The Times. Published on Tuesday and Friday Afternoons. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1921. ELECTRIC POWER FOR FRANKLIN

Franklin Times, Volume 9, Issue 604, 1 February 1921, Page 4

The Times. Published on Tuesday and Friday Afternoons.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1921. ELECTRIC POWER FOR FRANKLIN

The terms of the option granted by the Franklin County Council to the Franklin Electric Supply and Trading Co. are so far-reaching and calculated to have so great an effect upon the future of the western half of the county that it is desirable that the public should have the fullest information regarding not only their scope but the manner in which they came into being. Our previous article on the subject, and correspondence published in our open columns, will no doubt whet the desire of our readers to know all there is to be known, and as far as lies i:; our power we will enlighten them. The term for which an absolute monopoly of the sale of electac current iii an area stretching out six miles in every direction from the boundaries of the Waiuku town district is twenty years. The company will he entitled to charge 9d per unit for lighting and 5d for heating and power purposes, or as much more as will enable it to make a net profit of per cent, on the capital employed. Conversely if the same profit can be secured by a lower charge, the company may be called upon to make the reduction. At the end of ten years the local bodies will have the right to buy out the business and property of the company at a valuation with 20 per cent, added for goodwill, and at the end of twenty years with 10 per cent, for goodwill. On the other hand, should the company make wilful default in carrying out its obiigatioins it will not be necessary for local bodies to pay anything for goodwill. We have no faultl to find with either the old company or the new. The former cannot be blamed for trying to sell out at the top of boom p ices or the latter for desiring to secure the comfortable leturn of 12per cent, on their investment.

What we do take the strongest possible exception to is that the Council should have handed over to any proprietary company the sole right of the supply of power to some hundreds of farmers without giving the details of the scheme the fullest publicity. We have very grave doubts as to whether it is either right or wise to hand over to any private individuals the monopoly of any& public convenience. To do so without giving the persons whose rights are thus disposed of an opportunity to object we can only characterise as the gravest impropriety. And it only needs a very minor power of divination to prophecy what the sequel will be. Electric power and lighting are coming, and coming rapidly, and we think it will not be long before Franklin is dealing with its own public scheme, preferably, in our opinion, in conjunction with its neighbour, Manukau. The Waiuku scheme will not prevent this, though it will make it more expensive. But what will be the effect on the ratepayers within the sealed area,, when they see their neighbours across the border obtaining electric current from a power board which has no 12% per cent, profit to look for? Is it not easy to forsee a clamour the Council will be shortly unable to resist, that he business of the company, goodwill and all, shall be acquired by the ratepayers? It will be the case of the Auckland tramways over again. At the beginning of this article we said it was desirable that publicity should be given as to the manner in which the option was granted. As we understand it, it was the work of a sub-committee, and, as our readers are probably aware, the proceedings of committees are not reported by newspapers. Had the matter been dealt with by the Council itself a full account of it would have appeared in our columns, and thus have got into the hands of practically all the ratepayers. There are, however, a number of new members in the Council, and we trust that one of them will be public spirited enough to bring the matter up at an early meeting,, in which case we shall be able to furnish our readers with a full report of the discussion.

“We nothing extenuate, nor aught set down in malice.”