LET THERE BE LIGHT

King Country Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 383, 2 August 1911, Page 5

LET THERE BE LIGHT

COMMITTEE'S REPORT,

MAYOR'S CASTING VOTE

The keen interest being shown by residents of Te Kuiti in the various systems of "lighting proposed for the

town will be stimulated by the report

of the special sub-cnmmictee which was presented to the Lighting Committee of the Borough Council at Monday night's meeting by Cr Young. Cr Young reported that he and Cr Lusk visited Eketahuna (electric light), Waipawa (coal gas) and Waipukurau (air gas) on July 4th and sth last.

At Eketahuna great satisfaction prevailed as to the quality of the light, and the prices charged, the town being admirably lighted with 50 c.p. globes, and the outskirts with smaller lights at a cost of £4 a year. There was a well-equipped power station, containing engine room, storage battery, and offices, and at the rear a suction gas plant. The plant is a fine up to date one, and a further loan of £I4OO has been carried to duplicate the suction gas engine, etc., so as to place its reliability beyond doubt. Only once in two years had the light failed, and that for only 20 minutes. In the first year there were 25 consumers, and the second year 115 consumers and 10 additional applications are to hand, including the largest store, who are lifting their acetylene plant further back in order to instal electric light. The average cost of private house lighting is £3 10 per annum, and of stores £7 6s per annum. The charge is lOd per unit gross, Sd nett, and power 4d per unit. Meter rent is 6d per month, or 50s to purchase outright. Two-thirds of the ironing is done by electric irons. At the local newspaper office, a S h.p. motor working ten hours a day and lighting the-Jbuilding cost, in the winter months, £2 0s Sd a month. A private consumer assured the committee that he had eight lights, and they cost 6s a month in winter and 2s 6d a month in summer. Electricity at Sd per unit was estimated to compare favourably with coal gas at Ss 6d a lOOOfeet. The Mayor emphasised the necessity of having a first-class engineer to control the erection of the plant. £IOOO could have been saved .on the cost of installation, as was proved by a tender submitted at £4400, but not accepted owing to doing the work by separate contracts. The town is widely scattered, and all wired so that all ratepayers may have light. Shouid such a light be adopted for Te Kuiti, only half the mains would be necessary to light practically all the borough built on at present. The mains also only carry fiv2 per cent, of the load which could be transmitted. The installation is very complete, and the Mayor said if the question was raised again, they would still prefer electric light. All consumers were highly satisfied. The .engineer said if water power was procurable within five miles the cost of production would be less, but if at a greater distance he urged suction gas power. The next system visited was the air-gas plant at Waipukurau. The dommittee were greatly impressed with the excellent iliuminant from this gas, and after inspecting the lighting of shops, hotels, billiard saloons, etc., found the gas an iliuminant deserving of the highest recommendation and well suited for house and town lighting. Investigation showed the gas accounts to be on a good paying basis, the half-year's working showing £92 13s 6d credit balance. There were 115 consumers and 37 street lamps costing £3 13s each per annum to light. The charge for gas is 5s 6d per 1000 feat net for lighting, and 4s 6d for domestic users, ed discount if over 5000 "feet used. The local newspaper office spoke highly of the light for their particular work. Gas stoves and gas irons were being used ; cooking stoves were not a success yet, though they were being perfected. Power was out of the question, the user of the gas being before mentioned. Air g2s is simply made, twenty minutes' work sufficing to make "20,000 feet, enough for the night's consumption. Some people held that 750 feet of coal gas was equal to 1000 feet of air gas. ' There 13' no risk of condensation in the pipes with Dreadnought air gas. Gas mantles cost 7s a dozen and last 12 months with care. The committee considered the Dreadnought gas well worthy of recommendation to small towns and with a good future for the patentees.

