ELECTRIC INSTALLATIONS

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 13644, 11 July 1908, Page 6

ELECTRIC INSTALLATIONS

DISPUTE. ABOUT "WIRING."

SPECIAL 'MEETING OF THE COUN

A special meeting of the Timarn Borough Coancil whs held last evening ...Ju deal -with certain points in connection with the electric light and power installation in the Borough. 'IKe Mayor presided, and ail lie Councillors were preaent-

The Council sat in' committee at the outset, and listened ro the reading by the Town Clerk of a quantity of correspondence-" between the < Council, Messrs Mcott, and Messrs Turnbull and Jones, and representatives of these linns were called in; Mr Scott and - Mr Brown representing the former, Meiers Williams and tjiead the latter.

. The Mayor •welcomed both parties, and hoped that a satisfactory conclusion would be arrived at. He put the question to the deputations. whether their statements; and tfie discussions npon them should be taken in committed or no, and botb said that'they had-ik>\desire that- anything they, had to say should be withheld from publication.

As the meeting bad been called at the request of Messrs Turnbull and Jones, - Mr Stead- opened the discussion, reading his - statement. Referring first to Mr \Y. Hay's building, he said that some time ago various points in connection -sfcilh this installation being under discussion, it was decided that Mr Armstrong, the inspector for- the Fire Underwriteib' Association, be asked to inspect the work and report upon it, and it was agreed that all parties should abide by fcis report. Mr Armstrong came, and with representatives of'both firms made his inspection. \j His report came to hand three weeks-ago, it had been held over from one Council meeting, and-though Messrs.Scott's tnre had been permitted- to eee it,. Messrs TurnbolL and Jones, who were most af fected, had not yet been informed of its contents. This they'considered very unjust. Mr Hay was anxious to have the installation completed, but the work was held up, because they were unab'e to ascertain what was Wanted* Mr ~.cu<3 thought that as their work was under discussion, they, rather "than Messrs Scott, should have had'precedence in seeing the report. They protested against what appeared to be an unnecessary delay, ibey also suggested the advisability of appointing an entirely independent electrical in spec tor. In eTery other city in New Zealand and throughout the world the fire' office rules were used for electric wiring, the underwriters" inspector was accepted as a sufficient guarantee, and the .corporation was in most cases also represented by an independent), inspector , bob certainly not by a competitor with the firm whose work was being inspected. As business men the Councillors would recognise that such a thing was intolerable. Mr b'tead quoted as-instances that while Adams, Ltd., had been ready for the supply of current lor over five months,' repeated applications foi it had been entirely ignored. Mr Brown, Scott- Bros." representative, had stated that the work did not meet- with his approval, though it was done in accordant* with the Fire Underwriters' rules and would pass their inspector's test. On the other hand, Scott Bros, erected some temporary wiring, in Uuinness and l*eCren's building and . supplied power, though he understood no inspection at all had been made, no certificate issued. They had also wired and supplied ihe Drill Hall on two occasions. Yet when Turnbull arid Jones applied for supply they were simply told thab Mr Brown did not approve of thtir work. Smh a state of things was manifestly tuilair. They a&ked tor no favouritism, did not fear competition, but they did a:ik. for a ■square deal,. and -they had come to the Council to ask for it and hoping to get i>. '

Mr Scott said that he. was somewhat at a disadvantage as he had to rep'.y off ; hand to a carefully prepared statement; but he did not see that there ivaes much in it that called for reply from him, except wi b regard to his firm having supplied current to a temporary installation in the Drill Hall. Metare Turnbull and Jones had done the very same thing, getting current from the mill opposite, and without asking anybody's permission to carry across the street. —(Mr Stead : We left, that to the "Milling Company.)— The current'supplied from the powerhouse was not charged for. If the a.licr.snpply liad been made without inspection or approval, it'was done without the knowledge of the finn. With regard to Mr Armstrong's iltepectioEß, his firm were not going to * accept anything of the kind unless it was in accordance with , their contract and the Government license, which • was-, incorporated in the contract. It was therefore mandatory to them; they must ht-e that all its conditions were carried out. If the Council employed for y ! inspectors, the jfirm must, for their own pafety. ii t>pect the installation - "and he "yai3 that they would,not"connect any ins-alla-fcion'Unk6s;tliey "were eatriijed that it was ijt accordance with the conditions of The license. They = were liabk- .to a penaliy ■of £SO for con'necting:.with a faulty "instaHatiorr, _ they muet protect themeelviß- " He questioned whether. Mr Stead's statement was-correct^about other installations in New Zealand. . He kne\r that-it wan incorrect in regard to Christ--chorch. • There the. city engineer,- tho officer- of the supplier, controlled the connections ; Mid-'onlylast week there was trouble over 'Jiis refusal to ■ connect with

a faulty iixtallation, and over no iocs that he would disconnect others uniets the installations were altered. /Mr ytead's statement was* without foundation so far as Christchurch was concerned.

