HUTT WATER POWER SCHEME.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 975, 16 November 1910, Page 8

HUTT WATER POWER SCHEME.

TWO IMPORTANT REPORTS. BIQ DAAI NECESSARY.. SOME INTERESTING DETAILS. Importing to the Government Mr. L .Birks says that next to tho Lake Coleridge .schomo tho noxt proposal available in order of commercial importance and accessibility to a remunerative market is the Hutt River scheme for the supply of tho Wellington, Hutt, and Pctono districts. Tho business ill sight within five years is as follows :- I( wfe imiun )oad < 915 0 kilowatts, m U,2.w horse power. Average load, 3116 kilowatts, or 460 C horse power. Load factor, 34.5 per cent. . total output per annum, 27,635,00 C units. - Annual revenue available in fiv< years' time, £121,980. Mr. Birks goes on to say that compared with more ambitious scheme! which have been proposed for the sup PV ft 11,61 1 , 6 l Me of tllG North Islam such as the Huka Falls and Lake Waikaremoana the Hutt. scheme is mucl more practical and economical. Th( other local schemes that have'been suggested, viz., the Tauhcrinikau, Waione Utaki etc. are all much smaller thar tho Hutt scheme, more remote from tin market and the transmission would in yolyo a lino over tho' mountains in ad dition to the valley route of the Hutt scheme, involving muck greater, costs o maintenance and risks of interruption Ihe transmission lino would be ir duplicate, following different routes ai tar as possible, in order to insure con tinnity.of supply. The two main cir cuits. would terminate in sub-statiom ono at Pctono and the other at Thorn don.' Tho, circuit to the former, sixteen miles in length, would have i normal capacity of 5000 kilowatts,. am to the latter of 6000. kilowatts: In ad dition, a high-tension connecting lin of 0000 kilowatts capacity would b run between the two stations, so tha the service-to both sub-stations couk be carried on without interruption if i were necessary ..to cut out either trans mission lino for repairs. At the sub * ™°™ ,*? pr f sure ,Tould bo reduce; to 22001 volts, three-phase, for distrilui turn From the. Pctono : sub-statio high-tension distributers would bo ru to the various factories in tho ncWl bourhood, to transformer huts for dis tnbution for electric lighting and powc purposes, and to the present pumpin stations and tho proposed tramwaj station. From tho Thorndon sub-sta tion mams would be run to-the muir eipal tramway and electric-light statior harbour power station, pumping sta tions, ■ the various factories and mill taking power in bulk, and to tram former huts for any areas not' alread included-in tho'city supply distributin system. < The total capital- cost of the syster complete for 10,000 kilowatts, or 13 30 horse-power, would be £44?,960; th items being: Headworks, £286,000 power-house plant, £94,500; transmi; sion lino, £17,160; sub-stations, £18. 800; ■ and distribution, £27,500. Thi would make the cost £44.4 per kilowatt or £33.4 per horse-power. It works ou for the proposed development at £2'B. per kilowatt, or £21.5 per horse-power-about four times as high as for th Lako Coleridgo scheme, and three.time tho. general average for such plant But _it must bo remembered that i provides for, an ultimate extension c tho power plant, to 17,000 liorse-powoi when it would work out at only £16. per horse-power. Tho annual/operating, costs would b £14,300, and tho annual capital, charg £00,639. The actual nlant to be pre vided would, yield " revenue • totallin £118,300. Compared withthe estimate total annual cost of £50,639, this leave an ample margin .of profit, whic' would enable" the system to prove sell supporting when the output rcache about half of that estimated in fiv years' time.' Another report on the Hutt scha?i has also been submitted to ■ the" Goverr ment by Mr. It. W. Holmes, Engineei in-Chief.,to. the -Public Works Depart nient. Ho states that tho generatio of power from the Hutt River depend entirely upon tho formation of an art ficial lake or reservoir, by the construe tion of a high dam in the valley of th Hutt River, below the confluence of th Pakuratahi .Ttivcr. Without this dai neither sufficient fall nor water can b obtained, as the low summer flow, tc getker with tho available fall, woul only be -sufficient to generate a few hur dred horse-power. Fortunately, ono c the finest sites in the Dominion' for th construction of a dam exists exact] where required; and, although the dai would be 170 ft. in height, the lengt of tho bottom would only bo somo 60fi or 70ft.,. and tho width of the top no more than 400 ft. Some records liavo been obtained froi time to time of the flow of tho wateo and from theso. has been deduced tha tho quantity which will be availab] during three consecutive dry season is sufficient to generate a contimiou load of 5000 horse-powor delivered'i Wellington, which, with tho yariatio in-tho quantity required throughout th twenty-four hours, will allow a maximui demand of from -10,000 to 15,000 liorsi power, or perhaps 20,000 horse-powt for short periods. A very close cstimat of the works to bo made gives a tot; cost of this scheme of £422,000. Tho following is an estimate of th annual charges in connection with ger eration:—lnterest at 4 per cent £16,880; sinking-fund, 1 per cent £4220; maintenance, £4000; deprecio tion, £6280; running costs, £662G total, £38,000. In order not to complicate tho repoi .by tho introduction of obscurri tec! nical terms, the estimate has been pro pared on tho assumption that the max mum demand will bo 12,500 horse-power then,' if a quantity of current amounl ling-to 5000 horse-power for tho Whol of tho twenty-four holies of each da of 365 .per annum is sold, tho cost pe horse-power hour will be 0.208 d., o 0.280 d, per unit; if only 4000 horse power i« sold, the-cost will be 0.260 d per horse-power hour, or.' 0.349 d. pe unit; if only 3000 horse-power can b sold, the cost Will be 0.347 d. per horse power hour, or. 0.465 d. per .unit. REPRESENTATIONS FROM HASTINGS. A petition bearing' 1211 signature was presented to the; House of Reprc sentatives .by Mr. Dillon covering th resolution passed by a public nieetinj at Hastings on October 17, urging thi necessity for electrical power in Hast ings.to meet the requirements for cit •water supply and drainage. Petitioner ask that tho .Government make pro vision for this, in tho Bill now befon the House, and that an engineer bi sent up immediately to examine tin sourco of supply. Tho proposal ii question, it is urged, will not intcrfon with or infringe the policy of the Gov eminent in its power scheme. Poti tioners say that if the Government', proposals should at any time material iso thoy would bo prepared to soil o' hand' over their works to the Govern nient. In any event, they suggest tha' a report should bo prepared of wha power can bo obtained from tho .Tuki tuki, and that if tho power is surßcien: for tho Hawko's Bay district, the Government should carry out tho scheme