Waipawa, the coal gas town, was the last visited. The plant had cost £BOOO. There were 130 consumers, and 35 street lamps, costing £3 2s 6d each per annum to light. Sixty cooking stoves were in use, and one £ra3 engine. Gas sold at 9s 6d a 1000 feet and 6s 8d for cooking. Tar fetched €d a gallon and coke Is 9d a sack. The tar was being stored for borough purposes. Residents were highly satisfied with the illuminant. The Mayor said that if the question of what gas to instai had been coming up to-day they would have considered air gas, but there was some rivalry between the towns: Waipawa had a borough debt of £30.000 and was rated on the unimproved value Id in the £, with a special rate of 2£d and the prospects of a 4ld rate. The committee were well satisfied that assuming the council installed air gas it would not be out of the question, as coal could be handled here at a similar cost to that at Waipawa. Cr Young appended his personal report, recommending the installation of electric light for te Kuiti on the grounds that the illuminant is excellent, safe and convenient. It can be in tailed at less cost than gas, street lighting would be installed more cheaply and every householder could have the benefit of the light, pipes not being laid unless at heavy expense to some parts, with gas lighting. Street lamps could be carried on poles at a minimum cost. The great advantage pf being ab! e to offer power was an

important factor, and would tend to encourage enterprise and assist institutions. It could be used for domestic purposes; such as ironing, and the day was not far off when cooking cost would bs within the reach of all. Cr Sims certified that the reports were accurate, as far as Eketahuna and Waipukurau were concerned, those being the places he had visited. Cr Young said it had been established that perfectly satisfactory suction gas plant could be run from Huntly coal. The Mayor said the committee had to thank O Young for the careful reports he had supplied, and they were under a deep debt of gratitude to him for the work he had done. The whole of the reports, as far as he could se ', were on a par as far as the lights were concerned. His own opinion was amply confirmed, and it was gratifying to him and other council-

lors, who on his report adopted the Dreadnought light. He had taken some trouble to make comparisons between the different systems. The understanding was that the light adopted was to be sufficient to supply a'l their needs, and though at special rate had to be struck, it was understood no rate would ba levied. There was not much to choose between coal gas and electric light, coal gas having the preference. Recent statistics published by the British Board of Trade put electric light at the bottom. Coal gas stood high. Dreadnought had not come to the front at the time. Electric light was clean and convenient and no one could like anything better, but as far as the figures wen', they left much missing. Taking Eketahuna's first year's working account, it showed a total income of £6Ol 15s lid and a net expenditure of £523, leaving £77 profit, but no provision for interest. Interest at 5 per cent, would have left them in debt £238 13s 6d. They had increased the capital outlay for the current year from £SBOO to £7200, an additional £I4OO. Cr Young said it had been proved that in putting in the installation Eketahuna had made many mistakes, and basing on their estimates would be a wrong way of comparing with our town.

The Mayor said that taking the present year's estimates, the receipts from the sale of current and street lighting was £678, and the expenditure £SIP. Interest at A\ per cent, would absorb £360, and sinking fund £53, and allowing for the profit of £159, that would leave them £254 on the wrong side of the ledger, ar.d though Eketahuna propose to strike two farthing rates,there would still be a deficit. Unless there was going to be a very big increase at Eketahuna they were up against a ven ugly snag. He would be very sorry indeed to see a rate struck for lighting this town. Dealing with the Waipukurau light, he showed an income of £693, and an expenditure of £475, leaving a net balance of £2lB. Interest at 5 per cent, took £l3O, sinking fund £26, and left £62 8s net profit. If the charge of £213 for wages was reduced to £ll3 and £IOO added to the profit, it made £162 credit balance. The figures he had worked out as compared with electric light showed the latter was run at an absolute loss. He was convinced that no man at that council table would put his money into such a plant, and if not, why should the town? There were a large number of acetylene plants in the town, and if air gas was introduced, the same pipes would do. If electric light wsa put in the whole of the acetylene plants would have to be abandoned if these consumers adopted electric light.

The cost of installing electric light points, a competent electrical engineer in Auckland informed him, was 25s to 30s per point. Cr Young offered to take on the whole town at 15s a point The Mayor said the underwriters in Auckland enforced tubing round the wires..

Cr Young said he could do it at 15s with the tubing.

