POWER WANTED

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 79, Issue 7123, 21 October 1949, Page 5

POWER WANTED

REQUEST BY TE PAHU SETTLERS BOARD’S POSITION SET FORTH A deputation comprising five settlers on various roads in the Te Pahu district waited on the Te Awamutu Electric Power Board on Tuesday, urging that the area in that district be reticulated at an early a date as possible. Major C. J. Fillery, led the deputation and introduced the members of it and called on them to present the case for the farmers on Groves Road, Corcorans Road, Arthurs Road, Waites Road, Rowieys Road. Each speaker gave the number of settlers on each read and their power requirements. Mr F. P. O’Connor after giving the details of requirements of Waites and Groves Roads, said that men who went into the backblocks and brought country into a state of productivity should have their farme reticulated, even it" it did not pay. Minimum Charge Attacked Continuing, Mr O’Connor said that his bone of contention was the minimum rate for shearing sheds. Mr O’Connor said that for ten years he had sought redress from that charge, which he characterised as being an “iniquitous one.” Through 'that charge the Board had £4O of his money, to which they had no moral right, said Mr O’Connor. The speaker said he had heard all about the difficulties of the Board, but other Boards had also had difficulties, yet they did not impose a minimum charge as did the Te Awamutu Board. Mr O’Gonnor in dealing with the provision of disconnecting shearing sheds and reconnecting them when the power was needed again, questioned the wisdom of doing so. The fee was 5s and in his case it meant that the Board’s vehicles had to travel 48 miles to disconnect and reconnect. The lack of power was holding back the progress of the district, said Mr O’Connor, who went on to ask that instead of charging a minimum fee they charge 4id a unit, as did some other Boards. He asked that the minimum charge be abolished. Major Fillery thanked the board for receiving the deputation and hoped that the Board would be able to do something about the matter. The Chairman (Mr J. T. Johnson) said that the deputation’s request was that the houses and sheds on the various roads be reticulated. The question of the minimum charge as raised by Mr O’Connor was a policy one and it required a good deal of consideration before the matter could be changed. He assured Mr O’Connor it would not be lost sight of. The question of the minimum charge had been discussed dozens of times though Mr O’ Connor had presented a new angle. In regards the reticulation of the area, the engineer and the secretarymanager had been asked to draw up a schedule of priority works and among them was the reticulation of Kawhia area with its 69 miles of wiring. The work on the priority list was being completed, but the Board could riot vary the priority drawn up. The maintenance of existing lines had become so neglected that the Board had had to put every man that was available on to do that work. Mr Johnson assured the deputation that the Board was doing all they could to give the power to them, and to others who had been waiting. The work of maintaining the existing lines in order, otherwise it would entail the prospects of disaster. After the maintenance work had been completed the reticulation work would be done in terms of the priority list. The secretary-manager (Mr M. Barnett) when asked by the chairman if he could give the deputation any idea as to when their requested work could be commenced said, smilingly, that he had given up being a prophet. Mr G. S. Hall, stressed the shortage of staff, saying that skilled men which were essential to the work were unobtainable. Mr L. A. Johnston assumed the deputation that the Board was not unmindful of their obligations, but what they could do was limited in terms of labour.

The difficulties of obtaining skilled labour was discussed at some length, a suggestion that “political red tape” being responsible being denied.

Mr G. Donaldson said that there were six practical farmers on the Board, so that they knew the problems that the members of the deputation were faced with

The secretary-manager said that they had to get on the safety side of the maintenance work after that was finished there were several other comparatively small jobs to be done, after which they could get on with the works in the Te Pahu area. Major Fillery said that the deputation could go away with the feeling that in view of its problems the Board could not do more than they were doing. Major Fillery after advising the deputation not to look back on the days gone by, referred to the difficulties in getting labour and he suggested that after the 30th November the Board should go to those who might be more sympathetic and endeavour to get some of the immigrants allocated to this area. The deputation tlhen withdrew. At a later stage, Mr Alexander in referring to carrying out of the deputation’s request and the shortage of labour said that the Board was in a serious position. He asked that when Mangakino was in operation would the Board be able to take the, extra power that would then be available. In reply to a question Mr Alexander said he had no solution to offer.

The secretary-manager in justify ing the continuance of the maintenance work said that in addition to bringing the line up-to-date the changing over to heavier copper which was included in the work would result in a big reduction of the units lost in transmission which under favourable conditions might mean a five per cent, increase in the Board’s allocation. This would mean that without any additional cost to the Board there would be available to the consumers over one million units per year, apart from any increase in allocation from the department. Continuing, Mr Barnett said he understood the Board’s present policy was that first priority was to bring ’ts lines up to the safety Tirle, and then jdivert part of the

labour to the construction of new lines. “In my opinion there was no power board in the North Island that will be able take its full quota of power when Maraetai is finished, concluded Mr Barnett Mr E. H. Rhodes said that the seriousness of the labour position was added to by the housing difficulties. The discussion then closed.