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in view of the continuing cost of the greatly expanded services now being given to listeners, and the further service to be given when the development plan is completed, there will not be in future years the substantial annual surplus of revenue over expenditure which has hitherto been shown by the Broadcasting Account. In years, funds have been built up from the annual surplus to meet the cost of replacing equipment and providing for new stations. The accounts reflect a substantial increase in the capital expenditure on this programme, while investments, which totalled £1,950,000 as at the 31st March, 1948, are shown in this year's Balance-sheets as £1,850,000, a drop of £lOO,OOO. The audited accounts for the year are appended to this report. Accounts for the year ended 31st March, 1948, will* be published in parliamentary paper B-l [Pt. IV]. In order that a comparison may be made, abridged Income and Expenditure Accounts and Balance-sheets in columnar form for the two years are printed at the end of this report. ENGINEERING SECTION Development There was steady progress with the development programme which was introduced in 1946-47. Of the transmitting-equipment ordered since 1946, all but 'the 60 kW. transmitter for 2YA, the 10 kW. transmitter, for 3YA, and the 2 kW. transmitters for Gisborne and New Plymouth, have been received from the manufacturers, The 10 kW. transmitter for Station 3YZ Greymouth, located at Kumara Junction, was installed by the manufacturers and accepted by the Service on 12th November. The erection of the mast radiating system for this station has been held up by the shortage of steel in Australia, and the transmitter is operating on a temporary aerial system. The results with this temporary arrangement have been satisfactory, and coverage of the west coast of the South Island has been greatly improved. The station can also be received clearly in the North Island. The first of the new stations to come into operation, 3XC Timaru, was opened on 18th January, 1949. The equipment for this station was installed by the engineering staff'of the Service, and the temporary aerial system will be replaced by a 175 ft. steel mast radiator. The transmitter at Washdyke is unattended and is switched on and off by remote control from the control-room in the Timaru studio. This remote-control unit, which was designed by the Head Office Engineering Section, has been very successful, and similar units will be used at each of the proposed 2 kW. stations. They will effect a considerable saving in staff. The 10 kW. transmitter at Paengaroa, taking programmes from the Rotorua studios and serving the Bay of Plenty, has been installed and is being tested. A 500 ft. steel mast has been erected for the radiating system, and the station is expected to come into operation towards the end of April, 1949. The studio building in Rotorua, a temporary structure using surplus timber from wartime camps, has been completed and the technical equipment installed. Offices and studios for new stations at Hamilton and Whangarei have also been completed, and the conversion of the available accommodation at Wanganui and Gisborne to studios and offices for the new 2 kW. stations in these centres is under way. Plans have been prepared for new studios at Palmerston North and are in preparation for studios at Nelson and New Plymouth. Transmitter buildings have been erected in Hamilton, Palmerston North, Wanganui, and Nelson, and plans have been completed for similar buildings at Gisborne, Whangarei, and New Plymouth. Power-conservation During the winter months daily cuts in broadcasting hours were imposed by the Electricity Controller. These cuts were designed to conserve electrical power, the principal saving being effected by listeners switching off their radio receivers.

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