CHARGES FOR POWER.

Putaruru Press, Volume VII, Issue 289, 23 May 1929, Page 1

CHARGES FOR POWER.

OBJECTION TO METERS. Deputation to Board. A deputation consisting of Messrs. J. L. Faulkner and A. Topham, representing the Morrinsville branch of the New Zealand Farmers' Union, E. R. Klingender and W. A. Rushton, of Kiwitahi, waited on the Thames Valley Power Board on Monday to protest against the installation of me, ters, on the grounds that they were to the financial detriment of the small farmer.

Mr. F. Strange, chairman of the board, assured the deputation that meters would not cost the consumers more than the flat rate charge unless they wasted power. The engineer, Mr. N. G. McLeod, pointed out that it took 12 units to run a 2-horse-power motor for an hour. The cost of a 2-h.p. motor was little more than that of a 1-h.p. unit. The cost of a unit of power was 3d. The flat rate at nresent is £ls per annum, with an additional charge of one-third of a penny per lb on all butter-fat over 50001 b produced, less 10 per cent for prompt payment. A simple calculation will enable farmers to arrive at the daily and annual cost of their power under the meter system.

The boa--d assured the deputation that water heaters in sheds would not he metered, but would be controlled by time switches which would prevent their being used on the peak load. A consumer would still have to pay a flat rate of £3 per annum for rent of this unit. Mr. Topham asked how the estimated saving was to be effected in view of the cost of installation of meters, maintenance and reading chn r Mr. Strange so-id that the installation of meters would result in Increased efficiency in the sheds. Milking would be sneeded up, and the ceak load would be lower. It was intended to make up the deficiency of £I6OO between buving and selling rates by making the farmers pay for power used off the peak. A point raised by a member of the deputation was that a breach of faith had been made by the board, in that they broke the contract agreeing to supply on a butter-fat basis. The chairman said this was not the case, in that a stipulation was made that the charges in the original agreement were subject to revision from time to time.