POWER BOARD FINANCES.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 3838, 30 August 1928, Page 1

POWER BOARD FINANCES.

COMPARATIVE STATEMENT OF RETURNS. A table was presented by the Treasurer a.t the last Pwoer Board meeting, showing the units sold and the revenue earned from the sales of electricity for the first four months of the present financial year, as compared with the same period in 1927. The report was as follows: There is a decrease in the returns for’ 230wer as compared with last year, which is accounted for by the .fact that.most- of the-flax-mills have not as yet commenced the season’s work. Totals may be summarised as follows: Four months revenue. — 1927, £11,615; 1928, £11,173’; decrease £442. The particular services providing decrease or increase are shown in the return as. under: — DECREASE. £ Power, 16.58 per cent. 576 Meter Rents 100 p.c. 566 Gross decrease £ll3l INCREASES. £ Lighting 4.14 p.c. 201 Heating 18.82 p.c. 290 Wjater-heaters 24.07 p.c. 201 Street lighting 1 £699 Nett Decrease 3.80 p.c. £422 It will be seen that the units sold for lighting have reached 8d per unit. In fact the exact figure is 8.04 d per unit, as against 7.96 d per unit last year. There ,is also- a slight increase per unit for the heating services.— 1.79 d per unit for 1928, 1.74 d per unit for 1927. The increase in the returns of 18.82 per cent, seems satisfactory. The returns from water-heaters show that £2Ol in, excess of last year’s revenue has been received, which is an increase of 24.07 per cent. With reference to The power service it will be seen that, although for reasons before stated there is a decrease in the revenue, yet the return per unit sold has increased by over id, the actual figures being 2d in 1927 and 2.58 din 1928. The units used for power during these four months under review are less by 146,000 units than for the same period twelve months ago, and for this reason the Mangahao acrount with the Board has been a lesser sum than in 1927. Street lighting has been stationery, there being only £1 difference in revenue in the two periods now contrasted. Meter rents, of course, last year swelled the revenue in these four months by £566. This source of revenue has now dried up. On the whole the return, although showing a decrease in revenue for the first four months of our present financial year, is not a discouraging one, because, with the exception of returns from power, the other services show fairly steady advances as compared with the previous year.

CASH RECEIPTS FOR JULY. The Treasurer further reported as follows: —

During this month the sum of £5440 5s Id was received from all sources, including £4421 for electricity (including most of the quarterly accounts to 30th June last) and £843 for installations and service lines. For the time of the year the receipts are fairly good. Unemployment in some parts of the district have made the payment of accounts by some of our consumers a very difficult task. In fact, there are more small accounts in arrears just now than has been the case for a considerable period. With the advent of busier times and work again, doubtless things will right themselves. The following table is interesting as showing the cash receipts for the first four months of the year (cash receipts, not revenue earned): —

July April-July £ £ Electricity 4421 14,342 Penalties 21 106 Installations and service lines Interest on In843 2,376 stallations 71 164 Consumers’ deposits 14 51 Rent and sundries 68 199 £5,440 £17,240