The Mayor said a large number of acetylene users would think twice before adopting electric light. Then as to its utility: So far as cooking was concerned, it was conceded the cost was too great to consumers. With regard to power, it meant _ a large storage battery and running all day, on additional wages. The electrical engineer he had consulted admitted that in a small community it would require a prohibitive charge to make it pay. A 100 candlepower metallic filament lamp would burn ten hour 3 and consume one unit. If the Council could show that, by adopting electric light there was enough profit left to pay interest and sinking fund, he would be satisfied.

Cr Young said he knew Patea very well. The electric installation there was defective. Patea was not going ahead and yet everybody wai satisfied. When he lived there he was a fairly large consumer, and yet it never Co3t him more than 10s a month. The Eketahuna light was the finest he had seen in New Zealand. He maintained that Te Aroha, Patea, Eketahuna and Reefton had experimented with electric light. With a proper equipment, £4300 would suffice for Te Kuiti. He also maintained that electricity had great advantages.over other lights. The cost was not all they had to look at. The town was going ahead. Power would be required. A light that could be given to everybody was wanted, and electric light could be laid at a lower cost than gas mains. At Eketahuna the boarding houses had only a few lights, because there was not much business doing. In Te Kuiti lights would be put in the whole of the bedrooms.

The Mayor said that at Stratford the landlady of an hotel told him that if she could get good coal gas she would be prepared to lose all the expense she had been put to in installing electric light. Her reason was that when lights were switched on they were on at full force, and could not be turned low.

Cr Young said lower candle power lamps would have served the purpose. Dreadnought gas was not perfect. On turning it down it jumped consider-

ably, though when turrned up it was a fine light. Gr Hardy said that with all electrical installations he knew the dynamo 9 were duplicated, and the light was changed at certain times of the nighc. It was quite evident that at Eketahuna, if running at full power, it would require another dynamo. The power represented by a 35 kilowatt dynamo was 46 horse. That would not run many motors If the machinery driven hy such a dynamo was not running constantly, it wouid be quite under stood there would be variation in the Tght in the building. It would be necessary to put another dynamo in and apart from that they would have no reserve power. Electricity provided a very fine light, but only with abundance of power could they get a steady light. There was not abundance of power here in Te Kuiti. If power was wanted there was no need to turn benzine into gas, when they might use it direct in benzine engines. The Eketahuna people had just as much as they could do to light the town. Cr Young said Eketahuna's storage battery stood by them when the machinery failed. They were putting in a suction gas plant which would prevent breakdowns. Cr Hardy replied that where a storage battery was put it wore out very quickly and was costly to maintain. They had to run in the daytime to recharge the battery. At Waipawa the rent of meters was 6d, which made the gas cost over 10s a 1000 feet. At Waipukurau no charge was made for meters and the gas was sold at 5s a 1000 feet net. He thought it a very fine light indeed, and sold at a very cheap rate. In 40 minutes 20,000 feet of air gas could be made. Coal gas took 8 hours to make 30,000 feet and the cost was, for labour only, 8d against Gs. The man making air gas could go and do any other work during the day and come back and make his gas in half an hour. Cr Young said at least 14 hours a week would be required to look after an air gas plant. The Mayor said, allowing all that, £IOO a year would cover all the cost of supervision. Cr Hardy said Mr Chambers (the patentee of air gas) told him they were not making anything out of the installation, if they put it in at Te Kuiti. Ail they wanted was to be able to say the light had been put in at Te Kuiti and was giving satisfaction. The Mayor explained that he had no interest whatever in the Dreadnought gas, bayond his wish to live and die in Te Kuiti and get it a good light, a light to cook by, and a light that would not be a burden to the ratepayers. Those were his selfish grounds. He had a terror of financing electric light. Unless there was an enormous output it was a peculiarly risky undertaking. He saw no warrant for the expenditure, which he knew must go on, summer or winter. When he saw, on the other hand, a light produced at a minimum of cost, that was the light they should go for. One advantage of air gas was that the patentees would guarantee their plant for (j or 12 months, and take it out it unsatisfactory. Then there were the mains, which could be adapted to coal ga-i

Cr Young said at Waipukurau they saw no satisfactory cooking stoves. Cr Hardy said the improvements he had seen showed the air gas fires worked satisfactorily. Dreadnought gas was condensed down to 20 degrees of frost before putting through the pipes, and consequently there was no risk of condensation afterwards. In Germany similar plants were used in towns of 10,000 people. The Mayor said he could understand many people preferred electric light to any other light. If he were not frightened of the financial aspect of the question, he would have no objection. But when he saw the cost of installation and the cost of supply of Dreadnought light, it pointed to being the light they had to go for. The thing impressed him as being absolutely practical, absolutely good, and absolutely cheap. Cr Hardy said power could be got from air gas, but why make gas for engines when benizne could be used direct?

