POWER CHARGES

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 284, 26 July 1932, Page 6

POWER CHARGES

pleas for reduction DEPUTATIONS FROM TOWN AND COUNTRY MEET MINISTER A SYMPATHETIC HEARING Claims that the charges for electric energy both in town and country should be reduced were made yesterday afternoon by deputations which waited upon the Hon. Adam Hamilton, Minister-in-Charge of Tourist Resorts who pa'omised to give the requests his sympathetic consideration. On behalf of the country areas, Mr J. E. Martin (Fanners' Union), H. P. Ford (Rotorua County Council) and B. C. Florrie (backblocks settlers) addressed the Minister, the former taking exception to the charge made by the department of 1/6 per "month for meter-reading in the Ngongotaha area. Mr. Ford appealed for a general all-round reduction of ten per cent. in the charges for power for milking machines, pointing out that the reductions made in wages amounted to 20 per cent., and that surely the departj ment could pass on a 10 per cent. reI duction to the farmer who was already hard pressed owing to the drop in price of primary products. The Minister rejoined that he was well aware of the farmer's difficulties as he was experiencing them himself Mr. B. C. Florrie espoused the cause of the out-back settler asking that assistance be given to him to reticulate the outer areas. The manager of the New Zealand Dairy Co's. fac-tory at Ngongotaha (Mr A. Parlane) informed the Minister that his company was contemplating changing over to steam power owing to the high cost of electric power. Dealing with the town consumers, the Mayor (Mr. T. Jackson) briefly traversed the position and called upon Cr. O. H. Coleman to give details. Cr Coleman said that the people of Rotorua might be divided into three classes. (1) The wage earners who had had their wages heavily reduced and could not afford the high power charges. (2) The business people who were heavily hit by the depression, and in some cases were living upon capdtal and could not face the charges. (3) The property owners who depended upon rents and interest for income and who, he said, had been hit tha hardest of all, since many either had their properties emptiy or were not receiving any rents or interest at the present time. The Government, said Mr. Coleman, had dalled upon the employers to keep as many persons employed as possible and to reduce the price of commodities and they had done so. Now they had a case whero tne Government was itself in the position of a retailer vending a commodity, and it should set an example by reducing the price of electric energy. Briefly dealing with the requests from both town and count2-y, the Minister remarked that thotigh the department did not wish to make an undue profit, yet it had absolutely no rating powers as had other power boards, with which to eover any loss. It also did not wish to place Rotorua in any invidious position in comparison with the ehaz-ges made by contiguous bodies. The matters brought up were, he said highly technical and would receive sympathetic consideration.