POWER BOARD’S PROGRESS.

Putaruru Press, Volume IV, Issue 136, 10 June 1926, Page 3

POWER BOARD’S PROGRESS.

| PAST YEAR REVIEWED. i Tlte Annur.l Reports. Comprehensive reviews of the operations of the Thames Valley Elecj trie Power Board were given in re- | ports tabled at the annual meeting of the Board on Thursday. The retiring chairman (Mr. F. H. Claxton) occupied the chair during the reading of the reports, which were dealt with prior to the election of new chairman. Extracts from the reports are as follows: CHAIRMAN’S REPORT. Among the items of more than ordinary interest are:— 1. The Public Works Department’s decision to construct a 50,000 volt line from Bombay to Waikino. 2. The construction by the Department of a line from Katikati to Waikino. 3. The purchase by the board of three sets of synchronous condensers, which will act as voltage regulators and power factor correctors, and will result in greater value of supply to the consumers, and considerable sav--1 ing to the board in power purchase. , 4. The purchase of a number of sets of leakage relays to secure greater safety to human and animal life in the event of falling wires. 5. The decision of the board to purchase an area of land at Waitakaruru for tree planting for poles. G. The completion of additions to Horahora, thus increasing its capacity to 10,300 K.W. 7. The decision of the Department to double the transformer capacity of the feed point at Waihou. 8. The successful carrying on May 12 of the poll to borrow a further £150,000 for extensions as required. A recent communication from the Department gives the units generated at Horahora as 65,000,000, also purchases, principally from Tauranga, 1,500,000 a total of 66,500,000. This has been disposed of as follows: Loss in transmission, 12 per cent; Wailii Gold Mining Co., 27 per cent; Thames Valley Power Board, 21 per cent; Auckland Power Board, 20 per cent; Central Power Board, 6 per cent; Te Awamutu Power Board, 35 per cent; Cambridge Power Board, 3 per cent; Hamilton Borough Council, 3 per cent; Arapuni construction, 2 per cent.

The sales of waterheaters have increased very largely and will provide a considerable profitable revenue as their use is confined to off-peak hours.

There is abundant proof that the use of motor and the water heater in the milking shed is the cause of an increase in the proportion of superfine butter-fat obtained, the exact va’ue of which to the producers as a whole must be a considerable item and should be taken into account when comparing the cost of electricity versus benzine on the farm. The increased use of electricity for cooking is evidenced by its percentage of our total load rising from .98 in 1925 to 3.96 in 1926. I predict a very rapid advance in this direction, and feel sure that a very substantial proportion of the board’s revenue will be accrued from the use of electricity in the home. ENGINEER’S REPORT. Some important items to record for the year are the connection by the Public Works Department of the supply from McLaren’s Falls to the Horahora supply at Waikino, the doubling of the capacity of Waihou sub-station, the commencement of the inter-con-necting 50,000 vol line from Bombay to Waikino, and the provision of synchronous condensers in the Matamata, Morrinsville and Hauraki Plains areas. The connection of the Tauranga supply, although completed) only in , December, 1925, has certainly been of considerable advantage to the board, but the 50.000 volt loop line across the Hauraki Plains will be of inestimable benefit in giving greater freedom from stoppages due to defects on the Government and our own systems. Consumers.—The number of consumers receiving supply from the board’s system is as follows: —Flat rate consumers, 1925, 1920; 1926, 2420; increase for year, 26 per cent; meter rate consumers, 1441, 1712, 18.8 per cent; Thames Borough, 955, 1001, 4.8 per cent; Te Aroha Borough, 578, 602, 4.2 per cent; total, 4894, 5735, 17.2 per cent. Motors.—The following motors were in operation in the board’s district (Thames and Te Aroha boroughs not included): —Milking machine, 1926, 1442; 1925, 1083; increase for the year, 31.3 per cent; general farm, 190, 130, 46.2 per cent; industrial, 334, 296, 13.2 per cent: total, 1946. 1508. 29 l ner cent The overage of all motor* is 3.11 K.W. or 4.17 h.p. Included in the above list of motors are those used by the following, 1925 figures being given in. parentheses:—-