Cr Lusk had listened patiently to the discussion, and entirely agreed with the report, as far as the statements of what they saw was concerned. As regards Cr Young's conclusions, he was not at one altogether, and after hearing what had been said and reading extensively elsehere, he had come to the conclusion that Dread-

nought was the gas for them. It was dangerous to undertake the lighting of Te Kuiti by electricity, and it would probably prove very costly before it was done with. There was the matter qf cooking in air gas stoves.

It was admitted the stove burners were not what they ought to be. The burners were intended for coal gas stoves. Everybody admitted the heat of the oven was splendid. At the factory where they vulcanised motor car tyres, the bigger places were sending their tyres there because of the beautiful even heat. So far it had not been proved that they could cook and heat cheaply by electricity. One of the principal things to consider was to save women-folk trouble in the house. Labour was scarce. It had been proved that air gas ironed quickly, and there was not the slightest doubt they would get cooking stovea and ovens. Cr Sims said he was still in favour of one of the older lights, coal or electricity. He had visited Eketahuna and Waipukurau. He was astonished to find that whichever town was visited it cracked up its own light. Waipukurau was badly lighted in the steets. Eketahuna was better. He could not agree that electric light other than that produced by water power, was no good. Eketahuna must be admitted to have one of the best electric light plants in the North Island.

Cr Hardy agreed. Cr Sims quoted Mr Chambers as saying they did not profess to supply power from their air gas. As far as coal gas was concerned, it could be put out of the question. It could not be

i installed under £7OOO. He understood that to put down an electrical plant would cost £4300, and pointed to faulty work at Eketahuna leading to stoppages. That should never bave occurred. He was astonished to find bow loyal Eketahuna people were to their light. It struck him that the town was well lighted and right up to date. He thought they were justified in going.to the ratepayers and asking for an extra amount and of course a poll on the subject to be taken. The Mayor asked how he proposed the Council would get over the financial part of the proposal. Would he advise a rate? If the ratepayers gave another £2OOO he felt convinced they would have to strike a rate.

Cr Julian said his eyes had been opened very considerably by what he had heard. He would give a silent v)te, and preferred to leave it to the ratepayers to decide which light they preferred. He did not remember any decision at the council table. He was only moving in this way to give them a fresh, clean start.

The Clerk read a resolution in favour of Dreadnought gas passed at a meeting in October last year. The Mayor said he went very fully into the question at the ratepayers' meeting, and Dreadnought gas was recommended to the Coancil and confirmed by the Council. Cr Sims took it the committee was to decide the question. The Mayor said a vote of the Council would decide what could be done. If any light was adopted costing under £2500 they could go straight ahead. If any other above that amount then they would have to go to the ratepayers.

Cr Hardy said ail three lights were good lights. The question was, what could they afford? Cr Young thanked the committee for their remarks, and considered that £6OO would wire Te Kuiti for electric light, while £I6OO would be required for coal or air gas pipes and mains. Electric light was a good light for shops and business places. An absolutely reliable plant could be put in at a cost of £4OOO, and he thought the ratepayers would be satisfied. The Mayor asked again how did he propose to finance, and moved: That in view of the low cost of installation, the cheap rate at which it can be produced, and supplied to consumers, and the further fact that it has been found to be thoroughly efficient and satisfactory as a light both for town and private use, the committee, after fullest consideration of various systems, recommend the Council to adopt Dreadnought gas. Cr Lusk seconded, and said he did not think they could get a satisfactory electric light plant under £SOOO to £6OOO.

The voting showed three for, and three against the motion and the Mayor said he had no alternative but to give his casting vote in favour of the motion.

The special meeting of the full Council to consider the committee's report, was fixed for Monday night next.