The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, MAY 19, 1920. THE SUPPLY OF CHEAP POWER

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 200, 19 May 1920, Page 6

The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, MAY 19, 1920. THE SUPPLY OF CHEAP POWER

The relative merits of different power-generating projects capable of supplying demands in Wellington city and other parts of the provincial district have given rise .of late to a good deal of discussion and there is room for an ,expcrl pronouncement on the subject whic!: perhaps would best bo delivered bj a conference , of Government ana . other engineers. At present, particularly in regard to the supply oi power in the metropolitan area, the position is not as clearly defined as : it must be to supply the groundwork for an assured policy. An obvious danger appears that the advocates of different schemes may find themselves heedlessly at cross purposes. For instance, in two letters, one of which appears ■in our open columns to-day, Dr. A.' It. Newman, M.P., has expressed a fear that the development of the State hydro-electric scheme which is intended to supply power throughout the North Island may be delayed < and prejudiced by the promotion of smaller local schemes offering poorer results. Taking the country as a, whole, the danger of an undue multiplication of these small local schemes is no doubt real, but the proposal to harness the Hutt River, to which Dr. Newman directs particular attention, hardly seems to be a case in point. The strongest argument for harnessing the Hutt appears to be that money would be expended much more profitably on this project than upon the extension or replacement of its steam-generating plant which the city is now contemplating. If ifc i g agreed; as it seems to be, that the city must maintain a stand-by plant of some sort for a long time tr come, then the merits of the Hutt project are to be considered apart from those of the State scheme and hot as an alternative to the vigorous prosecution of the latter undertaking. Presumably, Mr. Evan Parry's report of 1918 still stands as an authoritative statement of the most economical method of supplying power throughout the North Island. Mn. Parry laid it down clearly that the harnessing of Mangahao, Waikaremoana, and an source would make power available, with the co-opera-tion of the local authorities, "for every householder in tho North Island, and for any industry requiring the supply of power, temporarily or otherwise; for main-line electrification, ligljt railways, coal jand other mines,' for winding, pumping, ventilating, and smelting, and for any other purpose." He stated also that under the scheme outlined ample power would be supplied to meet ordinary requirements, and that if nccessary power to satisfy, additional demands could be obtained from the same sources. Alike in regard to cost qf development, operating charges, and expenses of transmission, the State scheme aims at economy anfl co-or-dination, and the advantages it offors in these respects are so obvious that it undoubtedly ought to be pushed ahead with all possible vigour. In order to discredit the Hutt scheme, however, it seems necessary to show either that the oity does

not need any better stand-by plant than it already possesses, or that an extension of the steam plant offers greater advantages than the harnessing of tho HuEt. As to the first point the city'authorities have stated definitely that-the early extension or replacement of the steam plant is absolutely necessary. A s to tho second, Messrs. Hay and ViCKERMAN are of opinion that a generating station on the Hutt would serve as an efficient stand-by and cost the city some £50,000 a year less than the steam-plant which, on the facts in sight, represents the only practicable alternaThis is not of necessity conclusive, but it certainly suggests tliatthe whole position ought to be considered carefully before the city is committed, to a heavy additional expenditure on steam plant. In their report Messrs. Hay and riCKERMAN contemplate the ultimate interconnection- of the Mangahao a nd Hutt transmission lines and the incorporation of the Hutt station as a link in the chain of proposed Government stations, but tlicy declare definitely that with the Hutt harnessed there would be no need of a. stand-by plant in Wellington, and also that power could be supplied from the Hutt as quickly as.from the proposed steam station. This latter point gains importance from the likelihood that Wellington will be unable to obtain a full supply of power from Mangahao and, if it depends solely on the State hydro- 1 electric enterprise, will have to wait until the Waikaremoana station also is in working operation. Sukgestions that tne city will not obtain all the power it needs from Mangahao are largely borne out by Mr. I arry s report. .He mentions, tor instance, that while the estimated plant capacity at Mangahao is 84,000 h.p., the prospective load ■on that station is over 50,000 h.p. Under his scheme the deficiency is to be made good by long-distance transmission from Waikaremoana. bo far as Wellington is concerned this means extended delay before a full supply of Sfcato power is obtainod. It may bo noted also that if the estimates prepared by Messrs. xlay and viCKERMAN arc reasonably accurate, the cost of developing the Hutt source will compare very well With the corresponding outlay under the State scheme. Assuming for the purposes of his calculation an increase of twelve per cent, on pre-war prices (obviously much less tnan the actual increase) Mr. Parry estimated the average cost per horsepower of the whole scheme of hydroelectric development for tho North Island at £45.63. According to Messrs. Hay and Vickerman 9000 h.p. could be supplied in Wellington from the Hutt at a cost of -approximately £45 per ■ h.p. The whole question evidently will bear , further examination than it has vet received. i