HOROWHENUA POWER BOARD.

Shannon News, 23 October 1928, Page 3

HOROWHENUA POWER BOARD.

OCTOBER MEETING.

, The monthly meeting of the Horo"whenua Electric Power Board was held in the Municipal Chambers, Levin, on Tuesday, there being present: Messrs G;'A; Monk (chairman), W. R. Barber, T? G-. Vincent, R. Bryant, E. 8. Morse, ■C. Blenkhofn and A. J. Pctherick, Mr., JP'.l W f . Goldsmith (seerotary'and treasurer) and Mr. J. A. Smith (engineer). Leave of absence/was granted to Mr. A. iSeifert.

Fr<?in the Thames Valley Board a copy was' received of a magisterial judgment of interest; to Power Boards generally. That Boafd sought to re•coyoTu £33 ,£ ronV a ' consumer for an "eleetTical* installation. The defence contended that the amount could only be recovered as rates were recovered —namely., within the period of three years. The magistrate held that the debt could be recovered as rates were, recovered, but that was onlyjmic way; and "that the three years coiilcl only be reckoned fronv the time whe'n the last instalment was due. The claim.of the Board was not three years overdue, but if it wexo, then section 77 of the Act would 40* prevent judgment being given for It. Judgment was given for the amount claimed; with costs. The action of the s'ecretary in thanking the Thames Valley Board for the communication was endorsed. , , Owners' and'Mortgagees' Consent.

Mr. J. Linklater forwafded a copy of the, amendment to the Power Boards' Act, which amendment contained a- clause providing that, where anstaliaition and kindred costs exceed £30,; the amount payable to the Board by way for installation or rent shall not be a"charge on the land or be jocover'able' as a rate unless consent is Board's Bights as Creditors.

previously- given* by the Towner of the land, of the niortgagee. The former amendment of the Act require*! the consent of the .owner or mortgagee to be obtained,, but the last amendment only makes this, necessary - where the amount involved is over £30..' A letter was received from the District, Electrical Engineer (Mr. • I.' R. Robinson),- staging that the 'Minister had approved of the charges to flaxmills for the. quarter ended September 30th being split into two periods—the first being from July Ist to 14 days prior to the starting of. the mills, and the second period being the remainder of quarter. He also stated that he asked. by the Chief Electrical Engineer to report on the Board's chafges to the mills, and he asked to Tie supplied with information under various headings. - ..'•■'■•The secretary stated that the information had been forwarded.

The 1 chairman:'• We, must give the Department credit for not allowing u« toiget away with anything. ...-. \ iir.-Barber: It is probably in connection, with the flaxmills dispute. ."The-chairman: Yes, but it is a very fine investigation; there is taothiny left to "about it. j The action of the secretary in -sup plying the information asked for confirmed.

The secretary stated that the cosl to, the Board of electricity for the quarter'was £3166 4s 9d. if the Department had charged them on the highest peak through the* whole quarter," the amount would have heon £so' 30s lOd. The mills came on towards, the end of the quarter. The chairman said the thanks of the Board were due to the secretary an* the engineer, for the way they ha<:. worked to bring about a'..'settlement They had taken it up in the most busi nesslike way. Treasurer's Report. The report presented by the treasurer contained the.?, following in forumtion :■'•.- Receipts for September. -. The cash receipts for this month total £3379 19s 3d, of which amoum £2855 10s 2d is for electricity. Quarterly accounts do not come in this month's total, but are payable in October. The following tables shows the cash receipts for September,; and for the first six months of the present financial .'year:— - . ,/j , t September. April-Sept. ""£'■ £ £

(Shillings and pence omitted). Accounts for Payment. .Accounts for payment v amount to £3876.' The main feature of the payToll for the. day is the quarterly electricity account from the Public Works Department, which amounts, to £3116. Satisfactory arrangements were made with the Department for the flaxmills which commenced working towards the end of the quarter without unduly increasing the Board's bill. A* table was included in the report showing the quarterly payments made by'the Board for electricity since, the inception of the Board. This showed a range from £IOB7 for the quarter ended March 31st, 1925, to £3166 for the last quarter. The largest amount was £4764, for the quarter ended December 31st, 1927. The report continued as follows: Other .accounts on the pay-roll for the day include those for wire, transformers, meters, ranges and cross-arm timber, etc., also rent of offices and members' travelling accounts. The payments since last meeting amount to £662 8s 6d, wages, salaries and benzine comprising the principle items. Electricity Accounts. A list of outstanding electricity ac- ■ counts will be submitted to the Board fw the information of the members.

