BOROUGH ELECTRICAL UNDERTAKING.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 316, 16 June 1915, Page 6

BOROUGH ELECTRICAL UNDERTAKING.

ANNUAL REPORT. The following report dealing with the operations of the borough electrical i undertaking for the past year was pre- >, sented to the Borough Council meeting I last night by the town clerk (Mr. F. T. licllringer) - From the balance-sheet it will 'be seen that the net prollt for the year amounted to £1721 r>s -Od, being £55 lis 8d more than for the previous year, but £IBB 4s Id less than for the year ending March 31, 1913. As shown in last year's report this decline in profit is due mainly to the fact that for various reasons the department has not yet been able to obtain the full benefit of very heavy capital expenditure which has been proceeding for two years past, and also to the large increase in working expenses apparently rendered necessary bj the installation of the additional plant. This largo capital expenditure was made in order to increase the plant to enable the department to provide the necessary electrical energy to supply power for the tramways and to readily meet the growing demands for lighting and power which were anticipated. The revenue for the year shows an increase of £49:3 Ss 4d on the previous year but against this the amount set aside for depreciation shows an increase of £345 18s sd, the latter item mainly accounting for tho fact that the net profit hau.not been in proportion to the increase in revenue. The revenue received for the year has not come up to the estimate, and it is advisable to* draw special attention to the revenue comparisons and the comparative number ?of consumers for the past few years, which were as follows (veal- ending March SI in each case) :-r Revenue —lftll, £4573 14s Od; 1912, £5408 7s lid; 1913, £0379 'os lid; 1914, £7407 18s sd; 1915, £7OOI Cs 9d. Number of Consumers —1912, 90G; 1913, 1087; 1914, 1300; 1015, 1482. Horsepower of Motors—l9l2, 283; 11)1.3, 358; 1914, SS4; 1915, 432. Looking closer into the returns it will be found that the increased amount received from power and heating ( £24 a 10s Id) was well above the average of the previous years, yet notwithstanding that a full year's revenue was received from the 233 new consumers of 1014 and 182 new consumers were added during the year, the increase in the amount received from' private lighting was practically negligible. This rather disquieting fact the electrical engineer attributes to the growing use of the smaller sizes of metallic filament lamps which have recently come into vogue. He also points out that the loss of revenue from this cause is likely to be greater during the current year than iii the past. Other installations in different parts of the Dominion are up against the same problem.

Our charges for lighting were esta;l>lished when the carbon lamp was in general use, and it is essential that under the altered circumstances the, question whether the. present charges should still be adhered to should receive early and careful consideration of the committee. Having considered the income, it is now necessary to deal with the expenditure on the working account. This has a very important bearing upon the question as to why the net profit for the past two years has been so much less than it was in the year ending March 31, 1913. The returns which are submitted herewith deal very exhaustively with the subject, and it is unnecessary to repeat the figures here. I fel it incumbent on me, however, to direct attention to the fact that since the end of March, 1913 (the year in which the undertaking show, ed the greatest net profit) the revenue has only increased by approximately 2-1 per cent., whereas the working expenses have increased 41 per cent, during thj same period. The current year will probably be the most critical period of the undertaking since its installation. Largs capital expenditure has been incurred in enlarging the works and plant, thereby increasing the interest and depreciation charges, and working expenses. T'ntil the tramways are installed and utilising the power these charges have to he met without any corresponding increase in the revenue; and the department will be very fortunate indeed if it does not show a loss at March 31, 1910. After that <late, however, the critical period will have been passed, and there is no reason why, with careful management, the position should not steadily improve year by year. In order that this may hi! so it is, however, necessary that the position disclosed in the earliet part Oif this report should receive careful consideration, and I would recommend-^ (1) That a strong effort be made to increase, the revenuo by giving greatel encouragement for the, use of electric heaters and cookers, and by inducing manufacturers to more extensively use the electric power, thereby creating a more satisfactory day load. (2) That the charges for current be reconsidered.

(3) That the working expenses be kept to the lowest level consistent with efficiency.

