THE AVAILABILITY RATE.

Taranaki Daily News, 7 February 1928, Page 3

THE AVAILABILITY RATE.

(To the Editor.) Sir, -Regarding the availability rate struck by the Taranaki Power Board, we have heard a good deal about this lately, and to judge from what one hears one would suppose that all the ratepayers were opposed to it. But I think that anyone looking at it from an unbiassed point of view would consider that it is the fairer rate of the two. As your leader of yesterday pointed out, “a general rate would have to be paid by property owners who had no possibility of using the power,” and some property owners never will have owing to the distance the cables would have to be taken, and further, whatever the Power Board’s failings may be, they have delivered the goods—there is plenty of power at a reasonable price. If the availability rate is kept on it will encourage the ratepayers to use the power, and in the course of time the position will improve. But if we fall back to a general rate, there won't be the same inducement to use the power, and the position will remain much the same as it is.

1 note at the meeting of ratepayers held at Stratford Mr. Bridger stated that, one property owner owning a vacant section in Eltham had to pay a rate of £27. Now this is very sad, but he is not in such, a bad position as a case I can quote, where a property owner would have to pay over £5O if a general rate were brought in, and he is so far away from the Power Board's main that he' will never get any advantage from the power. This section in Eltham will presumably have a building on it some day, and then the power will be an asset. Another case was mentioned where poor working men were being rated as ntuch as £6, but they have the right to use power to that amount, whereas if there was a general rate, they would have to pay some rate without the option. Those who are in favour ■of a general rate instead of the availability rate may think if they can turn the Power Board out they can change the system of rating. But they Will find that there are a great many ratepayers who would prefer to have the option of using up the amount of the rate in power to paying a smaller general rate. In any case, 1 fail to see that slanging the Power Board is going to get us very far and they have certainly made a mistake in putting In such a big plant, but a great many ratepayers voted for the loan. In my district only one vote (mine) was polled against it. The I’ower Board could reasonably assume that all those who voted for the. loan intended to use the power when it was available, otherwise they would not be willing to risk incurring a liability on their properties, so it looked as though there would be a good call for power straight away. And now that the money has been spent, and the plant installed, the only thing to do is to make use of as much of the power as we can.—l am, etc., RATEPAYER. Eltham, Feb. 3