POWER DISTRIBUTION

Chronicle (Levin), 19 December 1946, Page 4

POWER DISTRIBUTION

♦ — Horowhenua Board Meets The final meeting for this year of the Horowhenua Electric Power Board was held yesterday. Present were: Messrs. G. A. Monk "(chairman), Messrs. W. E. Barber, T. G. Vincent, R. O. Hornblow, J. H. P. Liggins, R. R. Lind, C. S. Keedwell and Major-General R. Young. Also Messrs. R. A. Frederikson (manag-ing-secretary) and J. F. Bryce (engineer) . .

Visit to Depot Prior to the meeting the board members visited the depot in Cambridge Street, where they were entertained at morning tea by members of the staff. Opportunity was also taken to inspect the depot and the4proposed plan, drawn up by the engineer, for future additions to the depot. The new aub-station, work on which has already commenced, was also inspected by the board members.

i s. During the informal ga'thering. .of the staff at morning tea, opportunity was taken by the chairman, Mr. Monk, to extend seasonal greetings io all present. He said he was very much in favour of such gatherings, as th.ey gave the board an opportunity of meeting the staff and seeing the conditions under which they were working. He thanked them for providing morning tea and wished them all a happy vacation. Mr. Monk also took the opportunity of welcoming back a member of the staff, Mr. J. S. Powell, who recently returned from service in Italy and Japan. On behalf of the office staff, Mr. Frederikson extended his best wishes to the workers at the depot. Mr. W. Meddings replied* on behalf of the dep.ot staff, thanking the board members for their attendance and interest. Be .expressed disappointment .that many of the staff were unable to be present, but hoped that similar gatherings would be repeated. dur-

ing the course of the forthcoming During the inspection of _ the sites for the proposed extensions, the engineer, Mr. Bryce, said thjat the plans were only tentative at the moment, but would give members an idea of what was eventually aimed at. The plans made prpvisipn for a new sub station (now under eonstruction ) , a storeroom, wcrkshops and accommodation for transformers. Alterations woiild also be made to the existing sub station. When interviewed later, MrBryce. said that Levin would ultimately be the centfe of supply for tlie northern area, whjch includes Shannon, Otaki, Foxton and Tokomaru. The main difficulty at present was the shortage of supplies and labour.

New Extensions The engineer reported that during the past month 44 new con--Suffiers and 40--bxtensions were connected, compilkRig 44 lightiiig and heating installations,.:32 rang'es, 28 waterlieaters, one separator motor, one pumping motor' and 13 small industrial motors. The increase in connected load for the period was 400 k.w.

Statement of Revenue The total for the first eight months of the current financial year was £57,065, which showed an increase of £4,481 over the figures for the same period last year, said the managing-secretary, Mr. Frederikson, in his report to the board. Revenue for the November metre readings was exceptionally high, with the result that the rate of increase ha.d risen to 8| per cent., compared wih 74- per cent. on previous returns. The net increase for the Nov.ember meter readings was £840, which was equal to 13 per cent. In view of the difficulty" in obtaining prompt delivery of hardwood poles, he said he considered ;t necessary to place orders well in advance, and asked authority to purchase poles to the value of £3000. Stocks in hand and orders placed were sufficient for the next twelve months, but he thought it advisabie to place the order now in order to \ ensure steady deliveries. The man- JJ ufacture of concrete poles cauld not be further investigated or proceeded with until supplies of cement and steel were assured. However, if the board eventually d.ecided on this course, there wquld be no difficulty in cancelljng a portlon of the order. The board granted authority for th,e purchase without hesitation. V/hen closing the meeting, the chairman thpnked all 'members of the board for fheir close co-opera-tion during the year, and atjded that he wished to extend the. comoliments of the season 'to all members, the staff and the Press. . It was also. decided that a gr.fnt of £5 be made to the staff's newlyformed social fund.