1180; 1927, £21,313 3s Id, 1275; 1928, £23,403 8s lid, 1353; 1929, £26,006 16s Bd, 1434; 1930, £28,004 10s 4d, 1550; 1931, £30,152 9s Bd, 1650; 1932, £29,518 Ils 9d, 1696; 1933, £29,318 18s 6d, 1776; 1934, 28,852 5s 4d, 1808; 1935, 30,162 Ils 6d, 1869; 1936, 29,346 5s 4d, 1979. In my last anual report I stated that the reductions in charges from 1929 to 1935 amount to £8,350 and this was increased in the past year by further reductions of £2,300 making the total reductions up to 31/3/36 amount to £10,650. The Board’s load has increased to such an extent that the question of heavier copper in the lines has become a matter requiring immediate attention! and for that purpose the Board musdt be prepared to face up to heavy expenditure during the next three years. In fact improvement has becoimie absolutely imperative. In May, 1930 the electrical foreman, under instructions from the Board, brought down a report on the copper and transformer capacity of tlhe Board’s lines. To give efficient service the. report outlined Borough and district lines that required improvement in copper and voltage. Of these recommendations, with some minor exceptions, only those relating to Hairini and Puniu circuits have been carried out. as stated previously, the number of bur consumers has been steadily growing, which has carried with' it heavier’ demands on our line capacity in town and country. Fortunately the Board is in a very

strong position, for despite the fact that last year a reduction in charges aggregating £2300 was made to our consumers, the nett revenue account discloses a very substantial profit. There are two ways in which this profit can be distributed, firstly in making further reductions in our charges, or secondly, in effecting improvement to our means of service. An efficient service is a legitimate claim made by our consumers. Many lines are already overloaded and with steady growth of population this overloading must increase and relatively the efficiency of our service decreases unless Copper requirements Hie maintained. Temporary measures and re-arrangement of loading points may give relief in some measure for the time being, meanwhile, I would recommend a forward policy of copper capacity improvement where required. To effect this, borrow such portions of the £lO,OOO balance of the £25,000 installation loan as may be required from time to time to refund to power fund account advances made to loan account, including the £4848 advanced during the past year, and use that sum together with the nett profits until such time as our copper rapacity and electric service has been placed on a satisfactory basis. The addition to the Te Awamutu Power Board district of further territory in the Raglan and Otorohanga Counties has now been gazetted and one of the matters to engage the attention of the Board in the immediate future will be to take the necesed to which has been the work enavailabl’e to payable areas in the new territory. I thank you, gentlemen, for your valued courtesy to myself and your co-operation in directing the affairs of the Board. To the manager and the whole of his staff I would tender my thanks and appreciation for faithful service rendered during a most strenuous year both from within and outside the office.

The almost unprecedented growth in new connections, also extensions, has meant much strenuous work, addsary steps to make electricity supply tailed by the visitation of tempestuous storms. Under all these varying conditions the manager and staff did magnificent work. My report would be incomplete were I to omit our thanks to, and appreciation of, the Press representatives for courtesy received and faithful reporting done.