ELECTRICITY ON FARM.

Waikato Times, Volume 97, Issue 15898, 24 January 1924, Page 8

ELECTRICITY ON FARM.

CENTRAL BOARD’S OPERATIONS. COMFORTS FOR RURAL HOMES. The year 1923 has been an important one in the history of the Central Electric Power Board, and considerable .progress has been made towards the completion of its scheme. The board was gazetted in July, 1920, and authority to raise a loan of £200,000 to reticulate the district was granted by tho ratepayers in November of that year. Actual constructional work was commenced in April, 1921, and current was turned on for the first time in the following August, the district receiving electricity at that date being the M-alangi, Eureka, and Tauwhare section. Since then steady progress has been made in reticulating the power district, each section being “livened up’’ as soon as completed.

At the end of the financial year (March 31, 1922), there were 170 consumers connected and the revenue was £1306. For the financial year ending last March the consumers numbered 972, and the revenue had increased to £8300.' At the time of writing the consumers being supplied are over 1100, and of these 400 are using milking machine motors, whilst there are 53 other industrial motors working. The number of motors put in between April 1 last end present date was 175. It is estimated that the revenue from the sale of electricity for the current financial year will amount' to between £16,000 and £17,000. Much Constructional Work. The main scheme as laid out when the board was first formed is now nearing completion, though much work remains to be done in constructing side lines and reticulating areas not yet properly opened up. Up to dale approximately 80 mlies of 11,000 volt clnes, 60 miles 300 volt lines, 100 miles low-tension lines, and 1400 service lines have been constructed. One serious drawback to the working of the board is the fact that when first formed it did not have a town in its area, and Hamilton Borough Council having deeded not to join in with the country area, but to operate under its own license, excepting for the suburbs of Hamilton the area was purely a country one; this fact, and the necessity for obtaining consumers of electricity other than country ones, led to the board negotiating with the Ngaruawahia Borough Council for the incluson of the borough in the power district. These negotiations were successful, the board purchasing the small electric plant and the reticulation owned by the 80-rough Council. Since February last year the town has been served with hydro-electricity by the board.

A petition has been received from the Huntly riding of the Waikato County to have that area included in the power district, and the extension should be gazetted shortly. It has also been arranged to take in the Huntly Town Board area and to supply that town and its rapidly-growing industries with hydro-electricity.

Charges for Current,

One hears a good deal about charges for current, especially as the present price of benzine has -reduced considerably the running cost of benzine engines. There is no doubt, however, that the owner of a large herd, say from 40 cows and upward, is able to milk his cows cheaper by electricity than by any other power. It will be found, also, that if the milker of even a small herd lias a motor installation suitable to his requirements, his running costs will compare favourably with those of a benzine engine,-when cost of benzine, oil and repairs are taken into account and due allowance is made for the fact that the motor installation cost only about half that of the engine, whilst its life is probably double that of the latter, to say nothing of the greater convenience, cleanliness and comfort of its use, and the free maintenance service rendered by the board. The board realises that the small man pays more in proportion for the electricity used than the big man does, but the remedy for this is hard to find at. the present stage of the board’s existence'. In discussing this the chief matters are the Government charges for current, and the system upon which they are based. The board has to pay on what is called the maximum demand system. That is, it has to pay for the whole quarter on the highest demand it has made for half an hour on .the Government supply during that quarter. _ That is where the difficulty comes in as regards the small herd owner, as 1 he milks his cows at exactly the same time as the large user, and thereby does his share in putting up the peak that has to -be paid on for the whole quarter. A deputation consisting of representatives of all the power boards' supplied from Hora flora waited on the Hon. Minister of Public Works at Cambridge recently to place before him the difficulties under which boards are working as regards the charges for power. A reduction in charges was asked for, and if tills could not be granted he was asked to alter the system of charging for current from the maximum half-horn-demand over the quarter to the average of the maximum half-hour demands each month of the quarter. The Minister promised to obtain a special report from his officers dealing with the matters brought up, and then consider them, but his reply hsa not yet come to hand.

Heating and Cooking. The chief demand for electricity in the board’s district is for motors for driving milking machines and this means that the power is used during only a few hours of the day, although I it lias to be paid for the 24 hours. In order to obtain consumers for other 1 purposes, the price for heating and j cooking has been reduced to lid per unit, a price that compares very favourably with that charged in cities. This gives consumers an excellent opj portunity to use electricity for these purposes, to the advantage of them-

selves and of the board which is their own special concern, and such abundant use would enable the board to reduce other charges also. The board is making a feature of hot water heaters in the milking sheds and residences, and for motors to take Ihe place of windmills for driving pumps in the fields. The value of the dairying industry of a plentiful supply of boiling water ,in the milking shed cannot be over-estimated, as it is only by the export of products of the highest grade that New Zealand can hope to retain its high position in ihe markets' of the Northern Hemisphere. The heaters being installed by the board are giving the greatest, satisfaction on all sides. A plentiful supply of water in the paddocks is also of extreme importance to live industry, and with an electric motor driving Ihe pump the farmr is made independent

of the weather conditions as far as power is concerned, and can rely upon an abundance of ■water for his stock when required mosl during Ihe hot, dry calm weather, and this at a cost of only £3 per annum. Up to now ratepayers in the district have responded splendidly in installing electricity, but are using it for only limited purposes, and as so much of

the supply required is for driving milking machines, the advantage of so many consumers being on is minimised. Until recently the use of electricity in the home was one of the great -conveniences enjoyed only by -the dwellers in towns and cities, but the operations of power boards have changed this. Unless, however, consumers use it more extensively for such purposes as lighting, heating in winter by means of radiators and cooling in summer with electric fans, cooking all the year round at the economical rate at which current is supplied for the purpose, water heating, pumping water for household and farming purposes, and for power in milking sheds', they cannot be considered to be taking full advantage of the use of electricity, which makes for a degree of laboursaving, comfort, cleanliness and economy hitherto unknown in country homes.

Although the Central Electric Power Board was the last of the boards served from Hora Hora to be formed, it can claim that its progress in ail respects compares favourably with that of the other boards, and the members and staff look forward with confidence to the present year being one of continued progress.