BEHIND THE TIMES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19994, 11 January 1927, Page 8

BEHIND THE TIMES.

It is distinctly remarkable that, at a time when the advantages of the use of electric energy are recognised throughout the world, Great Britain should lag 30 far behind other countries in the supply of electricity as she undoubtedly and admittedly does. The explanation of her backwardness was said by the Prime Minister recently to lie in “the parochial lines upon which electricity has gown up.” The conditions for the development of electricity are, of course, much less favourable in Great Britain than they are in countries which have more abundant sources of cheaply-produced power. But that is in itself insufficient to account for the fact that the British output of electricity per head of population is only 190 units compared with Belgium’s 297 and France’s 248, while Sweden is high up in the- scale with 633, the United States with 623, Switzerland with 1070, and Canada with 1190. Great Britain, indeed, it has been pointed out, ranks low in every table of comparison, whether of production or consumption, except that of cost. There, unfortunately, she comes out easily at the top with an average price of 1.76 d per unit compared with the .40d of Switzerland and Italy, and the .33d of France. The relative dearness of electric current at Homo is due mainly to the uneconomic method of production. There are no fewer than 584 separate undertakings in the country that generate electricity. The vast majority of them are small concerns, each possessing a monopoly in its own district. No less than 60 per cent, of the electricity supplied is generated by about fifty stations. The remaining 40 per cent, is divided among more than 500 stations. The tinwisdom of the existence of a system of this kind has led to the promotion of legislation under which a Central Board is to be established to take under its control all the electricity that is produced in the country, to close down superfluous stations, and to link up the stations that are selected for survival. ‘‘The hope of cheaper electricity, conse quent upon an enormously extended use, depends,” the Daily Telegraph justly says, “upon a scheme of large, well-equipped, and up-to-date generat ing stations, inter-connected on a carefully conducted plan.” It is a scheme of this kind that is contemplated in the Bill which, having been passed by the House of Commons, was before the House of Lords a few weeks ago. It is a scheme that promises highly useful results.