77

D.—l

for districts with unsuitable boundaries. In order to decide the Correct areas into which the Dominion should be divided for the purposes of the Act the following considerations should be taken into account: — (a.) The district must be large enough to have financial strength. For this purpose the demand should be at least 1,000 h.p., yielding a revenue to the Board of about £15,000 per annum and involving a population of about five thousand persons. This is a minimum size in cases in which geographical and other considerations do not permit of a larger district. In the general case, where possible, the population should be over twenty thousand, requiring over 4,000 horse-power and yielding a revenue of over £50,000 per annum ; and in special cases, including large cities, the size may be even two or three times greater than this with advantage. (b.) The district should include both town and country areas, but should have a distinct community of commercial and industrial interests. The country districts should be included with the town through which their produce is sold and their necessities purchased, and the whole of the back country trading through any one centre should be included with that centre. The boundaries must be designed to foster and encourage this natural community of trading interests. (c.) The district must be designed to give convenient road access for the distribution-lines, to ensure both economical construction and for effective patrol and maintenance. From this point of view the boundaries will consist, whenever possible, of mountainranges or large impassable rivers. (d.) The district must be designed to utilize as far as possible the points of distribution selected as most convenient for the purposes of the main Government transmissionsystem, and as far as possible the whole output of each of the main Government substations should be taken over by a single Power Board. This will not always be possible owing to the geographical configuration of the district, but should generally be complied with. («.) For rating and statistical purposes it will be advisable, as far as possible, to utilize existing county boundaries whenever they conform approximately to the above considerations. In the light of these considerations and of the experience gained so far, a number of the districts are now combining, and the attached table gives the districts proposed as a result, the population having been revised in accordance with the 1921 census : — List or Suggested Electric-power Districts. This allocation of suggested power districts represents what is considered to be the minimum areas for the most economical distribution, but in some instances, where community of interest is proved, the merging of adjacent areas to form a larger district will be approved. The subdivision of these proposed areas should bo avoided wherever possible unless substantial reasons are advanced

North Island.

No. Name. Population. Estimated Horse-power. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 II 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Whangaroa Hobson Whangarei Rodney Waitemata Auckland-Manukau Franklin Waikato Thames Valley Waitomo Taumarunui Waimarino Taranaki Ran gitik ei - Wan ganui Manawatu Horowhenua Wellington.. Hutt Valley Wairarapa Tararua Dannevirke Waipawa Hawke's Bay Wairoa Poverty Bay Bay of Plenty East Taupo 11,905 6,814 13,796 7,437 27,144 145,870 16,959 29,745 34,816 17,430 10,167 6,093 61,535 39,888 36,642 11,989 93,030 22,594 22,159 10,090 13,082 7,752 36,810 4,368 25,057 21,544 772 2,400 1,400 2,800 1,500 5,400 30,000 3,400 6,000 7,000 3,500 2,000 1,200 12,300 8,000 7,300 2,400 19,000 4,500 4,400 2,000 2,600 1,500 7,400 800 , 5,000 4,300 100 Totals 735,488 148,200