Mr Stead: You are misinterpreting my meaning. I meant an inspector independent- of -any person or firm supplying current

Mr Scott said they were in a dual position. They were suppliers of cuirent, and also representatives of the Council, and in the latter capacity occupied just the same position as the city engineer of Christchurch, and were Compelled to 6ee that installations were satisfactory before supplying current. They were liable to a penalty if they neglected this duty. Mr Scott proceeded to state some differences between the three-wire" system adopted here and that commonly used elsewhere, dwelling upon, the necessity for "balancing" within a building. He did not know whether Mr Brown agreed to take Sir Armstrong's inspection ,as sufficient; if so he did it without the knowledge of the firm. He; produced a set of conditions issued on 31st March by the city engineer of Christchurch as a circular to contractors, and these stated that all wires must be enclosed in steel tubes where they are out of sight, and this was one' of the things they were insisting on in Timaru. That was not in the fire insurance rules, but they were insisting on it in Christchurch. Mr Stead said that his'firm had never received such a .document.

Mr Brown said his copy was signed by. Mr Dobson, and dated 31st March, and he understood that a copy had been posted to every contractor. Those conditions werd in force now.

x Mr Scott said that reminded him that his firm had been working for twelve months in Thnaru before they got the Governmont license fixing the conditions; but they were careful to carry out their work so that it would meet any reasonable conditions. And immediately they got the license, not yet four months since, they set about getting out a set of conditions. That could not be done in five minutes, and no time had been lost about itMr Stead, referring to Mr Scott's statement that his firm, as suppliers, must be satisfied with the installation,' said he understood that the contract required the i Council to be the suppliers to private consumers, and that Scott Bros, must supply as directed by the Council. There was no mention of contractors in the license, except that the Council could contract for supplies. The supply must be from the Council, who must collect the payments lor the private supplies. He was surprised to hear that Scott Bros, had supplied current free to the Drill Shed, without permission from the Council, who had a right to be paid for it. Mr Stead made some remarks about "balancing," asserting that' Mr Scott had magnified that matter, and Air Scott replied. Mr Stead then put it to the Council; whether tiny as business men, thought it. tair that aoott Bros. should be the inspectors of the work of a rival firm, ictiuig them, and telling their customers too, that, their work was no good, lie thought the Council should be tue judgo, and say whether Scott Bros, should conor not. He did not think Scott Bros, iiau a leg to stand upon in refusing to connect,- for any liriu could get their work inspected, and if he parsed the work Scott Brob. would have no option in the matter. '

'J. lie Mayor explained the Council's position. They had entered into a contract with Scott Bros, to 'light the streets of limaru, and if the Municipal Corporations Act had permitted a private contractor to supply electricity to private consumers the Council would have done no more than that. The Act did not permit it, and in order that private consumers might be supplied the Council had to contract to La».t} a supply in bulk and retail it. Since the contract was entered into the Act had been amended, and a private firm could supply a borough for its streets, and supply private consumers dircctlj|. had had something to do with gettiilfe that amendment, but too late to spfve. Timaru. Scott Bros, had \put a lot- of money into the venture, and the Council had. som® control over it in the interests of the ratepayers. Xo ' doubt, as Mr Stead had fi:»id, the Council had some powers in the direction of asking Scoit Bros, to consent; but let. them' put themselves in the contractors' place. They did not wish anything to happen against the reputation of electricity in Timaru. The whole trouble appeared. to have arisen from the absence of .conditions, and that was due to unavoidable causes. He paid two special visits to Wellington to tiy and get the license. Now they had conditions, approved by the contractors, by Mr Williams, and by the Council's. inspector, and anything doi.e in future would be done in accordance with those conditions. Unfortunate" y one building, or a building and a half, had been installed before the conu»-.ons could, be prepared. Mr Williams w.is anxious to-get 'them, often asked for theniy but. they could not be supplied, and Mr .Williams did certain work at his ou n risk.. He asked - Mr Williams wheth-r he ever consulted Mr Bron-u. Mr Williams replied that they work-.d under the F.U.A.' rules and the Government- license to Christchurch, and did so in good faith. They were told to make alterations, asked for conditions,' and "were told there, were none readv vet. They applied to the Mayor, and "he" referred them to Scott Bros, j.. he went to

Mr Brown, and he said that he wanted each floor "balanced" —(this referred to Mr R. Hay's building)—and the U.F.A. rate* did not require that. Mr AYillhims addod some technical explanations, and said that the U.F.A. rules and tlii Christchurch license limit the voltage in leads to 220, and say that 220 wires inuv be carried in wooden casing. He liad received such contradictory instructions from Scott Bros, that he did not know what to do. A conference was held at which it was agreed that a report should be made by Mr Armstrong, and it was agreed by all to abide by that report ; but he had not been able to get a perusal of it. > Mr Scott said that if the work had been done according to the standards mentioned by Mr Williams —the U.F.A. rules and the Christchurch license, it would have been passed without question. Mr Williams: It- has not been inspected yet.

