REPORT ON ELECTRICITY ‘GOOD EMPIRE-BUILDING’

Press, Volume C, Issue 29516, 18 May 1961, Page 18

REPORT ON ELECTRICITY ‘GOOD EMPIRE-BUILDING’

(New Zealand Press Association)

PALMERSTON N„ May 17. The report of the Electricity Distribution Sub-com-mittee was a “very good piece of electrical empirebuilding,” without consideration of its effects on localgovernment structure and administration, the chairman of the Municipal Electric Supply Association, Mr C. W. Teppett, of Palmerston North, said in a statement issued today.

The report, which recommended what was virtually commission control of both the generation and distribution of electricity, had not been approved by the executive of the Electric Supply Authorities’ Association, and was referred to a special meeting at Rotorua at the end of the month, when it was certain to be strongly opposed, he said.

“Its avowed intention is to ■ take generation away from ' political control, but it admits ‘ .hat the Government, which ’ is providing some £2O mil- 1 lion a year for new gene- 1 rating stations, etc., must have over-riding control,” Mr Teppett saia. More than 100 delegates ■ from all parts of the country who attended a special meeting of the Municipal Electric ' Supply Association in Wei- ' lington on May 11 resolved 1 unanimously that the report 1 of the distribution sub-com-mittee was unacceptable, particularly as the majority of 1 the proposed governing body would be appointed, and not elected. Negation of Principles . The conference felt that this was not in the best interests of the industry, or the people, and was the negation of democratic princples, contrary to the interests of local government in New Zealand, said Mr Teppett. “It was also felt that, in the main, the report was designed as a method of ending the distribution of electricity by municipalities. "It does nothing to solve the problem of the backcountry board with sparsely populated areas to reticulate; it does nothing to settle the problem of costs loaded on to some municipalities by power boards', and is only concerned with differences in power charges where the consumers are adjacent and able to make comparisons,” Mr Teppett said. The report endeavoured to 1 cope with all other problems by appointing what was t virtually a dictatorship, sub- > ject only to a legal court of i appeal 1 “This contradictory report . endeavours to place elec- ; tricity on a pedestal of its > own, and ignores that it is i only one of the functions of local government It pro- ! vides for an expensive and autocratic top-hamper of paid ; administrators, whose job is : to tell the Government and ’ distributing authorities what ’ to do,” he said. > Long-Distance Control ’ Mr Teppett said that no , commission in Wellington, no . matter how efficient could

meet the needs of the people by long-distance control. Distribution could only serve the needs of the people where administered locally. “My association thinks that sufficient time is not being given for consideration of the report and alternatives. It questions whether due weight was given to the various matters under the order of reference, particularly the Parliamentary Local Bills Committee’s report, or suggestions put forward for a tariff-ad- . ustment fund, which would settle many of the problems between electrical authorities. “We doubt whether the Government would agree with the generating proposals or that, if approved, they would work out as intended. The over-riding difficulties experienced in the past would remain.” As an alternative, it was recommended that there should be more adequate control of generation of Stale electricity, and that distributing authorities should have a more substantial voice m that planning. This could be achieved by incorporating the present power-planning committee as a statutory body, with power to initiate and report to the Minister of Electricity on all matters touching the generation of electricity. It should not be a mere co-opt®! committee which could be discarded, as has happened in the past, as soon as it was not in accord with the political party of the day, Mr Teppett said.