POWER BOARD FINANCE.

Putaruru Press, Volume IV, Issue 137, 17 June 1926, Page 4

POWER BOARD FINANCE.

DETAILS of the Thames Valley Power Board’s financial and engineering operations, as published in a recent issue of this journal, make interesting reading, especially as they point almost conclusively to the power fund being balanced at the end of this year without aid from the trading department or from any other source. It is not unknown, however, for local bodies, dairy companies, and otherconcerns to forecast a bright year at the beginning-, and bring in a heavy debit balance at the end. This is not to say that the directors were intending to mislead in the first place, or that they lacked the moral courage to say that there was a hard row to hoe. The unpleasant surprise is usually due to that elusive factor, “ unforseen contingencies.” If the Power Beard fails to exercise its individual and collective faculty of foresight it may possibly have a .doleful story to tell at the end of the current year. The particular contingency being led up to is that of the Public Works Department raising the bulk supply charge for current. The board is living from hand to mouth in a sense, as it has no set contract over a period of years, the initial agreement havingexpired two years ag-o. The board has had it plainly from the Minister that there is not likely to be any reduction in the charge; there is nothing to force the price down; the benzine bogey has been well played out, and with two increases in the cost of benzine during the past few months, that ghost is well laid. Electiicity, on account of its cleanliness (permitting the production of a higher-grade cream in the sheds), its handiness, and other advantages could always be sold at a higher rate as a power unit than benzine. There is, therefore, a possibility of the bulk charge going up, an d little or none of it coming down. 'he board would be wise to make a contract for five years at least at the

present rate; it would then be sure of | its ground. Moreover, there are reasons for believing- that the bulk supply to the boroughs is made on terms that are hardly fair to the rest of the area, inasmuch as the charge is made at the point of supply, whereas the Public Works Department charges the board from Waikino, thte board having to stand the losses in transmission. These bulk supply charges might well be raised by 20 per cent., or, if the board thinks the charges are equitable, it should have no hesitation in I supplying ail the other boroughs and town districts in the area at the same I wholesale rates. These two matters,' the stable contract and the bulk supply' charges, require close investigation; the former at least can not, if the charge is increased substantially, be brought in under the heading of “ unforseen contingencies.”