ELECTRIC POWER BOARD

Evening Star, Issue 23376, 20 September 1939, Page 2

ELECTRIC POWER BOARD

MONTHLY MEETING The monthly meeting of . the Otago Electric Power Board was held at Milton yesterday, when there were present Messrs G. Moore (in the chair), D. Bovd, H. R. Michelle, A. E. Russell, AY. Cameron, \V. C. Arklc, W. Lee, T. Lewis, and J. B. M'Gill. FINANCE. Accounts passed amounted to £1,914 8s sd. The total expenditure was £5.002 19s 9J, and the total receipts wore £10,832 16s 4d, including £3,643 4s (id! for electricity cash receipts. CORESPONDENCE. Tho electricity controller (Mr T. M. Kissel! i wrote advising that approval must bo obtained for any new construction work under tho Electricity Emergency Act, 1939. All new work which could not bo completed before September 25 must 'bo submitted for reconsideration. Schedules of stocks and details of staffing were also requested.—Received. Tho controller also wrote that, concerning the board’s request that the work in connection with the Clinton extension loan of £12,000 be completed, no decision could be given until a review of the whole of tho Dominion’s resources and requirements bad been made. At present tins matter was well down on the priority list.—Mr Russell said that the work was now so far advanced that it would bo a pity of it had to be held up indefinitely. On his motion it was decided to approach the Minister (Mr Semple), emphasising tho desirability of completing the matter.—lt was also decided to proceed with the formal holding of a poll in tho area. TE HOUKA EXTENSION. Tho engineer (Mr R. D. Yeitch), reporting on tho proposed To Houka extension, said that there appeared to by 34 consumers in the area, but two were a considerable distance out. A preliminary estimate of the cost of reticulating tho remaining 32 is £5,C20, requiring an average guarantee of £26 7s annually each. This estimate provides for a line being built from the Owaka circuit at AVarepa. This would feed the consumers with the exception of four near Balclutha, who would be fed when a line has been costed from the Kakapuaka circuit. Ten of these consumers aro butside tho present inner area. If the canvass of tho To Houka area is successful, this route ( would be tho most favourable for feeding Clydevale, duo to geographical position and tho capacity of existing lines. For these reasons, he suggested that Te Houka be canvassed before Clydevale. In view of tho emergency request that no new works bo undertaken at present, it was agreed to defer consideration of this report. MANIOTOTO AREA'. The engineer submitted! the following report on the Maniototo-Strath-Taieri area:— Tap-off lines between AVaipiata and Ranfurly have been completed, also one at Kokonga. Poles were erected for low tension at AVaipiata railway houses, schoolhouse, and school, and railway houses at Tiroiti and Hyde, although the railway houses have not been wired yet. Two 11,000-volt tapoffs were completed at Rock and Pillar, and seven consumers along the main line between Hyde and Middlemarch have been connected. Snow has considerably retarded the progress, and it was expected that the area would have been completed! by the end of this month; this lias not been accomplished, but there now remain to be done details consisting chiefly of dressing-up work. ENGINEER’S REPORT. The engineer (Air R. D, Veitch) submitted the following report:— Owaka.—Meter reading is completed, and new street lights have been installed, also existing ones overhauled. Service work has been attended to in Owaka Valley and in tho Town Hall; both these jobs involve wiring. Additional lights have been fitted to the Owaka residence. One 11,000-volt insulator has been replaced on the main lino and time switches adjusted.

Lawrence. —Meter reading has been undertaken, and took longer than was anticipated, due to the snow. Four hundred yards of low tension has been run to connect two new consumers. High tension fuses have been renewed at Tuapeka Flat and Beaumont. One interruption was caused through birds becoming entangled in the fuses. Stirling.—Service maintenance has been carried out at Kaitangata, and poles have been rehlocked at Balclutha. Four poles have been erected to date and holes drilled in bridge piers. Trees have been cleared at Inch Clutha, and low tension on the freezer sub. has been dressed up. Earth testing in this area has been completed and two poles and girder erected over pole ramp for travelling hoist. A trolley with hopper has been made to fill the moulds in the pole shed; 125 concrete poles have been made to the end of the month. A start has been made on the duplicating supply to Balclutha. Milton.—The metering of the fuse cubicle has been made up for the Cross street sub-station to permit of the easier location of faults. One air break switch and 16 fuse mounts have been assembled. Three 25 k.v.a. and one 15 k.v.a. transformer have been reconditioned. A start has been made on the new wiring at the offices. Inspections have been made in the Lawrence area,by the Milton staff. Assistance has been received from Stirling for three weeks in the test room. Six poles have been shifted on the Lawrence line at Round Hill to permit of road deviations. It may later bo necessary to replace conductors in this section, as damage duo to shooting of rock is suspected. The dismantling of transformers at Glenore and their re-erec-tion at North Union street is completed ; this action was necessary on account of the presence of water in the North Union street transformer bank. The original Union street hank has been altered to exclude water, and will he reinstalled at Glenore later. Road alterations at Tokoiti called for the shifting of the 6,000-volt circuit in that vicinity. Alterations to the refreshment rooms at Milton caused the hoard to shift services. The pole ramps in Milton have been placed on concrete piles, the other ones becoming misplaced. Fuse mounts at Brausgroves have been changed and earth testing for the area completed.

Northern. —A power stoppage occurred on August 12, when shifting ground at Omimi caused a pole to shift and tangle the 11,000-volt main line with the 6,000-volt local distribution circuit. A fair amount of Sunday work has been necessary in this area owing to poles having to ho replaced on the Macrae’s line. The boosting substation at AVaitati is now disconnected. The lessening of the load on this substation, now that Macrae’s is-supplied

from the Public Works Department sub-station at Palmerston, has dispensed with the necessity of this boosting bank of transformers. Transformer taps have been changed at Seacliff and Waitati to give a more satisfactory voltage to consumers in these localities. The 33,000-volt transformer bank has been painted, and extra street lights have besn erected at Seacliff and Palmerston and depreciated poles changed on the main line. The transformer controlling the reclosing gear at Palmerston has been shifted to lessen the load on the pole it was hanging on, and is now placed on the sub-station platform alongside the switch gear. Several services have heen erected. The following were the units supplied for the month of August, 1939 Northern area, 190,000; southern area, 455,400; total, 645,400. This waa an increase of 74,930 over last month’s total. The report was adopted.