POWER BOARDS AND MUNICIPALITIES.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 2777, 28 August 1924, Page 2

POWER BOARDS AND MUNICIPALITIES.

BOROUGHS WITH GASWORKS. AN IMPORTANT POINT. RATING OK NON-CONSUMERS. Wellington, Yesterday. An important deputation representing sixteen Boroughs possessing municipal gasworks, waited upon the Minister for Public Works yesterday to protest against the application to the Boroughs of section 4 of the Electric Power Board’s Amendment Act. 1023, which empowers the Boards to levy, in addition to the ordinary district electricity rate, a special rate of from fl to £3O up- < n non-users within their areas.

Mr Pragnell stated that the deputation had been arranged hy the Masterlon Borough Council, which had circularised all the other boroughs owning municipal gas works, as it was these that were primarily atYecled by the section above referred to. The law was amended. I hey understood, at the instance of lhe conference called bv the Sonthlund Power Board, which wanted powers to enable it to deal with settlers who had agreed to take power. but afterwards refused to do so, with the result of' necessitating heavier charges against those who took the current: but so far.as they could find from discussion that took place, it was not intended that the section should apply to boroughs which owned their own gas works. Mr Pragnell said if was unjust in principle. It gives the Boards power to do whal is unjust —to charge a special rate in addition to iho ordinary district electricity rate upon people who are not using the current and are using gas instead.” This section is on the Statute Book and may he made use of and we sav that it means very unfair competition if Power Boards can specially rate users of gas in an endeavour to make them take electricity instead. As soon as the Mangahao power comes into use this clause will come into operation.”

The Minister slated that Electric. Power Boards were already in operation in various parts of the country, vet the deputation could not point lo any injustice that had occurred under the section, and he did not think that any would occur. Mr Pragnell: “Suppose you gave us the same power to rate non-user,s-i.f gas"j-f.it would he wrong in principle and for one, I would not ac-c;-p* it. T! means really coercing ■r. mde | i use electricity.”

The Minister: “What you want is to repeal the Ae'. without one instance in which it is operating unjust iy and is in operation over the v,hoe of New Zealand, and we have : e, ease win-re- injustice has been done.”

Mr Pragnell: “The thing in it - -elf is an injustice. It is wrong in principle. You wan I the Power Boards to he able to make an unholy mess of things and then put this rate of £1 to £3O upon non-consum-ers. to make their accounts balance.’’ The Minister: “The Boards have that power now, hut do you think that any Power-Board would do that kind of thing? They are local bodies like yourselves, with the same icspoii.sihiiily to the electors on their shoulders.” Mr Pragnell said that the Act gave the right to a Power Board, if it wished to direct its powers in such a wav as to press unduly and unfairly on municipalities which owned gas works. Lei I hem take a street, half of the people in which were using electric light and half using gas. It was open to the Power Board to say to the gas users: “If yon don’t cut out gas and put in electric light, wo arc going to impose a special rate of anything from £1 to £3O a year on you.”

The deputation contended that that was not fair competition and not fair in principle. Nobody in his senses wanted io enl out electricity, Imf they said that section of the Act was wrong in principle and sh.mld be repealed. Mr Hobson pointed out that the boroughs had no power in connection with their gas works to levy any rate on non-consumers if the works did not pay at a given rate. Gas users had to pay higher charges and the same ought to be the ease with Electric Power Boards. Tn Levin they were in t sympathy with the Electric Power Board to the ext ell! that they were cutting out gas lighting in the streets and rating themselevs to the extent of ant) n year to put in electric light instead, but if this section was used in the wav Mr Pragnell had pointed out, it would mean that their gas works would he a failure, and who was going to pay for that loan thon f That was what they were up against. They strongly objected to Power Boards having that power. The Minister: “Don’t von think it would he unfair and unreasonable to rate mm-users in the way you object to? W ouldn't you lire out 1 lie Power Board that did so?’ The Minister: “So far as the principle is concerned, 1 don’t think that ronies into it, because you have admitted it is only competition you are. afraid of. Take a road,” lie added. ‘‘with thirty men along it, who have agreed to take the power, but when it becomes available, some of them find a flaw in the agreement and refuse to take it. That means higher charges to those who do take tlie power. The sectiou is intended to enable Power Boards to deal' with them.” Mr Pragnell: “That is all right, but the Power Boards have,the right under the Act to levy on any nonuser.” :

The Minister said that the clause *■" was a very flexible one and gave great powers to Power Boards. If they used it wrongly against all reason and justice, then it would be wrong, but they could not see the Power Boards doing that. He would, however, consider the matter and see what could lie done so far as the clause affected municipal gas works. .Mr Pragnell maintained that the Boards should not have this power to lean upon. Surely a man had the right to keep to gas if lie preferred to do so without being penalised because lie would not take the electricity. The Minister: Surely, yes. He candidly admitted he said “that so far as many of the clauses were con corned they were under constant supervision and were at present more or less on trial, and while the clause under review had drawn quite a lot of'qritieism, that criticism was not based upon any wrong action upon the part of’any Power Board. The Minister promised that he would consider the matter. He would go into it with Mr Kissel, and see if they could find a solution of the di file ul tv.