HYDRO ELECTRICITY.

Shannon News, 18 January 1929, Page 1

HYDRO ELECTRICITY.

HOROWHENUA POWER BOARD. The .monthly meeting of the Horo wliemia Electric Power Board was held in the Municipal Chambers, Levin, on Tuesday, there being present: —Messrs G. A. Monk (chairman), W. E. Barber, T. G. Vincent, E. R. Bryant, E. S. Morse, 0. Blenkhorn,' A. J. Petherick, A. SeilVrl, P. V/ Goldsmith (secretary and treasurer) and J A. Smith (engineer). Tree-Planting. Replying to the secretary’s request for information on tree-planting, the Thamos^yalley Power Board supplied the following.particulars 'of its operations: —Area [bunted, 30 acres; area ploughed, 54 acres; cost of land, £4ol\ 18s lOd; area of land, 521 acres; cost of tree per acre, £3 4s 7d; cost to plough per aero, £1 18s; labour and planting, per acre, £5 Os 7d. Approximately 2(i(i acres has been fenced, the cost of the fencing being about 25s 3d per acre. With regard to the variety of the trees, the Thames Board stated that this- was left totally in the hands of the. Forestry Department, which supplied the labour. il’lie chairman said that presumably the operations were being conduced on pumie land, which was readily ploughable anti which in this case had been bought for less than £1 per acre. The information was referred to the special committee which has been set up to the feasibility of the Board growing trees to secure its own supply 61 power poles. Penalties on Accounts. .Several letters were received from consumers relative to the penalties charged on accounts remaining unpaid' after certain notice. A Waikanae resident suggested that- the Board should offer an inducement to large consumers to deposit cash in advance to cover a period of a year. The secretary had replied that he did not anticipate that many people would ; want to pay before they received the service; there were one or two who paid in advance for their own convenience, but he doubted whether any concession would be large enough to induce consumers generally to (pay in advance. A Paraparaumu customer wrote stating that he was paying a 3s 8d fine under protest, as he had posted a cheque on the day when his account was duo. To this the secretary had replied, that the Board "had to be strictly impartial in . the matter of the penalty; and country consumers whose remittances' arrivda by the first mail on the 21st of the mouth were not penalised.

Mr. Morse said lie had known eases where mails posted in Otaki for northern towns had been taken to Wellington before reaching their destinations. A client in'Otaki was postitive that he had posted his remittance" on, the 15th of the month, but it had not reached the secretary .till the 17th. The speaker had since explained to him that he could pay the money into the Board’s Otaki office.

The~-sucretary read correspondence from the Otaki" customer, who objected to a penalty of Is lOd, stating that n. cheque for his account was drawn on the duo date, October 15th. He had always posted his payments to the Board’s office at Levin in the hope of saving time to - the authorities, but in future he would pay it at Otaki. He refused to pay the Is lOd penalty, and .would fight the, matter to a finish, as he considered it a gross injustice. Mr. Petlierick pointed out that the Board’s accounts were due when 'they were presented to the consumers. The secretary explained that consumers at Otaki, "Foxton and Shannon could pay their accounts by three methods—to "the meter-reader, to the local office of the Board, or through the post. In each of the three outlying towns the Borough Council office had been appointed a place tthere moneys due to the Board could be paid. Mr! Morse said he did not think the Otaki customer was worrying about the Is lOd, but about the principal of the thing. The secretary had- replied to the Otaki correspondent, suggesting that he h'ad made a mistake as to the date and. hour of posting his payment. The action of the secretary in replying to 1110 objections was Confirmed. Treasurer’s Beport.

The following report was submitted bv the treasurer: —

The total amount of. the paid since the last meeting., Of. the Board is £612 14s 7d. This amount is made;up chiefly of wages and salaries: Wages £234 13s, salaries £307 ss. the .balance includes payment for telephone rentals and bureau fees, accident insurance claim, freights and sundry charges. ' The chief account to be passed is .the electricity account, from Mangahao for the quarter ended Deceriibcr 31st, 1928, the amount being £4344 12s. The highest peak for the -quarter was reached on October 16th, at 8 a.m. The account is about £l-178. more than the preceding (September) quarter. The same quarter in previous years' follows:—Quarter ended 31/12/25, £2996; quarter ended 31/12/26, £3730; quarter ended-31/12/27, £4764; quarter ended 31/12/28, £4344. It will thus be seen that although the bill is not quite so laTge as - that of last year's account for the same