VMr Scott:'lt has been inspected several times, and altered several times; it is altogether different now from what it was. Mr Scott quoted some of the rules of the Phoenix Insurance Company, which, he said, were the best extant, and said these applied to the system installed in Timaru.

Mr Brown gave some details of defects he observed in the wiring of Mr W. Hay's building: wires 'too small, and high voltage leads close together in wood casing when they should be in steel tubes; that made the arrangement a tire trap. The wiring beneath the floois was unsatisfactory, but Mr Armstrong said the wood casing might be left on condition that the floors w:ere made accessible, and that the owner took all the responsibility. There were wires uncovered beneath the floors, and nails driven through the wiring. Mr Scott said he had not desired make thtt-e things public, but publicity had been thrust upon them. Mr Stead ironically thanked Mr Scott for exercising a restraint for which he bad not been receiving credit. He would like Mr Brown to proceed. Mr Brown went on to speak 011 the question of "balancing," and said that 110 conditions would allow of (the wood casing arrangement that was made in Hay's building, where steel tubes ought to be used. The--position of the lift motor was objected to as dangerous, and Mr Armstrong made the same .objection to it. In making the inspection with Mr Armstrong, it was with some difficulty that they got at two places in the floor and :n both they found the wireing unsatisfactory. They found tubes run down the walls, but not through the plaster. The inspector insisted on alterations, and that the wires b'3 made accessible in the floors. That- would require traps in the floor cloths which would cause risks for leakage of water. They found wires incased, but did not see nails through the wiring. The contractor admitted that he had seen that. They did not- see all of it; it was difficult to get at what they did see. Mr Stead 'thought they were hedging the question all the while. They had come to make two requests. One was that they should be permitted to see Mr Armstrong's report, that they might get the building finished in accordance with it; and then they claimed that the Council should supply them with current. The other request was that the Council should appoint an inspector independent of any competing firm in Timaiu. 'lhe Mayor replied that Mir Armstrong's report was a report to the Council, as their expert adviser, and the Council had read ic. and dealt with it. No agreement was made with Messrs Turnbull and Jones regarding the report. Mr bieatl ana Mr Williams said there was a. verbal agreement. The Town Clerk said it was definitely agreed that Mr Armstrong's report was to be binding. It was- only agreed to get liim to report and that the Council should deal with it.

Councillor Sattertbwaite asked Mr Scott whether a defective installation in a building would affect the power house or the istreet lighting, and Mr Scott implied that one building might not be much harm in that way, but several, having the same kind of defect might very seriously- affect the balance in the power-house, and other installations. He read some of the conditions of the license making the Council (and hence the contractors) liable to. a penalty of £2O for connecting a', faulty installation.

In' reply to another question by the same Councillor, Mr Scott' said that the rcsponsiblity might lie with the installing contractor, but • the consequences of bad work would fall on the. supplier of current. Whatever the Council might do it would be his duty to see that every installation was carried out satisfactorily. They had responsibilities and would not take any risks.

Councillor Hawkey said then it would be useleiss for the Council to appoint an inspector, as Scott Bros, could coma in after him.

The Mayor said there. would be no trouble in future as all work would be done under fixed conditions. He suggested that the deputation's should confer aiid come to an amicable arrangement. Mr Williams suggested that for the special ease before them' the Council should .appoint some outside expert to' say what should bo done, and they would agree to carry out Mr Aimstrong'sreport. i Mr Stead asked the Council whether, it Scott Bros, were to be the tiual inspectors, auv rival firm could live in Tiniaiu.

The deputation then withdrew, Mr Scott thanking the Council for the patient hearing they had received, and the Mayor thanked him for a lot of instruction about electricity. ; The Mayor remarked that they had bi-en supplied with a good deal *of "energy,"' but were .not mucii further forward. it was uufortunate that the. work had been done before conditions were drawn up, and evidently it was iiot done according io the conditions.

Councillor S<-a!iy considered it wrong that one contractor for . installing should be the inspects- ol another contractor's, work.

'ilie Mayor: It we adopt the conditions we can insist upon. them. Councillor Sealey: Mr Scott says tliab if wo appoint 10113- inspectors lie woum have thy last say. 1 ilie position is> intolerable.

Councillor Schmidt: \Ve can adopt the conditions, and then accept Air htead's challenge to call in the Government inspector. Councillor . Leathwick thought- Scott Bros, did not- care who put' iri the" wiling, but they wanted to popularise' electricity, and did not want it to get a bad muna through improper workmanship. : The Mayor proposed that the conditions be adopted at once, but several Councillors desiring to study tliem-first, the question was put .to the vote, and a majoritydecided, to postpone the adoption till, the Council meets .on Monday evening. The Council then at 10.30 p.m. proceeded to ordinary committee business.