Why Power Board Requires Further Loan

Chronicle (Levin), 20 October 1949, Page 4

Why Power Board Requires Further Loan

A letter in "The Chronicle" on October 17 in regard to the board's proposal to raise a loan of £70,000 for additional reticulation was referred to by the chairman, Mr. T. G. Vincent, at yesterday's meeting of the Horowhenua Electric Power Board. Mr. Vincent said the letter was quite reasonable and the public was entitled to know why the board required additional finance. It was quite possible that the general public did not realise the extent to which the board's operations had been enlarged. The original loan proposal of £260,000 had been to reticulate the area as then visualised, he continued. As an instance, he said, it was then estimated that by the year 1950 a total of 650 dairy sheds would be connected in the board's district. This estimate was made ori the best data then available. Today 1599 sheds were connecied. "At the time that estimate was made the extent to which the district would develop was never dreamt of," * said the chairman. "At the present rate of progress we are doubling our numher of consumers every eight years." The time: had now come, continued Mr. Vincent, when the board was being forced to put in mere ana heavier power lines. Numerous sub-divisions had taken place in the area, thus increasing the amount of power used. With regard to the borrowing of the finance, the chairman said that by 1963 all the original loans would have been paid off, and thaL would be a creditable achievement. "We are always willing to give the public any information it wants about the activities of the board." The loan was purely to further reticulation and would not be used for an office -building. "Provision of finance for the office building has already been made out of revenue," he stated. The chairman concluded by. saying that generally speaking £70,000 today was equal to £30,000 when the original estimate of expenditure had heen made by the board. V'FinalJy we • have progressively reduced the charges to consumers over a iperiod of years."