83

D.—l

excess is mainly due to the presence of a belt of trees along part of the route which keeps the road from drying; the road was in a bad state for this reason when we took it over, and we have not been able to restore it to the extent of enabling traffic to be maintained in wet weather as well as in dry weather. The problem of transportation is a serious one, as we require to transport 95 tons of coal and cement per week —practically ten traction-engine loads—without interruption; in addition to this we require to transport the machinery, and the road has to be kept open for the power-house contractor, the pipe-line contractor, and the transmission-line. The Department is under contract to supply Christchurch by the Ist May, 1914, and as far as 1 can see there is reasonable prospect of acting up to our obligation. The critical elements at present are the pipe-line contract, delivery of machinery in good time, and the transportation of material from Coaigate to Coleridge. With regard to the cost of construction, a statement of the payments made to the end of July, the liabilities and estimate for completion against the several sections of the work, is shown in Table II herewith. The total expended is £82,897; the total liability is ,£121,236; estimate to complete, £48,484; total, £252,617. The original estimate for the completion of the works corresponding to the stage now under construction was £251,214, showing an excess of £1,403. The estimate to complete, however, includes contingency items which may or may not eventuate. At any rate, the works will be completed substantially in accordance with the original'estimate. A contract lias been entered into with the Christchurch City Council in the following terms :— 1. Supply shall be given in the form of three-phase current having a periodicity of 50 cycles per second at a pressure on 11,000 volts. 2. Power shall be delivered to the City Council at three points, viz. :- — (1.) The present generating-station at the destructor at Christchurch. (2.) A building situate in the Council's yard at the corner of Montreal Street and Moorhouse Avenue, or such other point as may be agreed upon. (3.) A building situate within the city area at a point to be determined. The Council shall pay the Department for the supply at the rate of £8 13s. 4d. per annum per kilowatt for 300 kilowatts, and £5 per kilowatt per annum for every kilowatt demanded by the Council in excess of 300. 4. The maximum demand shall be deemed to be the maximum output required at any one time during the year, averaged over half au hour, from the Department's substation to the Corporation's substations, as measured at the Department's substation by a meter to be provided by the Government. 5. The loss in the mains at maximum load between the Department's substation and the Corporation's substation shall not exceed 2| per cent. Should the loss exceed per cent, a proportionate reduction in charge shall be made by the Department. 6. Payments shall lie made quarterly, and shall be one-fourth the amount of yearly payment based upon the maximum observed during the last four quarters, including that for which payment is being made. 7. During the first year of operation and until the maximum for the year is ascertained payments are to be. made quarterly on the basis of the maximum observed in the interval between the date upon which supply commences and the date upon which payment becomes due; any difference between the sums paid and the total amount due to the Department on the basis of the yearly maximum shall be adjusted at the end of the first year. 8. The Council agrees to take a minimum supply of 500 kilowatts. 9. The Department will guarantee to supply 4,500 kilowatts if and when required by the Council after twelve months' notice. 10. The Department agrees to commence to supply and the Council agrees to take a supply of not less than 500 kilowatts not later than the Ist .May, 1914. 11. The scale of prices agreed upon is to remain in force for five years from the date of commencing the supply. At the end of the said five years the contract shall be renewed for a further term, and at such prices and for such period as may be agreed upon. 12. The Council agrees not to .charge power-consumers more than £10 per annum per kilowatt of maximum demand provided that the maximum demand is not less than 30 kilowatts, and £12 per annum per kilowatt if the demand is less than 30 kilowatts. 13. The Department undertakes not to supply any consumer within the city boundaries other than the City Council, tfie Tramway Board, Drainage Board, other local bodies, and the Railway and Government Departments : Provided that any consumer other than the City- Council supplied under this clause shall be prohibited from retailing energy. The substance of the agreement is that the Council have agreed to take a supply from the Department and to pay £8 13s. 4d. per kilowatt per annum of maximum demand for the first 300 kilowatts of power, and £5 per kilowatt per annum for every kilowatt in excess of this. Before entering into the agreement the Council engaged Mr. Frederick Black-, M.1.E.E., consulting enigneer, of AVellington. to report on the comparative cost of taking a supply from the Department and of generating electricity by gas, steam, or oil engines, and to estimate the cost of the necessary transforming plant and of reticulating the city. Mr. Black's investigation was exhaustive, his conclusions final, and his recommendations unequivocal for the conditions of load obtaining in Christchurch. Mr. Black made a comparison at two stages in the growth of the business —viz., 2,090 kw. and 3,250 kw., corresponding to 2,801 h.p. and 4,360 h.p. respectively, anticipated in 1916 and 1919—that is, two yerrs-and five years after the supply is first commenced. The comparison is as follows :—