POWER SUPPLY

Wairarapa Times-Age, 17 August 1939, Page 9

POWER SUPPLY

MEETING OF WAIRARAPA BOARD FURTHER EXTENSION WORK. NEW LINES FROM WELLINGTON. (“Times-Age” Special.) The satisfactory progress so far recorded this year was continued during the month of July, stated Mr Geo Brown, secretary-manager of the Wairarapa Electric Power Board at its monthly meeting at Carterton today. Sales of electricity exceeded those for the corresponding month of last year by £435 and exceeded the estimate by £195. The position for the first four months of the year was as follows: — Net revenue April/July, 1938, £l9 086; actual revenue, April/July, 1939, ,£20,98G; gain on estimate, £760. A petition asking that the TaueruTinui district be included in the board’s inner area had been presented to the Governor-General. There should not be any apppreciable delay in finalising this matter. Application had also been made to the Local Bodies’ Loans Board for authority to raise the necessary loan. The board's offer to Mr McGregor regarding an extension on the Admiral Road had been accepted by Mr McGregor. A very well attended meeting was held at Kopuaranga to consider proposals to reticulate that district. The total estimated cost, including provision for the reticulation of a portion of the Tararua District, was £3,982, and the guarantees required amounted to £639 per annum. A committee of the settlers interested had been set up to canvass the district. New proposals had been submitted to five settlers residing on the Main Carterton-Masterton Road, said Mr Brown. This scheme provided for the use of a portion of the high pressure line erected by the Wairarapa South County Council. This line was no longer required by the County and an offer based on its salvage value had been made. The scheme cannot be finalised until arrangements had been concluded with the county. Debentures to the value of £23,000 had been disposed of. The full amount which the board was authorised to borrow £25,000. It appeared certain that the full amount would be taken up. The board had authorised the expenditure of £5,976 on the erection and reconstruction of new lines to serve the Masterton district. To this had to be added a further amount of approximately £7OO to provide new transformers, making a total of £6,700. This provided for a double circuit line to Renall Street and the erection of a loop line to the Masterton Hospital. The engineer, Mr H. B. Keenan, reported that owing to the phenomenal demand for power during the past month, it was found necessary to take expediency measures to relieve the 3,300 volt reticulation and make a redistribution of some of the loads on the main transformers supplying the business area of Masterton Borough. The survey of the 11,000 volts line from Matarawa to Kuratawhiti Street, Greytown, had been completed. A start should be made with this line in approximately fourteen days’ time. During the next two or three months the Public Works Department’s line gangs would be running the new lines from Wellington to Masterton. To accomplish this, it would be necessary to have a number of shut downs, mostly between 1 and 3.30 p.m. on varying days of the week on a number of lines in the Northern, Central and Southern areas. This was very essential work and the whole district would benefit by having an extra overhead line to the Wairarapa district. The board asked for the consumers' co-operation to make it possible to have the shut downs, as in the long run it would be to their own advantage. The secretarymanager was addressing a special letter to all consumers concerned, and the board asked the Press to give as much publicity to this matter as possible, and to ask the consumers for their co-operation. The board had received a request from the Borough Engineer, Masterton. to prepare a scheme for the further extension of the mercury vapour lighting along Queen Street to Kuripuni.