STEADY INCREASE OF POWER SALES IN BAY OF PLENTY

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 14, Issue 14, 20 July 1949, Page 5

STEADY INCREASE OF POWER SALES IN BAY OF PLENTY

There has been a steady increase in the gross sale of electricity in spite of power restrictions the en-gineer-manager, Mr J. D. Dicker, stated in his report presented to the annual meeting of the Bay of Plenty Electric Power Board. The gross sale of electricity exceeded the estimates by £4316. The average per unit soict being .819 d as compared with .817 d the previous year. (Average for all power boards 1947-48 was .82d per unit sold). Working costs per cent of revenue 66.37 per cent. ("Average all boards 67.42 per cent). Total costs per unit sold .757 d. (Average all boards .766 d). Power fund total costs amounted to £68,569, being £IB3B below the estimate and £1267 increase on the previous year.

Mr Dicker said that after accounting for all revenues and costs, including £8976 7s 9d capital expenditure, there remained a credit sum of £IBO6 7s 8d over the year’s operations. This had been brought about to same extent by maintenance costs, which were below the estimates. There was less damage experienced through storms and lightning. The only time there had been any serious interruptions to consumers had been through storms in April and May of last year. The engineer-manager estimated that receipts in the Power Fund were £81,270 and so left a balance of £7288 over expenditure. “As new capital works are directly subject to the supply of equipment, labour and the power supply position, which factors are difficult to determine, I have not set out in detail a specific programme of new work to be undertaken during the year ending March 31, 1950,” said Mr Dicker.

“With the present facilities at our disposal we can hope to cope with the usuali short extensions, new service lines, portion of the items previously authorised, and meters etc.” The capital expenditure required to cover these items, not including any major extensions, should not exceed £I,OOO.