(4) That the charge for power for tile tramways be fixed at such a price a 9 will ensure'd reasonable margin of prolit to the Electric Light Department, regard being had to the very heavy expense incurred by the department in order to he in a .position to supply; and (5) That care be taken to prevent the over-capitalisation of the undertaking. Each of these items will probably lead to a long discussion, and no good purpose will be served in dealing with tliem further in this report. CAPITAL EXPENDITURE. Capital expenditure for the year amounted to C.TKiO ].">s Sd, of which £S4sJ7 3s lOd was from loans anil £204*2 lis .1 Od from revenue. The total capital expenditure to March 31, 1915, was .GJ1,0(« 12s fid, of which £9340 17s was paid out of revenue. The total loans authorised amounted to £58,968 15s Bd, of which £17,332 Is 3d was still unexpended. The amount standing to the credit of the department in the District Fund Account at the date in question was .-CH'Sii 19s '.ld. Against these unexpended balances the electrical engineer shows liabilities and probable expenditure amounting to £21,000, to which must be added approximately 132000 balance expenditure in connection with the new intake.

INTEREST ON ELECTRIC I.IOIIT CltlilMT .BALANCES IN THE DISTRICT FUND.

Towards the latter end of the year under review the Council adopted certain recommendutions to enable the department to receive intered ,in if.', eledit balances in the Bislrict Fund. To e ►".We till i to he carried into e'"fect, 1 would ivi'..'.:;aond t! :i,t c " pirat '. bank a viii'.nt Le opened V" < V Kit--

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COMPARISONS AS AT MARQII 31 BACH If BAR.

WORKING EXPENDITURE COM- ! iPARISON. » | Tho working exipeuses in 1911 totalled i £1482 10s 4d, and in 1915 they amountj ad to £2772 lis Od. EXPENDITURE. I ; The expenditure in lftld amounted to £4373 14s fid, and in 1915 to £BO2O ICa ! 2d. ■ i ! ELECTRICAL ENGINEER'S REPORT.

The electrical engineer (Mr. H. Black) | in his annual report says:—The yew. just completed has again shown steady | progress. Wo are not able to record so | many new connections as on the previous year, but 182 new consumers have I been added. This is above the annual average and makes a total to March I 31 of 1482. The year began very well, I but towards the end applications were not so numerous. In view of the instal- j lation of electric tramways, and to meit j the growing demand for lighting, power j and heating, further work has been un- j dertaken entailing considerable capital | expenditure, for which purpose a further | loan of £20,000 has been authorised and ! raised. None of the work provided for j in this loan has yet been completed, but tho new sub-station and office building is in course of erection, and switchboards and a large quantity of line material are on order, .a number of j transformers have just been landed, and ■ poles for new transmission line erected, i Sub-station. —As the sub-station h"d , to be designed to provide room for tramway motor generators, switchboards and battery as well as lighting transformers, switchboards, etc., it formed part of the work entrusted to Mi'. Fredk. Black, consulting engineer for | the tramways, Messrs. Natusch and I Sons, architects, of Wellington, being I engaged by him to prepare tho neces- | fiary plans and specifications. The building consists of three sections, the western bay, lfift. by 74., containing transformer room and repair shop, the centre bay providing machine and switch room 33ft. by 50ft., behind which is an extension, 33ft. by 24ft., to provide room for future machinery, divided at present from the machine room by a temporary partition. This space will be used for ; machine stores, shift room and store and test room for line transformers un- | til required for extra machinery, when accommodation will need to be provid >d elsewhere. Above the machine room is tho battery room,. 33ft. by 50ft. Tie; eastern bay, 27ft. by fronting Lisftdct and Leach Streets, forms the administrative block. Tho main entrance is ill till; centre of l.iardet Street frontage, giving access to the public office, tho offices for clerks with strong room and telephone room oil the right and or. the left show room, line superintendent's office and store for lighting accessories. Oil the upper floor is the drawing office, meter room, electrical engineer's office and tj'pist's room. This building is of a permanent nature, being constructed of reinforced concrete, and should be a credit to the town, and will supply a long felt want. For some years now the work of the department has been carried out under difficulties owing to want of room. The new ofiices have j been especially arranged to allow each member of the staff to carry out his work with a minimum of disturbance or interruption. The machine room, with the extension, should provide ample ' room for some years to come. Room for extra transformers has also been al- J lowed. In this new sub-station provision bur, been made for the future and While there will be an extra burden to carry owing to the heavy expenditure J incurred, that will be to some extent counter-balanced by better facilities for carrying on the work of the department. Overhead Lines. —To comply with regulations regarding tramways, and to, as far as possible, avoid crossings over the tramway trolley wires, numerous alterations to the overhead lines are necessary. Some, of the work has been carried out during the past few months, longer and heavier poles being erected and the arrangement for .feeder circuits altered. A good deal of the work has yet to be done, but cannot be carriedout until the tramway poles arc erected. This work is also delayed pending alterations to the telephone lines, which alterations arc being held up until the tramway poles are. in position. With the work in hand and in view the coming year will be a fairly busy one as far as this department is concerned. Powerhouse. —Owing to some gateregulating apparatus not being completed, we are not yet getting very much benefit froin the new intake, but should the demand require it, additional water can be obtained through the new race. It will be a great advantage to this' department to have this new race and reservoir, as beside the extra head and increased amount of water obtainable from the larger intake, the water stored ia the reservoir will assist during hours of peak load when the river is low. No

