S.C. POWER BOARD

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, Issue 18539, 9 April 1930, Page 7

S.C. POWER BOARD

MONTHLY MEETING. The monthly meeting of the South Canterbury Electric Power Board was held yesterday. Present—Messrs J. Kennedy (chairman), H. J. Mathers, G. Saunders, W. E. Mills, W. Hayman, J. C. South, K. Mackenzie, C. E. Kerr, A. N. Oakey, C. J. Talbot, and S. I. Fitch. Chairman’s Statement. The chairman, in his statement, said that on the evening of March 17, with Messrs G. Saunders and J. South, he attended the official switch-ing-on ceremony of electric light at Kerrytown. The function was well attended, and everything passed off satisfactorily. This was the 34th ceremony since the Board’s inception, and at these functions the Board always receives inquiries which lead to additional extensions to their system. There had been little construction work done since the New Year. There were, however, a few extensions in mid-Waimate at present under investigation, and if settlers in the areas concerned would realise that the distribution must be sufficiently guaranteed, the work would be proceeded with. The average guarantee asked for was considerably lower than those in various districts reticulated some two to three years ago. With reference to the 10 per cent, supplementary loan recently applied for, the chairman said that a communication had been received from the Local Government Loans Board to the effect that their technical advisors agreed with the Board’s engineer-secretary that additional loan money over and above the 10 per cent, would be required in the near future. The balance sheet for the year ended March 31. 1930, together with a resume of the Board’s operations, would be placed before members at the next meeting. A letter had been received from the Chief Electrical Engineer, Public Works Department, Kurow, inviting the Board to visit the works any day from the 14th to the 17th April, inclusive. In order that the engineer-secretary could make arrangements for tyie trip, it would be necessary to fix a date immediately. Dealing with the Waihaorunga special area, Mr Kennedy said that me cost of reticulation material was considerably lower at present than it had been for the past twelve months, and according to information received, it was not likely to rise for some time to come. The engineer-secretary had completed the survey, and the estimates, which were included in the schedule, were based on the present market prices with a sufficient margin against adverse costs. The matter of approaching the settlers for guarantees had been held over for some months, due to the fact that the cost of material was so high that the en-gineer-secretary could not get the revenue required down to a reasonable figure. He could, however, now carry out the work at approximately £2500 less than when the loan poll was taken. Meetings would be arranged this month, and if sufficient guarantees were obtained, material would be ordered and the work proceeded with. Debentures to the value of £IOOO were sold during the month. In conclusion, the chairman said that due to it being the end of their financial year, the office staff had been working long hours, and he recommended that the head office be closed from 5 p.m. on the 17th to 8.30 a.ra. on the 23rd for the Easter holidays. The chairman’s suggestion in regard to office holidays was agreed to. Minimum Charges. The engineer-secretary (Mr G. W. Morrison), in his report, stated:—“The minimum charges in our schedule of rates for large capacity electrical appliances are strongly resented by the consumer who has an availability of from 20 to 24 hours, and only uses the appliance as an alternative for his own convenience. This type of consumer is a burden to the whole district, as instanced by the following:— Consumer A with a 5 k.w. range takes say 3 k.w. for one hour per day. Consumer B takes 3 k.w. for say 5 hours per day. The revenue per quarter from Consumer A would be 45/-, and that from Consumer B £B/5/-. On a maximum demand basis (apart from standing charges) we lose £3/15/- on a and make a profit of 5/- on B. the minimum charge in both cases being £3. The technical aspect underlying the basis of electricity rate making is no doubt very confusing to the average consumer. Rates, however, must cover the Board’s standing charges and enable the actual energy to be sold at the lowest possible price. There are many valid reasons for the different rates, as set out in our schedule, and having recently perused the rates of other supply authorities, I find that we give a much greater availability with particular inducements to encourage householders to use electricity for various appliances throughout the day, instead of confining its use to cooking and lighting.” Mr Talbot said that the examples provided by the engineer were very interesting. Recently he had noticed figures published concerning the charges in the Waitaki Power Board district, and they seemed to be more favourable than those of the South Canterbury Board. The secretary said that Waitaki had not the availability that was obtainable in South Canterbury. The local Board’s rates were lower than those of some other Boards in the South Island.

Mr Talbot said that the imputation was that they had been charging more than other Boards. He thought there should be some opportunity of refuting this imputation. The chairman (Mr J. Kennedy) said that the Waitaki people had always been quoting the Board’s figures in their district. The report was adopted. Tenders. The Executive Committee recommended the adoption of Watson’s Motors’ tender for an Isis six car. Members of the Committee stated that after full consideration they had decided to purchase an English car. The machine had been fully tested out, and had given satisfactory results. Th.e chairman said that he had been convinced by the arguments advanced in committee that the Board would be given full value for the money. Due consideration had also been given to the fact that the machine was a British production. The recommendation was adopted. Other tenders accepted were:—Worm gear chain blocks, P. F. Mann, Ltd., £97/9/-; double winch complete, Booth, Macdonald and Co., £4B/10/-. Lighting of Showroom. Mr Kerr brought up the question of the lighting of the showroom at night. He said that the Board had a good showroom, but the goods were not displayed at night. Considering the business the Board was doing, he thought the matter was one which the Board might go into. The Board was out for business, and it was only right that they should display the goods to the best purpose. The secretary stated that at one time the showroom had been lighted at night, but it had been found that the expenditure had not oeen war-

ranted. At that time it had cost the Board £lO per month. A suggestion was made that an under-verandah light, and one lamp inside the showroom might meet the case, the lights to be kept burning till say 10 o’clock. The matter was left to the secretary to attend to.