CITY POWER SCHEMES

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 205, 25 May 1920, Page 8

CITY POWER SCHEMES

MANGAHAO, HUTT OR STEAM ?

ESTIMATES CHALLENGED

Sir,—Your leading artiole in WednesDominion dealing with the subject of cheap power conies at a very, opportune moment, and may b& the means, of preventing the waste of large sums of public money by our own City Council and other public bodies. I am particularly interested in this controversy, and should liko to sec tho liydro-eloctric schemes-pushed'forward without .the introduction of side issues bjr engineers, who by a stroke of the pen ncclaim themselves, as more competent to set out the electric power policy of tho Dominion than qualifisd and recognised experts. .Tho whole matter is summed up in your statement: "Presumably Mr. Evan Parry's report still stands. In Mr. Parry you havo an expert whose experience gives him a premier position in tho world; he came to New Zealand for tlie specific purpose of advising the Government as to the best possiblo sources of' supply, he -had 'all possible data at his disposal, and had tne assistance of the best engineering brains in the Dominion in the matter of' surveys, calculations, and investigation. These are mattefs of absolute fact, and it would most certainly seem a case of insanity to neglect' to recognise Mr. Parry's report in framing this city's own policy. All the present talk regarding the Hutt is a waste of time. Mr. Parry in his 1912 report stated-"that the Hutt Eiver had been investigated as a possible source of supply and estimates prepared." The fact of his putting same out of his final calculations should bo sufficient to impress those councillors who may ibe attracted by the re-baiting of the same hook, and it would be wise for the cautious ones to-refrain from committing themselves to- any scheme unless it can be definitely proved to turn out a successful engineering work. We don't want any collapsing damn. In Mr. Parry's 1918 report he definitely commits his' professional reputation in stating: "Of the three sources (Mangahao, Waikaremoana, and Arapuni), Mangahao is the best situated in regard, to load. The sources mentioned will provide l-sth of a horsei-power per head of the present population, which is ample for ordinary requirements, but not sufficient for such extraordinary developments as have taken place in Tasmania. The sources have, howevej, greater potentialities 'than is proposed under the present scheme, and can bo developed to satisfy extraordinary demands for power ovor and above those now provided for." This statement is surely clear . and definite, and worthy of consideration. The immediate question is what is to be done., about meeting Wellington City demands during the period intervening before the supply is available from Mangahao? One suggests a new station on a new site,,Ußing oil fuel; he is indeed a bold man who can commit the city- to such a scheme. The procuring: of maintenance of supply of oil fuel is next to an impossibility, and only believable if a definite contract bo signed by an oil company; guaranteeing same under a "penalty . and consequential clause." Goodness knows, we have enough trouble procuring coal, a product of our own Dominion, while regarding oil the position is indeed precarious, .dapendent upon so many issues outside this Dominion's jurisdiction.' Mr. Morton several times in his report stresses the point of the existence of oil stand-by plnnt in- America. He, of course, must realise that oil is a product of America. He may, however, have inside knowledgei regarding the future of our own oil , wells eventually producing oil as per prospectus and engineer's estimates, which may .foe the factor influencing such advocacy.

To establish a new-' station at all appears to be the'project of a mind most ccrtainlv not trained as an electrical engineer, because we are not dealing with anything other than a transitory period, and to even consider the expenditure of what must be at least .£500,000 of tho ratepayers' money to meet a temporary exigency is most iniquitous. The present, Harris Street site'.'-has a capacity at tho present time of over 6000 horse-power, and ample space for 15,000 horse-power, so that it must be obvious that the station is amply sufficient to provide the necessary power until Mangahao is ready, and looking at the proposal to secure, a new site and provide a new coal or oilburning plant, quite dispassionately, it can only appear as though some ulterior influence is at work and some axe .to grind.

If the electric light and power eujjply of this citv were controlled by a limited company who had fo provide an income for themselves and a dividend for shareholders, the proposal for , a new powerstation at this juncture with the certain financial catastrophe it entails would not even find a mention on the agenda paper, and it passes my comprehension how tho ratepayens will stand quiescent when the expenditure of hundreds of thousands of pounds sterling is proposed, as though it were a few pence. It would appear the people do not view the municipal monopolies as business enterprises. Messrs. Hay and Vickermann give figures of ,£45 per horse-power for installine the Hutt 1 schome, but, Sir, as one who is in a definito position to know present works costs,. I Sefinitiiy state that it cannot be done.. Lake Coleridge cost .£59 per horse-power on; tenders accepted in 1912 (Public Works Statement, 1912).' and works costs aloner have advanced 195 per cent, since that day, and like everything else, plant prices are still going up, so that it is absolutely necessary that those who are elected to watch the interests of tho ratepayers shall not be bull-dozed into fostering the erection of a useless work.

Colonel Mitchell, with tho Progress League, are to be complimented upon their efforts to make the powers • fchat be "get a move on." but if they could only concentrate oni tiie main point of the hydro scheme they would • indeed be doing a work of incalculable value. Surely "they have some faith in Mr. Parry's report; and in supporting the reputation behind that report they would be on rock bottom foundation, and no shingle bottom.

The financial aspect in interesting. It would cost .£OO per horse-power to instal' a steam plant, which at 9000 capAcity 'gives a cost of ,£5(0,000. The time taken would be approximately three yeai-s, and about two years before Mantcahao would be ready to supply. When Manpiahao is'ready, the new steam station would only require to run if tho city demand was too great. Now, the Public Works Electrical Department have statistics (published) showing the power used bv all the municipalities, etc., and Wcllinston can have as much . as 12,000 horse-power. Now, the abnormal: estimated demand for our city is' 9000 horse-pswer. Thus Mangahao has a 33 1-3 per cent.. margin in hand, and then we find ourselves with an idle steam plant costing ub in capital charges at least ,£50,000 per- annum, and noto (his plant is only intended for a' standby for the peak load. It would take an hour's time to get it wholly ready to meet any emergency, and Mr. Birks reports that no interruption of any consequence had occurred in the Coleridge supply except'that duo to snowstorms. Thus you will see that examined logically the proposals aro gradually wrong. —I am, etc., ELECTRON.