THE IRON INDUSTRY.

Taranaki Daily News, 30 May 1922, Page 5

THE IRON INDUSTRY.

QUESTION OF POWER SUPPLY. DISAGREEMENT OVER PRICE. The terms offered by the New Plymouth Borough Council for the supply .of electrical energy for the service of iron and steel works in New Plymouth was the subject of a 'letter from the New Zealand Iron Ore Smelting a-nd Manufacturing Company read at last night’s meeting of the council. In reply to the council’s letter the company stated 680 h.p. (say 506 kilowatts) on one hundred per cent, load factor provided some 4,432.560 kilowatts, which, on theoretical energy consumption in electric furnace practice, represented an annual pig iron production of sligl ly under “UOO tons. The secretary (Mr. C. H. Wynyard) continued: “I am informed this annual production in actual working practice would hardly reach 1500 tons from the energy supply offered. The suggested price of 0.32 d 'per 8.0. T. unit would tax the product at something between £3 10s and £4 per ton, and either of these figures is above the limit of commercial acceptability, while the stipulation that my company should bear the entire cost of the transmission line from the municipal sub-station to the works, together with that regaraing switch gear at the former, adds very considerably to working expenses. And finally, though of somewhat minor importance, you do not say whether the supply is to be metered at the sub-sta-tion or at the works. Acceptance of a bulk supply at the price and on the terms of your offer is commercially impossible. I am directed to inquire whether you can offer a cheaper rate for intermittent supply, giving a fixed minimum supply during the day and a maximum during all or certain hours of the night.” Reporting on this question, the electrical engineer (Mr. R. H. Bartley) said under present conditions he could not say how the price could be bettered. except through some adjustment in the cost of transmission lines. In calculating the price quoted consideration was on the basis that as much power would be used at night as in the day,'time, and it was really a very low figure.

The Mayor remarked that the council were dealing with a commercial undertaking. Representatives of the new-ly-formed power hoard in the Stratford and Eltharn districts had waited on him with the request that the council should not bind themselves to supply all available power, because they hoped to have their meeting shortly, and he was authorised to say that they intended to approach the New Plymouth council for supply. If, therefore, the council supplied the new board, as they had agreed to supply Inglewood, at £l2 per h.p., councillors could see where the commercial undertaking would come in. Tie moved that the Iron Ore Company be informed that the council could not reduce the price. In reply to a councillor the engineer said the price offered the company was about £9 10s per h.p. The motion was seconded by Or. Griffiths and carried.