Power board for sale?

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 6, Issue 300, 18 August 1989, Page 3

Power board for sale?

Anyone want to buy a power supply company? That question could crop up soon with the Government reviewing local electricity supply authorities.

King Country Electric Power Board manager Ken Street told the Bulletin last week the government reform, which is due soon, will see ownership of the supply authority change to one of five options. He said some authorities have canvassed consumer opinion on the options but that the KCEPB felt there would be little gain in such and exercise. He did say though, that the board wants the public to be aware of the options, which area: Privatisation, where the assets of the supplier would be sold to private individuals or institutional investors for shares. Profit from electricity saies could be re-invested in the system or be paid to shareholders as a dividend. Who would receive payment from such a sale is not clear yet. Local authority owm ership, where the supplier would act as a company wholly owned by the local authority or regional council in a similar way to port companies. Profits would be re-invested in the electricity system or used by the council to fund other activities. Trustee ownership, where the supplier would operate as a private company with shares owned by a consumer trust, with directors appointed by consumers. Profits would be channelled back to consumers possibly through discounts. This option would see control of assets in the hands of consumers. Co-operative ownership, where control is placed in the hands of a co-operative company similar to a dairy co-operative. Profits would be re-in-vested or paid to consumers as a dividend. Mixed ownership, where shares in the supply company would be owned by a consumer trust, by individuals, or companies or institutions. Mr Street said the advantages with privatisation were that directors would want to see a profit made so would keep costs down and thus lead to efficiency. A possible disadvantage could be that to return a profit the company

merely cranks up the price. He said however, that the SOEs have so far set a good track record and kept prices down. The other options would not necessarily attract the business expertise needed, said Mr Street. He said the option that would most likely see the cheapest power would be the cooperative trust, though the operations would j not necessarily be made efficient. Mr Street said KCEPB's power is one of the three cheapest 1 from supply authorities in the country and is actually cheaper than that supplied to the board by Electricorp. This is because the board owns the Kuratau Power Station, which provides one third of the board's electricity at a cost of $100,000 per year. The other two thirds comes from Elec-

tricorp at a cost of $7 million per year. The Kuratau Power Station is completely paid for, which keeps the cost down to a minimum.

Raetihi s Rock and roll revival group are well underway, with a number of dance sequences created between the dancers and teacher Vicky Baker. The group have called themselves the "Volcanic Rockers", and meet every Wednesday and Sunday at the Raetihi Primary School. Last Sunday Miss Baker travelled from Wanganui and introduced new steps and styles to the rockers. A local group of dancers will be attending the Wanganui Hop dance on Saturday 19 August to watch and dance among experienced dancers.