HOROWHENUA POWER BOARD.

Shannon News, 24 February 1928, Page 4

HOROWHENUA POWER BOARD.

FEBRUARY MEETING. The monthly meeting of the Borowhenua Electric Power Board was held in .the Municipal Chambers on Tuesday, there being present: Messrs G. A. Monk (chairman), W. E. Barber, T. G. Vincent, R. Bryant,' E. Morse, C. Bienkhorn, A. J. Petherick, A. Seifert, P. W. Goldsmith (secretary and treasurer), and ,T. A,'Smith (engineer). Treasurer’s Report. 1 The Treasurer presented the following report: — Receipts for January. During January the gross receipts amounted to £6371, the return from the sale of electricity accounting for £5457 ..of this amount. Most of the large quarterly accounts are paid during the month under review, hence the amount received is a fairly substantial one, and exceeds by over £IOOO the amount received for electricity and meter rents for January, 1927. From the table shown hereunder it will be seen that to 31st January, receipts for electricity and meter rents reached £35,046, as against £29,207 for the same period last year. It may also be observed from the table that receipts for installations, fittings and services have reached £7247, whilst interest on installations received stands at. £655. Penalties collected .for the ten months under review have passed the £§oo mark. Table of Receipts.

(Shillings and pence omitted). Accounts. Since the last meeting of the Board the sum of £1159 15s 5d has been paid and the accounts are now submitted for confirmation. Amongst these accounts it will be found that the sum of £llO 12s has been paid to the Public Trustee for interest due to the Ist February on that portion of the £IO,OOO loan which has already been advanced. A sum of about £72 has been-, paid for fuses which were indented, and called for .prompt settlement. The other main items in the accounts for confirmation are wages, salaries, railway freight and court fees. Accounts to be passed today amount to the sum of £2869 18s, the first account upon the list accounting for the major portion of this sum, viz., £2035 4s Bd. This latter sum provides for the payment of two dcbenr tures falling due ; at the end of the present month and payable to the Governmcnt Life Insurance Department. One debenture is in respect to the first £40,000 loan raised from the Government Life, and the other relates to the Joan of £20,000 also raised from that office. Other accounts are for meters £174, water-heater elements £9B, benzine, tyres, oil and spares £lO3, installations £53, insulators £45,' and trans- , former £72 10s.

Water Shortage at Mangahao.

The following report wqs submitted by the Treasurer concerning the wate shortage at Mangahao: — Members of the Board will only b' too well aware of the position of the Public Works Department and those Power Boards depending upon the Department for the supply of electricity; through the water-shortage at Manga"kao. The dry pei’iod through which most parts of the Dominion are passing has been felt very acutely on the coast and in the Mangahao basin, Shortly after the last meeting of the Board, the District Engineer intimated to the officers of the Board that a certain restricted use of power, particularly in the day-time, was absolutely essential. Notices were published in the papers asking our consumers to economise where possible, and the engineer was able to arrange with the flaxmillers to carry on in the meantime with a night load only. In order, to get concerted action, the Department decided to call a conference oT the Boards and Supply Authorities interested in Mangahao, and this confer-; 1 enee was held in Palmerston North on: January' 30th. The chairpian (Mr. Monk) and Mr. Seifert, with the! Board’s officials, attended the 'meeting at which all Power Boards i were represented. It was felt that, watever restrictions were necessary, it was important to keep the essential industries goiug, so as not to add to unemployment in the country, which is already too rife. The Public Works Depart-, mont asked for a 20 per cent reduction in the load between the hours of 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. and it was agreed by the representatives present that the Boards would do everything in their power to meet the situation. It was unanimously agreed that street lighting should be practically quite cut out, and that the various Boards, according to their several circumstances, should each endeavour to make such restrictions as would bear least hardly upon the consumers. Consequently our consumers were appealed to again through the press and by post-cards to cut off their water-heaters (domestic) all through the day, and to further economise with the use of cooking ranges in the meantime until rain comes and relieves the situation. The response has been satisfactory, as I think the figures will indicate which are given in the engineer’s report to-day. It is sincerely to be hoped that the drought will soon break, for the country’s sake as well as the Board’s. Doubtless our consumers will expect to be compensated for the privileges they have given up, particularly in respect to water-heaters; the street lighting revenue will be reduced, : and the flaxmill load on the • night, tariff will mean a considerably lessened :

revenue to the Board, so that it can hardly be expected that our finances will be as buoyant as they would have been had the position at Mangahao been normal. Things, are, however,, never so bad but they might be worse, and it seems that the Public. Works Department has handled a difficult and unexpected situation with promptness, and good judgment. If it is found that in the early days of the month of January the Board’s peak load was altogether beyond the jmain portion of, the quarter, under the particular cir*t eumstancos of the case it is to be hoped the Department will make an equitable adjustment when the bill conies in. The. report was received by tho ( Board. u Engineer’s Report. The engineer reported as follows work done since the last meeting of the" Board:— , No. 1 gang have fitted and erected*? 3.1 poles, run six service lines, and 71cf chains of wire; have erected two line, switches, lr.il.t one outdoor sub-station, installed ami wired 10 k.w. transformer on same; nave completed Okuku Road e.h.t. and l.t. lines and services supplied from same; have taken down some l.t. On Okuku Road ’ previously supplied from Seifert’s Mill transformers; have 'extended l.t. at Raumati Beach; over.hauled and re-strained service lines ahd 1.t., To Horo Beach Road; re-strained some service lines, and trimmed trees on Arapaepao Road, y No. 2 gang have fitted and erected 2Q poles, run three services, and 250 chains of wire; have extended e.h.t. 30 chains on Rangiui'u Beach Road and changed transformer; and services, Rangiuru Beach Road and Convent Road, Otaki, and have re-conditioned 18 street' lamps.

No. 3 gang have assisted No. 1 gang on Olcuku Road, run three service lines, bonded earths; straightened, up, poles, Tokomani line; attended to general’ maintenance, consumer’s reports and main sub-stations. 1 Electrical fitters have run nine service lines, and extra phase to one existing service line; have changed trans-' formers .at Fairfield • and Keri Keri Road; re-conditioned three transform- , ers; strengthened earths, Kautere, Reikiorangi, Paraparaumu and Raumati, and trimmed trees in this locality; have» changed some l.t. wires at Paraparaumu damaged through blasting operations; have assisted No. 2 gang at .Rangitane, and attended to maintenance. ! ,

Installations. —During the period 17 applications from new' consumers and , 18 applications for extensions to exist-jv ing installations have been received, comprising four ranges, two waterheaters, two industrial motors, and one pumping motor. Six new consumers j and six extensions have been connect: ed, including one range, three industrial motors, one milking motor, ahd three waterheaters. 74 single phase meters' and two polyphase nleters have been tested. Three ranges have been, dried out, tested, and delivered to consumers. Work,ship.—One 11,000-volt switch 1 panel has been re-conditioned, and Lt, fuses and 11,000-volt" spare switch panel head have been made tip, also a quantity of line material. Thanks Passed to Consumers.

The chairman explained that the new connections mentioned in the report were made before the curtailment' of current came into operation.. Since that time no more connections had > been made. Some applications were awaiting attention, but the Board was not making any connections in the meantime.

A vote of thanks, as previously reported, was passed to the consumers ’ for having helped the Board in its emergency. '

January. April-Jan. ■ £ £ ' Electricity and meter rents 5457 35046 Installations, fittings and services 752 7247 Interest on Installations 74 655 Penalties 22 205 Consumers’ deposits .. 6 85 Rents and miscellaneous 58 372 £6371 £43612