OFFER REJECTED.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 228, 26 September 1929, Page 16

OFFER REJECTED.

WAIPORI POWER STATION. CITY WILL RETAIN IT. DEPARTMENT'S CHARGES TOO HIGH. (By Telegraph.—Own Correspondent.) DUNEDIN, Wednesday. The Dunedin City Council will not sell its hydro-electric works at Waipori to the Government. Instead, it will proceed at once with its own programme for the development of the station. The Government offered to pay the council £531,845, plus the capital expenditure by the council this year on the headwo'rks. .It stipulated that the council should buy power from the Department in bulk, at £4 16/ a kilowatt, delivered, this price to be.payable in respect to only the first 32,000 kilowatts of maximum demand.' The Electricity Committee of the council reported that the price nailied •was higher than it was costing the council to generate power at present, and higher, too, than the council might reasonably expect. to generate it on, future should the maximum demand on the -station .increase -at anything approaching the , engineer's estimates. In view of this fact the committeerecommended that- the negotiations be abandoned,- with a view to proceeding: forthwith with the development of the station on lines necessary to ensure the maxirimm economic capacity of the river,, namely, 32,000 kilowatts. The council unanimously adopted the report.