•ddition has been made to the plant at th 6 powerhouse during the year, but it ti qnita possible that, after the tramways are started, it may be found desirable to inatal another generating unit bo ai to maintain a reserve in case (A emergency,

Transmission Line.—We had hoped to hare the new transmission line in use for the coming winter, but owing to numerous delays which could not be avoided this will not now be available.

Street Lighting.—During the year eight street lamps have been erected. Increased lighting will be required for the whole of the tramway route, for winch it is proposed to use the series system, the material for this being now on order. Returns.—Attached are some liata giving detailed results of the work of the year, with comparisons of previous years. The maximum load recorded was 343 kilowatts, an increase of 33 kilowatts over the figures for -the previous year. The output for the twelve months as recorded by the auto-station meters was 499,910 units, an increase of 39,530. Working expenditure shows an increase under the heading of management, dua mainly to preparatory work in connection with extensions which could possibly hare ibeen charged to capital account, thus reducing the figures for working account. Liabilities.—The liabilities incurred as sliovrn on the attached list amount to approximately £MI ,000, to which' may be added labor and sundries, say, .€2OOO, making a total of£ 18,000. Within the nex't two years another generating set will be required, which, with foundations and alterations to building, may be put down at £3OOO. Against this there is .017,3 m Is 3d unexpended loan and £31185 19s 9d from revenue-making, so that the balanve required will have to be madeout of revenue. It was anticipated that there would be be ample for the a'bove work in the £"20,000 loan, but the sub-station building is costing the department £3OOO more than originally estimated, and the sub-station equipment (tramway contract No. 3) £3700 was not provided for, as it was included in the tramway estimates. For the next few years we will not have very much extension, but with careful management should be able to meet all ordinary requirements, provided that no unremunerative expenditure is incurred.

1008 9 s +> •3 '-3 a '5. fr rt A oa £ 10,373 si 2 d V.% U 49 o! fc § "2 3 § a S y, C' 41 t-i o +> o s o 6i m 1907 11)08 954 9,597 79 122 187 303 15 4> 1909 1910 IBM . 4/274 443 l. r >« 181 m 525 127 165 '1,221 194 «76 J 9(1 1912 1913 1914 1015 2,404 11,313 k 4,988 5,109 201 250 310 343 1)0fi 1007 1300 14S2 2S3 358 384 432 REVENUE TOMPAHTSON. 1906 1907 1903 1909 1910 191'1 1912 1913 1914 1915 so «*|4 £ ». (1. 3 0 0 580 4 10 1580 9 4 2374 0 3 29013 !15 8 31.31 e s 3791 2 3 4839 0 0 5321 8 2 5369 14 !i T3 c * bb u g w g-P a P 5 .0 0 <u s eu £ b. d. '£ 80 12 1 10 550 101 9 0 624 311 1 7 «58 423 7 8 m .550 11 5 801 700 3 9' 841 907 7 5 828 10(59 3 0 020 1313 13 1 940 W) a ■a "Sa 9. d. 0 0 0 0 7 6 8 4 17 G 5 0 13 2 19 2 0 0 0 0