UNIFORM CHARGES

Waipa Post, Volume 48, Issue 3479, 14 June 1934, Page 4

UNIFORM CHARGES

POWER SUPPLY FROM HYDRO-ELECTRIC PLANTS.

REPRESENTATIONS TO GOVERNMENT RENEWED.

The Te Awamutu Chamber of Commerce some two or three months ago entered into active co-operation with other organisations in endeavouring to have country power boards placed on the same footing as regards price as those city supply authorities who also purchase hydro-electric power from the Public Works Department. The matter was again referred to at Tuesday evening's meeting of the Te Awamutu Chamber.

Discussion arose over the replies received to the Chamber's circular to kindred chambers urging support of representations to the Government in favour of charging a uniform rate to all power distribution authorities, irrespective of quantities used or of nearness to hydro-electric power stations.

It was stated that over a year ago all the boards in the Auckland province united in support of similar representations to the Government, asking that the charge be made uniform.

This brought the remark that Auckland city, with its reserve plant at King's Wharf, had come to the rescue of the country boards when Arapum broke down. If allowance was made for the cost of this stand-by plant, Auckland paid practically as much for its hydro-electric power as did the country distributing boards. The following letter on the subject was received from the Auckland Chamber: —

" Further to my letter of the 27th March, in reply to yours of the 19th idem. I am instructed to express regret that it has not been possible to send you a considered reply earlier, but the fact is that your letter has necessitated numerous interviews and voluminous correspondence with officials of various sorts. " As far as the cost of supply to power boards in various districts is concerned, the first part of the suggestion is already in operation, as there is in general a standard rate of charging for the whole Dominion irrespective of whether the supply comes from Lake Coleridge in the south or Mangahao in the north. "As regards the suggestion that power boards and supply authorities should be charged for bulk supply at a uniform rate, the only exceptions to this are in the case of large cities and some power boards where the laro-er load and the existence of standby warrant preferential treatment, and in the case of the original Waikato power boards, which are still operating under old agreements which at that time contained a 5 per cent discount clause.

"We understand that as new con- : tracts are arranged the Public-Works Department makes every effort to keep the rates on a uniform level, butt based on a sliding scale proportional to the amount of power consumed or to the maximum demand registered, so that the larger the consumer the less the 'amount which will ;he _paid on the average per kilowatt of demand. . • . "While this is the ideal aimed at by the Department, in the j caSe of certain cities and power boards which have existing generating plants of their own this may prove to be an ideal impossible of attainment, because a supply at standard rates may make it economical to run the local generating plant for short periods in order to cut peaks and thus m effect secure supply at below standard rates. In addition, also, it must be remembered that such authorities have to pay capital charges on their own plant in addition to what they have to pay for the supply of power in bulk from the Department. "The offer of supply at slightly below standard rates, on the other hand, may secure the. customer for the Government under an agreement whereby peak cutting is eliminated and the local station is at the service of the Government in times of emergency. . , "By this means not only is tne Government scheme, as a whole, made more nearly self-supporting, but additional expenditure in generating plant is obviated and the time brought nearer when it will be possible to make a general reduction in " Commercial methods must be applied, and these are clearly (from what has been stated above) not always compatible with a universal adherence to hard-and-fast rates. " These being the facts as understood by my executive, we are not prepared at this juncture to advocate in a general way anything which might bring about an alteration in the Government system of charging. We do, however, think that any board or supply authority, when making a fresh contract with the Government, or negotiating for a variation on its existing contract, might, with advantage, endeavour to obtain the benefits of an average maximum demandsay, on the five highest peaks per quarter, taken on separate days—instead of the present method of one maximum demand per quarter. It power boards or supply authorities could succeed in this they would gain very substantial reductions in the cost of power, and at the same time there would be no interference with the present method of assessing power The secretary, reported that to date 18 chambers had intimated support of the principle, five had deferred decision pending receipt of fuller information, and two had voted in opposition to the representations. One or two had replied that their centres were not affected, as electricity was generated from plants other than those under Government control. It. was decided that the secretary forward fuller information to those chambers desiring it.