ELECTRICAL POWER.

Taranaki Daily News, 7 October 1919, Page 6

ELECTRICAL POWER.

At last Saturday's meeting of the Moa Road Board, Mr J. H. Lyon made some further remarks anent the f>ro« posal of the Board to form a Hydro* Electric Power Board and apply for license to supply over the area tp bq included in the boundaries of the Inglewood County. He said he would pot say ranch about the commission thaf had inquired into the objections to the, application of the New Plymouth Borough Council for an extended area of supply, as the matter was subjudice. He remarked, however, that the_board, having no funds with which t8 pay counsel to represent them, he had had a somewhat difficult task. What he took exception to was the comments of some local newspapers in regard to tho Moa Road Board, and also to himself. It was unfair and untrue to say .tbft he was the objector. The board had. made the objections, and he had repie* sented the {board. It was also untrua to say the board had gone to Welling* ton and engineered the commission. The editor of one paper had written that he . yir Lyon} "had a bee in his bonnet." ''Someone might find before the matte* ended," continued Mr Lyon, "that hi had sat upon a hornet's nest" Th» speaker further said he had been Bug* prised to find when before the commix sion, that the Inglewood Borough' Coun* cil had also applied for a license artf an extended area, and if that and tha New Plymouth application were grant* 1 ed there would be no territory left for the Inglewood County Power Board. He, urged that the board should pjoteat against any application for an extended electrical supply area by the Borough. <jf Inglewood, until the 'application for a power board area by the Moa'Root Board had been decided. He furthe* urged that if these applications came before any other commission, step* should be taken to have the order of reference made as wide as possible, and that three commissioners should be appointed—one by the State and tw» other independent gentlemen with ft' knowledge of electrical matters. Mr Lyon said he waß prepared to contribute towards a fund for presenting the board's case, if such a commission was ' set up. " i > Messrs Todd and Stewart who had also been present at the commission, said it had been a valuable inquiry and went to, show the great demand there' was for power throughout the province. Mr Todd said the commissioner's remark s about the cost" of power had "toned him down" considerably.