HUTT & ITS GAS.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2134, 28 April 1914, Page 7

HUTT & ITS GAS.

AGREEMENT WITH PETONE.

A special meeting of the Lower Hutt Borough Council was held last evening, tho Mayor (Mr. E. P. Bunny) presiding. Councillors Purdy, Hobbs, Parsonage, Clendon, Kempthomo, Meldrum, and Hodgins were also present. The meeting was called to consider a report, and certain recommendations by the Borough Engineer regarding the gas maintenance scheme. • At the outset Mr. Bunny said that he wished to refer to remarks made by Councillor Purdy, to tho effect that the meeting had been hurriedly called to push the matter through. As a matter of fact, the engineer had been expected to report in July, 1913, and Councillor Purdy, he thought, was not then a member of the council. Tho engineer desired to have certain improvements effected before the maintenance scheme' was brought up, and so the report had been delayed. In referring to the gas agreement between the Potone and Hutt Councils, the Mayor said that it had only been made after grave deliberations by the council, and after- many interviews and much correspondence with the Pctone Council. Under the old agreement gas was supplied at 4s. per thousand cubic feet, and one of the objects of the new agree'ment was not only to reduce the price, but to increase the pressure. The prioo was to be reduced to 3s. Dd. per thousand feet when the consumption totalled ten million feet per annum. If the consumption fell below nine million feet then the price would bo raised to 4s. As soon as it reached twelve million feet the price would drop to 3s. Bd. Continuing, Mr. Bunny said that as councillors knew, the chief matter which had determined both councils in the agreement was to oncourago the consumption of gas. v. One of the best means to encourage people to use it was to improve the service, and one of tho reasons that gas was not taken in large quantities was that tho pressure was bad. In the agreement, however, Petoiio was committed to the expense of several thousands of pounds in improvements which would considerably increase tho pressure. When this was brought about the Hutt Borough would have very little difficulty, with a small incrcaso in population, in ataining the 12,000,000 ft. limit. Tn pointing out that it_ was absolutely incorrect that the original agreement was better than the present one, Mr. Bunny said that the councilhad accepted tho latter agreement on the advice of an independent gas engineer. Also, if at ony future tirao the Hutt Council wished to go in for. an electric light system, thoro was nothing to prevent it from doing so. Dealing with Mr. Baldwin's criticism (that although the price to the council had been reduced there had been no reduction to the consumers) tho Mayor said that, in 1909, he found that there was a debit balance of £400. This had disappeared, and last year thero would have been a credit balance of £700 but for tho fact that some £500 had been spent out of the rcvenuo in improvements to tho mains. Councillor Purdy stated that ho had not been understood correctly by tho Mayor. He said that tho point in his criticism. was that, if the council had accepted the agreement, the prico would have automatically fallen to 3s. 9d. in 1916 irrespective of what tho consumption was. Councillor Kempthorno moved that tho scheme bo adopted in the Hutt on tho samo lines as Petone for a period, of 12 months from May 1. The motion was carried.