ELECTRIC POWER

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 259, 24 June 1932, Page 7

ELECTRIC POWER

VITAL SERVICE SURVEY OF THE WORK OF THE B.O.P. POWER BOARD. WORK OF DISTRIBUTION. This is the first of a series of articles specially written for the "Rotorua Morning Post" on the working and services of the Bay of Plenty Power Board. They "will be of interest to every user of electricity within the Boards' area, as they explain many features which puzzle the lay men who often looks on the Power Board merely as some . annoying authority which sends him a Tbill at the end of every month. In the first place, it should be remembered. that electricity has to be purchased fronx the wholesaler (in this case the Government) and distri- 1 buted iii smaller or retail quantities by the retail merchant (in this case the Power Board) in a somewhat similar way to other eommodities. With this in niind, it can be seen that the question of the price paid for. the bulk supply and the cost of distribution and overhead eharges must directly "affect the retail buyer or user of electricity in the home and on the farm, in the price per unit which he is called upon to pay. A peculiar point about the purchase of the bulk sfipply of electricity is that the board has to pay for the peak amount of current consumed. That is to say, that if during half an hour out of the twenty-four the Board uses a very large amount of current, say, twice as much as during the remaining twenty-three and a half, it is charged for the larger amount of eur- ' rent throughout the quarter of the year. Although this may sound unfair, it is not so when one remembers that the Government power stations must be as much prepared to supply that load for three hours as they would be prepared to supply it for the whole twenty-four. Current Consumption. This imnlediately reveals one of the problems facing the power board, i.e., how to keep current consumption as nearly as possible at a constant level throughout the twenty-four hours.. This point should be remembered, as the peak load will frequently be referred to later. In a country district such as Opotiki, it is obvious there will be less consumers per mile of power line than in the case of thickly popUlated areas such as in the cities. In the latter case, there are such consumers as large institutions, hospitals, traniway services, etc. These account for a huge consumption of current over long periods of the day and reduce the percentage of overhead expenses per unit. In addition to this, the city supply authorities are able to purchase their power at a lower rate from the Government. (This last point is a bone of contention between rural supply authorities and the Government at the present time.) Taking these factors into account, it is a matter for congratulation that our own board is able to give us service equal to that enjoyed by those who live in the majority of the larger towns, and current at a price only slightly higher. Price of Current. Although the prices charged are a little above those in some cities, and thickly populated areas, they still compare favourably with what are called other prime movers, which means, oil and steam engines, or any other ma--chinery used to provide driving power. It is eheaper to use electricity in the house than to use coal or wood especially when it is remembered that electricity saves labour and makes considerably less dirt. The greater cleanliness of electricity is amply proved by the fact that where electricity is in use, a house only requires repainting inside approximately once in seven years, as against every two or three where coal or wood is used. As for the sdving of labour, one has only to speak to either a house-wife or a farmer who makes use of electricity to realise what a boon this is to those whose duties previously required the expenditure of eonsiderable time or strength in manual labour. Improving Swamp Lands. Great use has been made in the Opotiki district of electric power for improvements of vast areas of swamp lands. Hitherto these areas have been useless to the farmers owning them, owing to his not being able to drain them. However, with the advent of the automatically controlled electric pump, and equally important, the expert technical advice, which has been given gratis by the officers of the board, this has been changed. In every direction, these areas of swamp lands are being drained and rendered profitable and productive instead of waterlogged wastes. This subject will be more fully dealt with, however, in a later article, In addition to this particular avenue, the board has done excellent wo'rk in the way of testing and recommeriding electrieal appliances for use in homes, factories , institutions, etc. These, however, will also be reviewed in later articles of this series. The next article will deal with the method of receiving and distributing the current at and from the headquarters of the board.