ADVANCES TO CONSUMERS.

Shannon News, 25 May 1923, Page 3

ADVANCES TO CONSUMERS.

POWER BOARD’S POLICY. ’The Horowhenua Power Board intends to make it as easy as possible for consumers to link up and take the Mangahao power, when it is turned on. This wh,s apparent from a discussion at Tuesday’s meeting on the financial assistance that will be offered to prospective clients. The Engineer (Mr Overton) reported as follows on this matter:— Financial assistance to applicants for electricity.—This subject has occupied a good deal of attention in the administration of power boards during the past three years and I cannot recommend anything better to you to-day than I did two years ago to the Central Power Board at Hamilton. That Board’s district, which is practically all rural, appeared the hardest proposition in the South Auckland district (speaking from a. financial point of view), but the figures ,for the year just ended (March 31), show its operations to be more successful than any other Board in the South Auckland district. The Central Board now supplies over a thousand consumers, mlany of them with three different types of service installed, namely, lighting, heating and motive power and the monthly figures show increases at the rate of from 50 to 70 new consumers per month. A great deal of the success of this Board is undoubtedly due to the system which they adopted to finance consumers, and I would recommend that grouping and financing on similar lines be introduced here:

(1) That consumer’s service lines be paid for by the consumer in three equal instalments, the first being payable within one year of the work being completed and the others within two and three years respectively of such date with interest at the rate of £7 per cent per annum. (2) That financial assistance be given for the installation of electrical fitting to the extent of 75 per cent, of the cost of such installation which shall not exceed £IOO nor be les fe than £lO, interest being chargeable at 8 per cent. peT annum and repayable in twelve equal instalments over a period of three years, subject to a rebate in interest of 1 per cent, for prompt payment and including a payment of 5 per - 0 ' on the cost of supervision of the installation by the Board’s Engineer Mr Gunning urged the Finance Committee to also go into the ma'ter of delaying the payment of interest by consumers on advances until the power and light was available. I his would be an inducement to people to have their installation ready in time for the power and would avoid dehv and a rush at the last minute. It would not cost the Board very much in interest, but it would assist I he consumer and on the other hand the Board would feel the benefit of hiving. say 100 consumers ready to lake the power when it was available. This policy was adopted by the Palmerston Board and he strongly recommended it here.

The chairman agreed that it would be an inducement to people to have their installations ready. The Engineer said the interest on consumers’ service lines would not t e collected for twelve months. Mr Ross urged that a new clause be added permitting advances for in stallations costing up to *750, 50 per cent, of this amount to he advanced. It would be a big hurdle for many firms and mills to scrap their present plant? and unless they got assistance tbe> might defer linking-up with loss of revenue to the Board. What was good policy for the small man should also be good policy for the big man. The Board approved of the suggestion.

The Engineer’s recommendati m? were adopted.