ELECTRIC POWER.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIV, Issue 4552, 18 April 1923, Page 1

ELECTRIC POWER.

, THAMES VALLEY BOARD. | CHAIRMAN’S REVIEW. The following report was submitted , by the chairman of the Thames Valley Electric Power Board at its meeting at Te Aroha on Tuesday ci last week: — "As this, is the last full meeting of the present Board, I take the opportunity of briefly reviewing our wont Up to the present. I have requested the engineers to furnish a report of the progress of the work from their point of view, while the manager-sec-retary .will place before you an outline of the financial results of the year’s operations. It is too early to furnish complete figures, but those given will, I feel sure, be interesting and satisfactory. By an amendment last year in the Power Boards the date of electing a chairman was altered from November to May, so the retiring chairman’s report will cover a longer period than usual. “The Electric Power Boards Act became law in 1918. Our Board was constituted in January, 1920'. The first meeting of the Board was held iyi February, 1920. The first Loan proposal was carried in May, 1920, and Paeroa, the first town in New Zealand supplied under the working of the Power Board Act, was officially connected in March, 1921. Since then the work has been one of steady progress, hampered at times with contingencies that no reasonable forethought could provide against. The most serious was the inability to secure sufficient funds in New Zealand to carry on with. In May, 1921, your ratepayers sanctioned a second loan, 'find the amount was raised on the London market. You were thus able to carry on without any serious delay. The year now closed has naturally been most marked in the increase of numbers of consumers, and consequent greater revenue. The wisdom of the Board deciding in the initial stages to undertake the work of installation and financing its consumers is evident in the number who have availed themselves af the provision, and the amount of current being sold. “A total of £59,589 has been advaced under this heading, of which £38,141 has been repaid, leaving £21.448 outstanding to date. "In view of the rapid growth of our power load, it became evident that our allocation of 900 k.v.a. would be insufficient, and representations were made to the Minister. The correspondence gives the satis • factoiy assurance that our quota will be increased to 150'0 k.v.a. 1 ■ " The general construction works have been as far as possible fairly evenly distributed. Last summer special arrangements were made for pushing on pole lines and thus provide work for wiring gangs, should the ground be too wet for pole erection in the winter. The winter, however, was mild enough to allow of tliis work to be carried right on, with the result that in some parts mainline work got well ahead. A reorganisation of the gangs has now been carried out, and all efforts are being concentrated on completing the subsidiary lines and connecting consumers. "The engineers’ report will deal with the mileage of lines already erected, and the balance to be erected under the scheme as first outlined. “We have today approximately 2976 consumers, including 384 milking motors and 234 industrial motors, besides supplying ten butter, 'cheese and dried milk factories. Thames. Paeroa, Te Aroha, Morrinsville, Matamata, Tirau, Putaruru,, Turua, and Ngatea are all being supplied through yonr mains, making a total connected load of 74150 h.p. The following extracts from the year’s balance-sheet and a comparison with previous years are of interest:—

Capital expenditure : £94,940 (1921), £208494 (1922), £125,393 18s 2d (1923). Installations and showroom sales : £2123 (1921), £20,640 (1922), £36,924 (1923). Sales of current: Public lighting, £lO2l (1922), £2729- 3s 3d (1923) 5 gener; 1 lighting, heating, and cooking. £2221 (1922), £9715 3s 8d (1923) ; power for motors, £3017 (1922),, £BO6l 19s 8d (1923). “Your main offices and depots are now practically complete, affording reasonable working comfort for your clerical and mechanical staffs, as well as pioper facilities for carrying on the Board’s ordinary business. Showrooms are provided in Te Aroha, Paeroa; Morrinsville, Matamata, and Thames, and a depot, has just been completed at Ngatea. Troublemen are stationed at various points, with telephonic communication, who are available at all hours of night or day. A private high tension telephone service is being installed between the head office and Horahora, Waikino. and all the depots, making all points easy of access and free from inteiruption. The rapid development <>f the district generally is bringing under notice the early need for extension not originally anticipated. In some cases the present load has* so far exceeded the original estima.es that heavier lines have been erected than were first thought necessary. This will lead the new Board to a consideration of the completion of its original scheme, estimated to cost £514,000'. Under your loan proposals £550.000 was sanctioned by the ratepayers.. Of the amount about £78,000 has been absorbed in preliminary expenses, loan floating expenses, interest and sinking fund payments,, leaving £472,000 to work on. So far sections of the work have been completed at their estimated cost, the

earlier ones slightly exceeding and the later 'ones slightly under, so there is every reason to believe that the work as contemplated will require a further £40,000 to £50,000 to complete. “ The final instalment of £lool*ooo of your authorised loan recently arranged for will, with the balances now in hand, assure your finance till June, 1924', before which it will bs necessary to consider the point jus. mentioned and make necessaiy provision. “ One of the further duties of the incoming Board will be a geneial ieview of the whole area and the consideration of its growing needs. Numerous requests for power have been and are being considered on roads whose total does, not warrant the capital outlay for lines. The delay in a number of cases can only be a short one. as the increase in settlement and production will soon rate these as payable propositions. “The coming year will be of vital

importance to the Board and its ratepayers, as its measure of success will determine the necessity for striking a rate or otherwise. Given a reasonable continuance of the present favourable conditions of production, and the linking up of consumers immediately the various lines are made alive, I believe the Board will achieve the proud position of carrying its scheme to a finality without striking a rate. This form of making up the year’s charges may not be serious to the ratepayer, who has all the benefit«of the use of hydro-electricity, but, will certainly be a hardship to the settler in the more remote part to whom the benefits may be long delayed.”