The Daily News. THURSDAY, JUNE 17, 1915. ELECTRIC LIGHT FINANCE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 317, 17 June 1915, Page 4

The Daily News. THURSDAY, JUNE 17, 1915. ELECTRIC LIGHT FINANCE.

Hie annual roport of the borough electrical dopartmont is a document that (diould be studied by every ratepayer. The enterprise is one that was expected to yield a large return, as it has done in other municipalities, the more so in New Plymouth by reason of the exceptionally favorable circumstances that prevail in consequence of the motive power being supplied by water, a proportionate part of the cost whereof being debited to the water supply department, and, being a gravitation scheme, the Working cost is reduced to a minimum. Bo far as power is concerned, New Plymouth could not be better or more favorably situated, so that it .-was only reasonable to expect that a handsome, and tver-increasing profit should be shown. According to the town clerk's report, the capital invested \o March 31 last in the hydro electric enterprise amounts to £51,003, including £9340 contributed from revenue. This proves that the scheme in the past has yielded a very good return, but whether a just proportion of the total cost has been debited to the water department does not appear. Apart from that question, it is important to see how the electrical supply business has progressed, and to arrive at a reasonable conclusion as to whether or not the department is being run on sound commercial lines. Talcing the figures in the town clerk's report, we find that the total yearly revenue has risen from £ll2B in 1007 to £7OOI. in Win. Private lighting shows an advance of £.")000, power and heating (day load) £I2OO, public lighting £4OO, so ■that it is at once apparent that the sale of the day load current is by no means os satisfactory as it should be, and the town clerk recommends that a strong effort should be made to increase the revenue by giving greater encouragement for the use of electric heaters, cookers and motive power. It lias taken rather a long time to make a move in this direction and now that it has been formulated it should be good business to enter on a vigorous policy of expansion, so as to utilise to the full the power that is available in the daytime and could be supplied at a very low price. It is, however, with regard to the expenditure, that the weak spot in the enterprise seems to be located. While the report gives the yearly revenue from 100f) to date, for some reason or other it only supplies the yearly expenditure from 1011 onwards. In these five years the working expenses rose from* £1482 to £2772, interest and sink-ins fund from £1348 to £2OOB, depreciation from £ir.s7 to £2OIB. and the total from CL.73 to £BO2O. This practiciillv demonstrates that the expenses have kept neck, and neck with the revenue in the matter of increase, and no sound business should be run on those lines. Tt has. of course, been necessary to ] rovide for the expansion of the business, but it must be rememliered that the liabilities account on March 31. IMS. "hows the loan account n? C."»R.!'OB. which mu4 have provided for all the heavy items of expenditure. It is therefore advisable to turn to the report for some indication of the weak

spots in tho details of the scheme. Regarding tho town clerk's recommendations, we find that lie advocates the working expenses being kept 'to the lowest level consistent with efficiency. There should have been no need to make this suggestion, which infers that this very essential principle in the management has not received the attention it should in the past. As a matter of fact, the engineer has the matter practically in his own hands. Tho council is not in a position to judge whether or not the requisitions of the engineer are all absolutely necessary and such as a private firm would sanction. They have to trust to their expert officer and authorise what he asks for. This is always a weak spot in municipal administration; not that it reflects on the engineer, but where public money is concerned there is the possibility of the great need for economical administration being overlooked. The same remarks apply with equal force to the town clerk'; 'commendation to take care to prevent the over-capitalisation of the imdertaking. With regard to hi& proposal that the charges for lighting should be reconsidered, the council needs to approach that question with the greatest care. Consumers have gone to the heavy expense of installing electric light fittings on the understanding that the price of the current would be no higher than at present. 'The fact that consumers are using smaller sizes of metallic filament lamps in place of the wasteful carbon lamps is no reason why they should bo exploited. A possible result would lie that they will resent the action by reverting to gas. They have the right, and it is to their interest to take advantage of every economiser, especially in these times of stress, just as a manufacturer finds it pays to introduce labor-saving devices. Rather is it for the electrical staff to devote its attention to cheapening the cost of production than to kill tho goose that lays the golden egg. It is matter for regret that the report is so unfavorable, inasmuch as it shows that from March, 11)13, the revenue had only increased by 24 per cent., while the working expenses had risen by 41 per cent. There is nothing alarming in the position. The staff deserves credit for its work, but now that the financial position is made clear it would seem to be the duty of the council to go thoroughly into the working of the department with a view to making its future as successful as it ought to be.