ELECTRIC LIGHT.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1772, 10 June 1913, Page 5

ELECTRIC LIGHT.

RATES FOR THEATRES.

REQUEST FOR A REDUCTION

A reijucck for reduced charges for tho supply current was liiado to tho Tramway Committee of tho City Council yesterday by a deputation of theatre proprietors. Tho deputation was introduced by Mr. Leu. M'Keuzie.

It should Lo explained that the charges now made aro as follow:—Lighting, lUd. per unit, less certain discounts, which aro —Uno penny up to 325 units, id, from 320 to 750, 4jd lrom 751 to 10U0, sd. from 1001 upwards; power and heating, 4d. per unit, less tho following discounts :~ ld. up to 500 units, ljd. from 501 to 1000, ljd. from 1001 to 1500, l,d. tram 1501 to 2000, 2d. from 2001 to 2500, 2Jd, abovo 2500.

Mr. Bert ltoyle, speaking for tho deputation, said that when tho present charges were framed, there wero practically no theatres in town «xoept the Opera llouso, which was open intermittently, perhaps for about half the year. Sinco then theatres had multiplied, and tho consumption of electric current by theatres had increased enormously. Recently proprietors of houses of amusement had hold a meeting to consider what steps should bo taken to Mcuro special terms for tho supply of light to such places. They asked that they bo charged a flat rate of 4d. per unit. Now they wero allowed the samo discounts as tlio ordinary small householder, and thoy considered that sinco they wero such by consumers, tho council ought to be prepared to deal with them on a whoiesaio instead of a retail basis. The aggregate payments made for electricity for power and light was about .£3OO a month, The Mayor (Mr. J.,P. Luke), replying, Baid tlio committee would consider tho matter from tho point of view of what was best for tho city, but he could say that a flat rate of id. would not pav the City Council. The cost to tho city of cloctricity supplied, allowing for interest charges, was 4 l-10d. per unit, and tho members of tho deputation wore no doubt too good business men to ask tho council to run tho electric lighting enterprise nt a loss. In conversation with a Dominion reporter after the deputation had retired, tho manager of a tlieatro in which continuous pictures ore shown stated that unless some considerable reduction in rates wero made by tho council, ho proposed to put in his own generating plant. His monthly payments for current wore about and ho had calculated tlmt ho could goncrato liis own current for about ,£2O. Doubtless, he said, the average cost to the council for supply of current to a multitude of small consumers was 4 l-10d., as the Mayor, had snid, but tho cost of supplying it to a big consumer was nothing liko that. Ho thought ho could, by coupling up a gas engine with his own generator, produco current at about ljd. per unit. It was stated also that the Opera House Company would almost certainly put in a generating plant unless they could get Letter terms from tho City Council.