H.—2.

"The new store, tool-shed, stable, &c., in the kitchen-garden has been completed, and is a big improvement on the various ' tumbledown ' buildings previously existing at different points in the Sanatorium grounds. i ■ i + " The matter of the general appearance of the departmental buildings mentioned m my last report has been almost completely remedied in that all buildings, with the exception of the tea-house have been painted, and despite the age of some of them they are now, I think, m reasonably good " Electrical Section.—Although in some directions there have been reduced demands for electrical supply, there have been increased demands for other purposes, and, as a result, we have had a busy year, and have carried out a number of extensions, besides reconstructing a number of the older lines to keep pace with the heavier loadings. As a result of the increase of load, the sing e6, ~ vo ' 3-phase circuit from Ngongotaha is now not large enough to carry economically the whole load required in Rotorua, and arrangements had to be made to duplicate it. One mile of this line was built on new poles and along a different route to the existing line, but the balance, four and a ha miles, is erected on the same poles as the old lines. It has been a difficult piece of work and by careful organizing it has been possible to do it with the minimum of inconvenience to consumers. " The Okere plant has been operated continuously during the year to reduce our demand on the Public Works Department while Arapuni was out of commission. . " The necessary repairs have been carried out to keep the plant in a reasonable state ot repair, and it should still be a useful standby for some years to come. . " The Diesel plant was also operated five hours a day and six days a week for the first six months of the year to reduce our demand on the Public Works Department. When the new generatmg-se was installed in Auckland the Public Works Department no longer required us to operate the Diesel. " The following table sets out the units generated and purchased for the year, and the new load connected, &c. : —

" New consumers — Number. Watts. "Light .. •• ..64 23,340 "Heat .. .. •• 45 35,700 "Ranges .. •• ..28 113,500 " Extensions — "Light .. 74 16,600 "Heat .. 43 41,010 " Motors .. • • • ■ .. 26 32,814 " Total new connected load for year, 262-9 kw. "Maximum load for year, 639 kv.a., 7.30 p.m., 26th March, 1932. " Water and Drainage Section.—During the year thirty-five new consumers were connected with the water-mains. The following pipe-lines were laid in various streets to provide for extensions and new connections : 2,100 ft. of 1 in., 60 ft. of f in., and 1,286 ft, of in. The 4 in. cast-iron main in Sophia Street was extended to the length of 200 ft, in order to provide consumers on the higher levels with a better pressure. . „ , " At the request of the Fire Board, 2,300 ft. of 4 in. cast-iron mam fitted with eight fire plugs was put in in Ti Street and Wairoa Road at a cost of £398. " An electrically operated automatic pumping-plant was installed at Utaiuna Bridge to boost the pressure to consumers on the higher levels during the summer months. " The usual maintenance work on all town mains and on all pipes and fittings m gardens and at baths and other departmental buildings has been carried out ; also the laying of minor lengths o pipe to connect premises or renew many connections that had become useless through corrosion, &c., was oarrl " d An U m a intenan o e work was faithfully carried out on town main sewers, manholes, branch drains pumping-plant, &c. All sanitary pipes and fittings in the gardens, baths, and other departmental buildings have received attention. . . " All pipes and fittings in basement of main bath building have been given a good coat of protective material which, it is considered after experiment, will add several years' life to same. " All the work in connection with the hot- and cold-water supplies to the various baths m tte Ward bath building has now been completed. Work in connection with linking up the new ue bath building with the 4 in. cast-iron main supply from Whaka and the 3 in. galvanized wrought-iron main-sunply from Rachel spring has also been completed. . " Gardens. —The plaving-areas, flower-beds, &c., have received the necessary attention during the year. The usual supply of vegetables, eggs, and poultry has been obtained from the kitchengarden for consumption at the Sanatorium and King George V Hospital. Waitomo Hostel has also been supplied with whatever vegetables they have ordered.

8

Purchased from Ti , Year. Public Works Okere. Diesel. iotal. Department. 1931-32 .. 1,013,297 1,530,134 49,236 2,592,667 1930-31 .. .. 1,132,819 1,027,807 106,457 2,267,083 T , 325,584 Increase tor year