HYDRO-ELECTRIC POWER.

Taranaki Daily News, 10 March 1923, Page 6

HYDRO-ELECTRIC POWER.

THE TARANAKI BOARD. 1

THE MONTHLY MEETING.

The monthly meeting of the Taranaki Electric Power Board was held at Eltham yesterday. Present: Mfessrs H. G. Carman (chairman). T. R. Anderr.on. C. E. McGuinness. W. H. Were, V. Harkness and CJ. Belcher. An apology for absence was read from Mr. Sangster.

The Kaponga Town Board wrote stating that if the Power Board gave serious consideration to the suggestion made by Mr. Birks to purchase a temporary supply of power from Kaponga for the lighting of the Eltham Borough. a committee of the Kaponga board had been appointed and would meet representatives of the Power Board to discuss the matter. The chairman said he had interviewed the chairman of the Town Board, who was willing to come to an arrangement for the supply of power. Two alternatives were suggested: That the Power Board should do the reticulation. Kaponga to collect the charges and par a proportion to the, i board, or that the Town Board should take the current by meter. In any >c -40 the Power Board would do its own r’ticulation. Mr. Birks had suggested that transmission lines should be run in o Eltham from Kaponga, supplying •m'lking plants, etc., en route, and secure a night lighting load in Eltham. The chairman had pointed out that nothing definite could be done until he loan proposals were carried. Kaponga had done nothing in the matter of supplying power to the. Lowgarth Dairy Company in response to the dairy {company’s efforts to secure power. A committee consisting of the chairman and Messrs. Anderson and McGuinness, with the engineer, was set up to enter into negotiations with the Kaponga Town Board. Mr. Belcher reported that the oner by the Eltham Dairy Company to supply power on the terms previously offered still held good. The whole night load would be* available to the Power Board. The committee sot up to negotiate wjth Kaponga was empowered with other suggested sources iof supply. With regard to the proposed exter.ion of the board’s area in the Waimate district, the chairman reperted on negotiations so far as they had gone He said he knew the Government was with the board in its enggestions to include the southern districts. , Mr. Anderson said the people themselves were keen to come in. although some of the local bodies might be anI t.agonistic, and he suggested ? meeting should he called in the Waimate district to create interest. The chairman and Messrs. Belcher, Anderson and McGuinness were deputed to negotiate with the Waimate district with regard to their inclusion in I the board’s area.