THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES SATURDAY, JULY 26, 1919. THE HYDRO-ELECTRIC SCHEME.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17687, 26 July 1919, Page 8

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES SATURDAY, JULY 26, 1919. THE HYDRO-ELECTRIC SCHEME.

The representative character of the conference which on Thursday last discussed the suggested scheme for harnessing up the water-power of Otago for the purpose of generating electric power conveys a gratifying impression of the interest that has been excited by the project. Despite the difficulties that lie in the way—chief amongst which is the large financial outlay that will be entailed—there is a growing conviction that a hydro-electric scheme of the kind that - has been proposed in essential to the progress and prosperity of the provincial district. The absence of so much as a whisper , of opposition to the project' was a feature of the conference that was as remarkable as it was satisfactory. It is true that a certain, apprehoiisiveness was expressed by some of the speakers lest the City Corporation, as the owner of the hydro-electric works at Waipori, should be antagonistic to the development of a larger and more comprehensive scheme. There does not seem to be any valid ground for the existence of concern on this point. Whatever, the future of the Waipori undertaking may be—whether the present power station is ultimately, as was suggested, to be " scrapped " or whether it wfll remain as complementary to a Hawea-Wanaka scheme—the larger undertaking must be judged on its own merits. In view of the admitted limitations of the Waipori system, dependent as it is to a large extent upon the storage of water, the time ■will come, we suggest, when the public demand for electric energy will exceed the capacity of the municipal installation and in that case the larger scheme must be utilised to supply the deficiency. In any event, there should not be any antagonism between the two undertakings. Where, however, the discussion at the conference appeared to miss the mark was in the failure of most of the speakers to come right down to practical details. Before an enterprise so great and so ambitious as that in contemplation can be placed upon that sound commercial basis which alone can ensure its ■ success, a careful attempt must be made to measure the expense that will be involved and to estimate the support that will be provided. It is to be admitted that it may be difficult to arrive at " even a rough calculation of the support which will bo given to the scheme, especially as the average settlor has so far been imperfectly informed regarding the benefits that may be expected to accrue from the utilisation of electric power for irrigation and for the prosecution of the agricultural industry. The committee which has been sot up for the furtherance of* the scheme has a double duty to perform,—first to estimate carefully the probable outlay and to set down the minimum amount of support which is needed to make the venture financially safe and commercially sound, and then to enter upon a campaign of education expressly designed to drive home to every pettier and manufacturer in Otago the inestimable benefits of the use of hydro-electric energy. The success of the Waipori enterprise and the illustration which is being furnisked just now of the danger- that are with

a reliance upon coal supplies both constitute arguments in favour of the exploitation of our water-power resources.