ELECTRIC POWER.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIX, Issue 5335, 5 October 1928, Page 4

ELECTRIC POWER.

THAMES VALLEY DISTRICT. MONTHLY MEETING. The ordinary meeting of the Thames Valley Electric Power Board wag held oh Tuesday last, at Te Arolia. There were present Mesters F. M. Strange (chairman), .C. A. Arthur, J. B. Thomas, J. Anderson, J. Pohlen, J. Price, G. Howie, F. E. Flatt, J. McCormack, and H. M, Corbett. The Public Works Department wrote declining to accept, any liability for the removal of an electric poiwer line on the lo,wer Waihou left stop-baink. It waS stated, that if the board was to be held reqpcpsible in s;uqh a, c.ase there was no sayi where the liability would end, and it was decided that •Mr McLeod bring the matter before ■the autho ( rities when visiting Wellington. , Adlyice was received fro ( m the Mata-, mata Town Board that Mr J. Pried lra,d again been appointed to represent. the district on the Power Board. Advice was received tha,t a proposal had been made that the Ngatea Public Hall Society take over the finan'r cial responsibility and management cf the street, lighting at Ngqtea, and the board was asked to furnish a; full statement of ac.cOjiints, also its views on the matter. The manager said that a reply had been sent, stating that the board could recognise no authority other than- the Haurajci Plains County Council. Mr S. H. Judd (Cambridge) wrote settinjg out reasons why the board should meet claim for £2 2s, legal expenses; he had incurred in connec,ticjn with a notice from; the board under the Public, Works Act. The board had admitted it was wrong and left him to meet t'he expense due to. their action with regard ito a line a.crcss his, property. The board declined! tc[ recognise any liability. The Rising, Sun Gold: Mitring Coin.’- ' pany wrote objecting to an) account for power. The amonnjt charged was £44 8s Bd, and it was contended that a, fair price would be £l2. The engineer said that power had only been used fqr 22 hours out of 91, but that, was not the fault of the board. The company was paying on maximum demand. , . .The manager said, the power was there .and ttie company c,ould -have usedi.it if they had .’wanted itMr McLeod: The argument ;was that the company was only trying the motors, and did not want tej atart until the beginning of next Quarter. The Chairman: Then they were trying the motors between the ilSth and the 30 th. The chairman moved that the company be informed that the boa rd must insist Qu the paymeat agreed upon. The motion was; seconded by Mr Arthur. Mr Flatt, suggested that they .meet the company for one mOjath only. the understanding, to be that inj future payment shall be oa the .maximiium -demand-. The company had bieen under ;q disability, and he thought that £lO might be allowed. He moveci as an amendiient that thisi foe doneMr Corbett seconded; The, amendment wasi Jopt and the ■motion was carried. i Mr R. E. Mitchell, distribution en,gineer, Paeroa, wrote lio the beard forwarding reports, to s. how. that rer pairs, to service lines h 'ad Hot. been done haphazardly. Every r line attended to had been tha subject of a separate examination and i .•ep'ort. Even those protesting seemed i to welcome the linesmen on‘the job, apd had only objected' when the acc'o unts came to hand. In doing the jvor khe had ouly carried, but the prqce dure adopted' years: ago, but the fact that so many lines had been dope i' a one 'legality had attracted attentio e and! exposed, the objection to payin,• g for work the consumers had not agr e,ed to. He regretted that owners; -iwere not alway conjsulted, but i; o' future their consent would be qbta inj ed if possible. The ma-nager gaid* t Jia; t it had) been decided to make a c.h ai'gi e to consumers of. .2s 6d per chair i. Mr H. V. Cock, Pa wrote ask" ing hat his electric' motor ' be run on the time switch. H< t had ittund that he was paying. for. 450 lines more power than he. wa s ttsilig, For 13 Units he had paid ®pf»roxiM atel Y £7 ‘ For the past month; he had ’d U s for lighting whereas on th e ; st '-iter he ~ would .have paid 2s 9'd. \ The manager bad replied gixrt '. ns ' J vlr Cocks the opinion of going tfjihtift 5 time i Switc,h. ■ The Mayor of, Paeroa wrofc ■ s t!S

that hisi council had decided to instal an electric, metor for. pumping a,t -a septic ta,nk site, the conditions to be as Under,; (1) The board to erect the high tension line from Puke road tq the transformer site at an estimated c*C£t of £3OO ; (2) The borough council was to pay the board 12% per cent, per annum on the actual coSt of the line, the charge to cover maintenance ; (3) The ceunc.il was to pay the board 10s -a -month for power supplied for night working off the peak load, and £4 13s 9d for power off the peak on day load. The c.ouncil would like tq pay cash for time switches; oenncictions, etc., reducing the standing charges to 12% per cent, on the cqst of line a;nd transformer only. The c.ouncil also desired to supply its own motor. Mr McLeod said a reply had been Sent accepting the terms and amplifying them. A letter, was received from the Department of Scientific and industrial Research, Wellington, submitting a questionnaire wjith regard to the proposed .establishmenl. of a,n elcttrical standardising laboratory. The reply forwarded by the engineer was that, lie considered the proposal was excellent, but the labwar tory must be well established. It would, lie believed, pay its way eventually. Replying to a Question.! by Mr Flatt, the engineer s,a,id that as the lead increased, thicker, copper wire or more transformers would be necessary. The chairman moved .that, a letter of appreciation be sent to, the Public. Works officers .and to tho,se bodies wlh'c, generated power toy the assistance given after the; fire at Horahora. The motion was carried!. The finance, committee recommended that, accounts totalling £17,850 15s 6d be passed for payment ; that no change bq made in the present charges for drainage pumps, with tlhe exception that during flood periods the consumers be allowed to. run through the board’s peak, the consumers ito pay for any increase in the! peak -due to their, operations.—Adopted.