Buller’s Case For Hydro Electricity From State Generators

Grey River Argus, 1 April 1948, Page 8

Buller’s Case For Hydro Electricity From State Generators

That the people of Buller, as compared with those of practically all other settled parts of the country, labour under a great hardship through their relative lack of electricity, is a fact which is demonstrated by the figures for hydro development throughout New Zealand.

It may be granted that there is a gap to bridge in order to bring a larger hydro supply to Buller, as also that portion of this small distance—--49 miles—may present difficulties, but the same conditions have been met in other areas, and have been overcome It is to be pointed out that at March 31, 1947, the State Hydro Department, to their credit, had erected more than 5740 route miles of line in New Zealand as under: —

North Island: Route lines erected for State hydro—3BlB miles. South Island: Route lines erected for State hydro—l93o miles. Total of route lines erected in the Dominion up to March 31, 1947 —5748 miles,

State Hydro Electric Department assets in operation are: North Island, capital assets, £14,949,071; South Island, capital assets, £9,263,068; total capital assets in operation, £24,212,139 The Buller Power Board area is not represented in this ordinary huge expenditure. This is not the full picture, for at March 31,. 1947, there were assets of the State Hydro Department not in operation as follows: North Island, capital £8,538,323; South Island, capital £1,222,863; total assets not in operation, £9,761,186. This makes a total capital expenditure up to March 31. 1947, of £33,975,325. The Buller district, is the only one in the Dominion, in which 43 boards have been constituted (with the possible exception of the King Country) wherein there is no State hydro power available, despite this huge expenditure. Buller’s isolation is demonstrated by an inability, at the present time, to supply in the Buller .sufficient electrical energy to: <a>- encourage the development of an industrial load in the Buller district: and (b) allow the residents of Buller to utilise to the full the great amenities that the rest of the Dominion enjoys freelv and at a reasonable price. To-day, a plentiful supply of electrical energy would enable industries, which at present would be unable to function, to be established in Buller, thus providing employment for more people—people who, in many cases, to-day leave the district through no wish 'of their own. The disability that residents of the Buller suffer through- the lack of hydro electricity is manifest when one compares £he number of electric ranges and hot water services installed in the Grey Power Board area, where hydro obtains, and in the Westport area, where power is short. In the Grey district, the ratio of electrical ranges installed at March 31. 1947, in comparison to the total number of the consumers, was 26.04 per cent. In the Westport borough and Buller country area the ratio per the number of consumers installed was a meagre 1.04 per cent., which is the lowest in the Dominion, Again the Grey area has 13.57, per cent, of hot water installations in comparison to the number of consumers, as against 4.3 per cent, in the Buller district. This comparison is a fair one, as both districts are similar, being coal producing areas. These figures plainly demonstrate the grave disability under which Buller residents are to-day placed through the non-advent ol hydro electricity. The inability to give supply both to industrial and domestic consumers or would-be consumers is absolutely inimical to the interests of Buller.

The only solution is that of bringing into the district, at the earliest possible moment, of State hydro electricity, the same as has been done elsewhere throughout the breadth and depth of the Dominion. With the exception of an excellent 250 k.v.a. station at Fairdown, all of the power sold in the Buller district is at present generated by the use of that commodity now so precious throughout the world —coal. For the year ending March 31, 1947, the coal utilised to l generating power in Buller—at Stockton and Denniston—was approximately 13.500 tons. Hydro electricity in Buller would release this 13,500 tons for urgent national requirements elsewhere. The coalgenerated units are more costly than hydro-generated units. As an example, the units which the Westport Coal Company sells to the district cost more than twice the amount of that at which the Hydro Electric Department would sell there at its standard charges to the Power Board. In other words, the bulk charges would be reduced by half, making cheaper the units available to Buller. The present high cost of bulk units effectively debars the establishment of industries, and places the Buller at a permanent disadvantage as compared with the rest of the Dominion.