Government Urged to Secure Steam Generation

Manawatu Times, Volume 69, Issue 55, 8 March 1944, Page 4

Government Urged to Secure Steam Generation

(Per Press Association.) AUCKLAND, March 7. The need to bestir the Government to take immediate action to acquire a steam generating plant to relieve the electricity shortage was emphasised at a conference which was held of repre- q sentatives of the Auckland provincial power boards, Auckland Chamber of Commerce and Auckland Manufactur- 11 ers’ Association. The conference was f informed that severe rationing of power t must be introduced in the coming winter and unless the war effort was to be dis- E turbed the effect must be felt most of s all by the householder. c Mr. S. J. Harbutt (chairman of the j Auckland Electric Power Board) said the power position had now reached * such a state that it was becoming ' alarming. Mr. A. Park said the main concern of . the power authorities was to awaken the Government and its Electrical De- 1 partment to their responsibilities to the ( public and to industry. The position in j which power boards found themselves was that they could not give a supply to r any consumer without cutting out other j consumers. Last year blocks of con- , sumers had to bo cut off from time to time. This year there was no other ( action possible but to curtail seriously the domestic supply if the full war . effort were to be maintained. ! In spite of this the Government still , turned a deaf ear to the use of steam ■ generation. As proof that plant was : available and that the Government had , ; had definite offers of it, Mr. Park told ■ the conference how it had been learned that South Africa had three 40,000 kilo- ' watt steam generating sets ordered from ’ Britain and that these had been ready • I for shipment. Negotiations were opened up by the Power Boards’ Association to discover whether one of these sets! could be delivered to New Zealand. As • a result the New Zealand Government ; was advised of the statement from the t manufacturers that the set could be de- . livered within 11 months if shipping i were available. However, the Government had shown no interest in the mat--5 ter and the opportunity had been lost. 1 At the present time, said Mr. Park, a 1 representative of the Post and Telc- ! graph Department had gone overseas to buy £5,000,000 worth of equipment some of which, he believed, had arrived. In - addition it had recently been decided to 1 send two senior engineers to buy 1 £9,000,000 worth of further equipment. “ Had the Government shown the same i interest in the power shortage the counr try would not be in its present position, i. Mr. Park said it was to be realised that - the Power Boards’ Association did not o have the function of providing equip- “ mont and generating power. Its duty “ was merely to distribute the power generated by the Government. I Mr. A. Main, manager of the Waitc--6 mata Electric Power Board, said the S Chief Electrical Engineer (Mr. P. T. M. Kissel) was definitely opposed to steam s generation on the major ground of cost. e The convenience of the public and an 0 abundance of electrical energy came second.

The conference adopted two resolutions, one of which was recommended to the Government last August by the Power Boards’ Association. It was that the meeting take all possible steps as a matter of national urgency to impress upon the Government that a delegation of two competent engineers and a Treasury nominee be sent abroad at once by the Government to procure the electrical generating equipment required to relieve the present power shortage in the best possible way in the shortest time. The other was that in view of the great public concern at the anticipated serious shortage of electricity the Minister of Works be requested to visit Auckland at an early date accompanied by his chief electricity engineer to meet representatives of the various affected interests.