INTER-ISLAND POWER

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31115, 19 July 1966, Page 23

INTER-ISLAND POWER

System Working Satisfactorily “Advanced techniques used in the inter-island transmission system inevitably led to some teething troubles,” said the Minister of Electricity, Mr Shand, in presenting the annual report of the New Zealand Electricity Department to Parliament. “These are being corrected, and during the year the system operated very satisfactorily. The cable contractors successfully repaired one of the Cook Strait cables, damaged during laying and so demonstrated conclusively that should repairs be necessary they can be carried out.” The report said that construction work on the interisland project had gone ahead steadily during the year, but as the manufacture and installation of filtering equipment at Benmore, not originally considered necessary, were not completed until after March 31, the project was at half capacity during this period. Some 1,003,366,000 units were fed into the North Island network via the interconnexion; this represented 13.3 per cent of total North Island consumption. Generation for New Zealand was 10,577 million units being 859 million more than were generated in 1964-65. Total generating capacity in the North Island was 1,458,330 k. which, with the increased South Island capacity of l, k.w., brought the total generating capacity for public supply in New Zealand at March 31, 1966, to 2,516,344 k.w.