DISTRIBUTION OF POWER

Hokitika Guardian, 3 December 1930, Page 5

DISTRIBUTION OF POWER

AVOIDANCE OF WASTE AND OVERLAPPING.

AUCKLAND, December 1. “Our system is unique; it is control without ownership,” said Sir Harry Ha ward, the consulting financial member of the Central Electricity Board, which was setup by the Imperial Parliament in 1926 to control generally in the United Kingdom, the generation and distribution of electricity from selected stations. Sir Harry, who is on a holiday visit, was comptroller of the London County Council for twenty-six years, and m 1019 was transferred to tlie Government .service as an Electricity Commissioner. He retired last March, but was retained as a financial consultant. . NECESSITY FOR EFFICIENCY. Sir Harry explained what had been accomplished since the Electricity Commission was set up ten years ago. Under the initial legislation, the Coinmiss.on was entrusted with the task of generation, but there was no power of compulsion. Two-thirds of the plants were owned by municipalities and the remainder by large corporations, and the board could only accomplish a link-ing-up process, which was urgently < rer quired, by means of agreements. “Each 1 manufacturer of electricity,” he said ••was a law unto itself, but it became patent after some time that,something more was necessary in the interests of efficiency—lower costs ancl the avoidance of waste and overlapping.”

bir Harry that much had i; Bfcen' done. The board was responsible; iVovr T, for the construction of high-power lines throughout the united Kingdom. The board was in reality a central board of direction. It was erecting high-power lines carrying 132,000 volts in a grid system. Millions of pounds were being spent on this work, which would not be.completed for five years. The board had standardised frequency to 50 cycles per second. This had been one of tlie difficulties, as there were varying staudards from 25 upwards. STEAM PLANT UNIVERSAL. “There are numbers of strange and weird voltages,” said Sir Harry, referring to the domestic supply, hut the board so far bud no conrtol in that direction. Steam plants were' in univert;sal use. The board purchased the' whole of the energy and the owners of'• •' the plants re-purchased it and retailed what they required, the balance -being 4 used for places where there were no'-' stations.. It was all done on a cost price basis, the board not making pro fits. If there was a surplus after the scheme was completed, it would be returned to the manufacturers with a view to reducing charges to the consumer. Tlie system was responsible for tremendous economies. It was found when the Commission was appointed that of tlie total generating plant in the country, 70 per cent, was ...not, in -- use. It was standing by for emergen- • cies; but with the linking up and econo- ' nries introduced, it would be found „ .. finally that only 15 per cent of the spare plant would be .necessary. .. That in itself was a great saving.

Sir Harry, who is accompanied by two of his daughters, .will spend eiglrt weeks in New Zealand. His South Island itinerary includes a visit to the Franz Josef Glacier.