ELECTRIC POWER

Wairarapa Times-Age, 13 February 1941, Page 7

ELECTRIC POWER

i V 'Wairarapa board reports i I REVENUE RETURNS. I ; SATISFACTORY POSITION SHOWN. I — | « "Times-Age” Special. > I Reporting to the Wairarapa Electric Power Board at its meeting today, the secretary-manager. Mr G. Brown stated. inter alia: , The revenue returns for electricity sold during December and January were quite satisfactory. In December: the estimate was exceeded by £33 8s 4d and in January by £205 2s 3d. Thisj extra margin would help considerably in meeting the steadily rising costs which were being experienced in all directions. The position was as follows: Actual net revenue December 1939 £4673 19s 3d; actual net revenue December, 1940. £5107 8s 4d; actual net revenue January. 1940, £5337 12s lid: actual net revenue January. 1941. £5943 2s 3d. For the first ten months of the year (.April to January inclusive) the position was as follows: Aetna’ net revenue Apr. Jan. 1939 40 £52.719 4s lOd: actual net revenue Apr. Jan.. 1940 41. £57.504 4s 4d. Combining retail stiles with bulk supply the position for the first ten months oi the year iApril-January inclusive* was as follows: Gam on last year, retailsales £4734 19s 6d, bulkssupply £348 13s 8d total gain £5133 13s' 2d. Gain on estimate, retail sales £BB4 4s 4d bulk supply £371 16s sd. total gain £1256 Os 9d. For the nine months ending December 31 revenue increased £4528 3s lOd: cost of power increased £2412; ration increase 53 per cent: revenue exceeded estimate by £lO5O 18.6d; cost of power less than estimate £ 188. The profit for the year, excluding any net profit on trading, should not be less than £ 4000. The capital expenditure showed a considerable in-’ crease since the last return was issued in December. The Kopuaranga extension was partly responsible for this and in addition, a big lot of material had been issued for three large reconstruction jobs in Masterton which had not yet been started. The chief engineer Mr H. B. Keenan reported that 21 service connections were erected in the Northern .Area in December and January, six in the Centra! Area and ten in the Southern Area. The reconstruction of the 11.000 volt lines to supply the Kopuaranga District was proceeding satisfactorily. The first section of the line from Rangitumau to the Cottle Estate had been completed and livened on December 20. The second section Jo the Kopuaranga Township was about completed and was livened on January 31. The third section to Messrs McKenzie had been surveyed and the plans prepared.; Permission to cross the McKenzie Es-| late was awaited, but a start was being) made on both ends of the line, omit-1 ting the portion through the McKenzie Estate meantime. Given good weather: and no further hold up the whole dis-| trict should be completed in 15 days.j The lack of skilled labour was making it extremely difficult to adhere to the board’s essential maintenance programme.

The erratic weather conditions of heat, cold, wind rain and thunderstorms. made January one of the worst months in the board's history for interruptions, raid Mr Keenan, Most of the interruptions were caused by insulator breaks on different types of ll 006 volt switching and protective equipment m widely separated parts of the board's district, A breakdown in one of the mam Public Works Department transformers at Waingawn sub-station! occurred on January 7. It was repaired expeditiously.