Owing to the preparation of the halfyearly statement, ; the . up-to-date list of installation accounts is not ready for the present meeting, 'but will be submitted next month. During the monthly period three consumers have been Cut off for non-payment of electricity accounts, and one has ibeen re-eonnect-cd after a spell of darkness. : Kail-way Lighting Charges.

" A .report was submitted by the see,retary on an application received from the Railway Department, through Mr. H. I. Wynne, for a reduction in the lighting charges at Paekakariki. The secretary reported that the charges were: For the first "ISO units per month, Sd per unit; all,units per month in excess of 150, 6d per unit. In round figures Hie Department had paid the Board for twelve months ended June 30th: For the traffic department, £194; for the engine depot, £2oo* total, £394. This worked out at 6.24 d per unit. Reductions made by the South Canterbury and Greymouth Boards" >w ere quoted by the Department, and the seere tary. quoted the charges made by a number of other supply authorities. The information thus given showed there was a considerable difference in the rates charged by the various authorities. ;. The secretary added that Paekakariki was. undoubtedly a good customer, and whilst he was not prepared to concede the Railway engineer's statement that the Board's present rates were excessive, at the same time a customer taking over-J 200 units per month was entitled' to some consideration. The only way to meet the position without making alterations in other instances would be to'have three rates instead of two as at present. The Department paid for the year for 15,143 units £393 12s 6d. He submitted three classes of suggested new rates, as follows:—A: .1800 units at Bd, £6O; 4200 units at .fid, £.105; .9145 units at sd, £IBO 10s od; total £355 10s od; concession per vear, £3B 2s Id. B: 1800 units at 8«. l, £6O; 4200 units at 6d, £105; 9145 4d; concession per year, £76'4s 2d, C": units at 4d. £152 8s 4d; total, £317 8s 1800 units afßd, £6O; 4200 units at 6d, £105; 9145 units at 3d, £ll4 6s 3d; total £279 6s 3d; concession per year, £1,14 6s 3d. The B rate would work out at a charge of 5.03 d per unit. The Railway engineer had mentioned that the rates, charged influenced the Deto how soon stations were installed.:. •If a concession was made how it could be conditional'upon certain stations coming on within, sav,. six or twelve months. For a year ended March 31st, 1928, Shannon railway station used 1470 units and paid the Board £49, which was 8d per unit. The chairman stated that the Finance- Committee had considered the matter, and had no recommendation to make as far as it affected the present financial year. They suggested, however, that the request .could be given favourable consideration at the end of the year,' 'flf we could afiord it," the chairman added, "we would like to give them the full concession suggested here; but we cannot. The only method" of giving them a concession is to reduce the price when the units exceed a certain number. It must be admitted, of course, that they are big consumers." J

Mr. Blenkhorn said that this Board should get the half-yearly statements of other Boards, for purposes of comparison. He had' noticed instances of other Boards reducing their charge*, airl lie would like to see how* it was done. The chairman remarked that the Rangitikei Board had done exceptionally well, because it was able to supply Wanganui.' This . Board could not create a city supply.' If they received a "concession from the Department in the price of the,current, they could pass it on f but as the Mangnhao works had only'made a profit of £l4, things did not look very bright. He moved that the Railway Department be informed that the question of a concession to large users of light will be into' favourable consideration at the end of the present financial year. In seconding the motion Mr. Barber said ,that the Committee should bring down' a report as .to what it would be worth to the Board to have ali the stations along the line, linked up with the. current, thus giving more outlet for the night load.

The motion was carried. Makerua-Rangitane Road.

The engineer reported that he had interviewed Messrs Whitaunui, Ltd., and Mr. H. A. ■Seifert regarding the prospect of future" settlement along the Makerua-Rangitane Road, and although there did not appear to be a possibility of future settlement immediately, it was thought that there was every chance of five or six farms being taken up, within about two years. The estimated cost of this line, using l.t, in place of e.h.t. poles, for the last mile, would be about £ISOO instead of £1530 with the latter. Mr. H. A. Seifert intimated that he would see the present settlers and ascertain if an arrangement could be made regarding the required guarantee. The matter v as held over pending a further report from the engineer on hearing from Mr. Seifert.

Elcetrici'ty': ..v.'\ 2855 19263 158 Installations and _ service lines .... 374 3.157 Interest on Installations :lf>' 208 Consumers? deposits 13 75 Cottage rents and. 342 £3379 £23205