Dairy factories 17 (16), quarries 9 1 (7), flaxmills 4 (3), sawmills, 3 (3), 'Public Works Department workshops 2 (2), dredges 1 ( —), Goldmining Co. 1 (1). The connected, load of 12,873 K.W. to March 31, 1926, is approximately 17,250 h.p. The following table shows the operating conditions for the past year, - with those for 1925 given for comparison. It will be pleasing to note • that the costs per unit show a reduc- : tion in all items, and the revenue an increase in all items on the figures for 1925. The figures given under the other headings' all show a satisfactory tendency but one, viz., the average power factor, which decreased from .862 in the previous year to 0.552 for this past year. The introduction of the synchronous condensers, however, should materially improve matters for the year ending March 31, 1927: Units purchased, 1924-25, 10,059,239; 1925-26, 14,228,451; increase, 41.7 per cent. Units sold, 8,047,391, 11,273,640, 40.2 per cent. Average connected load in K.W. per consumer, 3.03, 3.11, 2.6 per cent. Total cost per unit purchased, 1.723, 1 1.411, 18.1 per cent. J Total cost of power per unit sold, 2.153, 1.78, 17.3 per cent. Revenue received per unit sold, ? 1.76 d, I.Bld, 2.9 per cent. j Revenue per head of population [ (30,000), £1.94, £2.83, 46 per cent. Revenue per consumer (Thames and Te Aroha 1 each), £17.55, £20.6, 17 j per cent. Revenue per flat rate consumer, * £18.55, £19.69, 6 per cent. { Revenue per meter rate consumer, . £16.16, £16.7, 3.4 per cent Revenue per route mile of feeder, | : £119.0, £124.42, 4.5 per cent. MANAGER’S REPORT. The amount of loans sanctioned by ! i the ratepayers to date is £850,000, of j : which £700,C00 has been borrowed and j 1 expended. The amount of interest ; i and sinking fund to be paid for the j < coming year out of power fund will be ! ] £42,542 6s Sd. j .1 The revenue for the past year has ' : increased beyond my estimates and if 1 the purchase of current and mainten- < ance expenditure does not unduly in- i crease, the year ending March, 1927,' t should be very satisfactory from a financial view point. The sales of electricity for the year amounted to £70,301 15s 2d, dls- ; sected as follows: Towns and districts on meters. Lighting, £9847 8s 7d; heating and ( power, £SII4 2s 8d; street lighting, * £991 19s 10d'; bulk supply, £9697 Is 6 6d; total, £28,650 12s 7d. 1 Flat rate charges.—Lighting, £7349. 18s Sd; heating, £62.48 19s lOd; mo- | * tors (milking, etc.), £3521 19s sd; j c water-heaters, £1770 6s 4d; ovens, : ® £759 18s 4d; total, £47,651 2s 7d. Grand total, £76,301 15s 2d. | ' Tire expenditure side of tire income j 1 and expenditure account totalled! £44,569 16s 7d. Included in this amount is £25,629 4s 2d paid to the * Public Works Department for pur- c chase of electricity and the balance £17,940 12s 5d is made up with maintenance, discount, salaries and gene- j ~ ral administration expenses. On the basis of last quarter’s sup- 1 ply (I would like to point out that I these figures are from actual sales of , electricity at March 31, 1926), the re- . venue for the year ending March 31, 1927, will be as follows:—Bulk supply, r £12,000; town meters, £19,250; street ‘ lighting, £1020; flat rate, £48,000; water-heaters, £2500; ovens, £1250; total, £84,020. j i Tn addition there should be instal- j led 100 2 h.p. motors, and appliea- j tions for installations are coming to hand daily. A very pleasing feature t has been the number of installations made in areas where lines .have been erected for some time. The estimate ot revenue from elec- : tricity for the year ending March 81, 1 1927, should be £90,000. The expen- f diture not cr~"ed £9O 000, made t np as follows:—Power purchases, I £28.000: management and general, i £7500; maintenance, £10,000: discounts t £2000; interest and sinking fund, i £42,500; total, £90,000. £ The full amount of interest and ' sinking fund on the £700,000 for last | year was paid out of power fund. There are installed and operating on farms 1612 motors, of which 1422 are 2 h.p. milking motors. 339 of these have been installed during the past year, together with 422 waterheaters and 65 electric ranges. The main reticulation scheme has ( now been completed, and the erection gangs have been considerably reduced and as the demand for power, necessitating the erecting of new lines, increases, the gang will be increased accordingly. At the present time the gangs are fully employed. Transnprt has been a. very consid-or-blr item in the board’s one-rations, and the matter is receiving serious consideration, with a view to redue- ; (Continued to Kext Column.)

C ’ 1 " ■- -L-YYL " tions in the number of cars and trucks working. Owing to the owner of the Theriault disposing of this boat, it has not been possible to import poles to Kopu for some weeks. Arrangements have been made with the new owners to bring a cargo within the next few weeks. In the meantime our shippers are arrangin'* for the purchase of r further vessel and our po’e rrl’>f are coming via Auckland, which involves additional charges.