OUR ELECTRIC LIGHT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 78, 19 August 1912, Page 6

OUR ELECTRIC LIGHT.

POWERHOUSE EXTENSIONS. BIG UNDERTAKING. IMPORTANT PROPOSALS. Out at Mangorei man is wrestling with Nature, and man is winning hands down. A tract of open country is being moulded to suit man's desires, and an open water-way is being harnessed into a' powerful engine of brute force. This is not being achieved without difficulty and expense. A straw may tell which way the wind blows, and when it is mentioned that 70,000 steel rivets alone will have to be driven before the New Plymouth Borough Council's electric power extension scheme is completed, some idea may be gleaned of the magnitude of the undertaking. Sixty tons of steel are being laid down in Mother Earth, while tons more go to make up the machinery that is being installed in the power-house, which has been enlarged to nearly twice its former size. The earth is also being delved into to almost the depth of an Atlantic liner to make room for the huge forebay, and hundreds upon hundreds of tons of soil have been replaced by a like quantity of concrete. Most men will, if necessary, travel long distances, and often pay fancy prices to view anything that appeals very much to the spectacular eye, and yet local citizens, with an air of taking things for granted, largely remain in ignorance of the true nature of what is to be seen and what is taking place at Mangorei. THE STEEL LEVIATHAN. The great life vein that is to illuminate our streets and houses, drive our machinery, heat our rooms, and, if necessary, boil our kettles, and what not, lies at present exposed in a huge open trench. It is an endless chain of steel piping running from no less than five feet to four feet in diameter for a distance of 713 feet. Viewed from above . the power-house it looks for all the world like the gigantic sea-serpent of fabulous mention. Imagine the concentrated force and superhuman energy of hun-' dreds of tons of water directed into a 1 single confined channel with an almost) perpendicular drop of 120 ft, and one realises at a glance the vast potential < power resources that will shortly be at j the disposal of the borough electric light department. ! I MISTAKES OF THE PAST.

i The Electric Light Committee is pro-1 ' flting by the short-sightedness of its preI decessors, and is looking ahead. By the installation of a 200-killowatt generating I machine, it will more than double the • capacity of the works, which at present | house one 90-killowatt and,two 45-killo-I watt turbines.. The present plant is in certain seasons unable to cope with the demands for electric current. What -a ipity that in laying down the original scheme Some seven years ago the Council was not blessed with a little more foresight, so as to have enabled it to make provision for future developments. But, then, the growth in the volume of busiI ness handled by the department has been litt)e v short of phenomenal. The number of consumers has leaped from about I 120 at the end of. the first twelve months to about 1000* which number is increasing at the rate of about 200 each 'year.,; This increase does not include the number of new lights installed by'persons already i connected with: the: supply. According to Cr. J. "Clarke, who is chairman of the committee, experience has shown that (after they have had. the light' in their houses for about a year consumers invariably increase the number of their I lights. .......

•LOOKING i AHEAD. Later on it is the intention qf the Council to take out the present three generators (one of 90 and two of 45-k.w.) and instal another 200-k.w. machine. The new pipe-line will carry sufficient water to run both big generators. When the second generator is installed the powerhouse will require, with the exciter, in the vicinity of 460-h.p. of water. When it is low, the Waiwakaiho river is capable of producing only 450 L h.p., but with the construction'of a ! weir the stream will yield fully''Boo-h.p', which should be sufficient for the needs of New Plymouth for generatib'hs't'trebme. Roughly speaking, the Weir Would cost about £3OO. When the 200-k.w. generator which is being installed is' in' running order the Council will have sufficient current to run an electrical tramway system, which it is anticipated will absorb 90-h.p. This additional power could be produced by retaining the services of the old 90-h.p. machine. If, however, the three present machines were pulled up and "scrapped" or sold, it would be necessary to instal the second 200-k.w. generator. This would mean the construction of the weir of afore-mention, which, however, could be avoided altogether if the Edison storage battery car proves a success and is adopted .by the Council. This fact is undoubtedly a point in favor of Edison's patent, as far as New Plymouth is concerned. i DELVING DEEP.

Reverting to the works at present under construction, it is interesting to refer to the new forebay. This is a big undertaking. The old forebay is only about 12ft by 4ft, while the one under ■construction will be practically 40ft square, but then it is being built for all time. The forebay is practically a dam, which will feed the new 6ft main for the power-house and the small main which is utilised for the town water supply. It will act as a kind of settling tank, and is being fitted up with a rotary screen which will automatically pick up all rubbish out of the water. A scour main is being laid at the bottom of the forebay in order to carry off the silt deposits. The contractors for the work of laying the pipe-line are Messrs Williams and Mears, of Christchurch. It is expected that the work, which is under the supervision of Mr. J. McLachlan, will be completed in about two weeks/ The rest of the work, including the construction of the forebay, is being carried out by day labor, some 40 men being employed for the purpose. The machinery, pipes and plant are being jointly supplied by Messrs Tnrnbull and Jones and Bovine and Co., of Wellington. A ! month or so should see the completion I of the whole of the extensions at a cost of just over £IO,OOO. The original works cost .£26,000. When everything is ship-shape, the Council will be in a position to supply electric current, lighting as well as power, to the whole of Greater New Plymouth. A. scheme will be brought down to reticulate Westown and the more thickly populated parts of the suburbs, which will be the first to receive the benefit of the electric light. FIGURES TELL. Up to tht-. present time the Council has been hampered somewhat on account of the demand for electric current exceeding the supply. Now, however, with an unlimited supply of power at his call, and the possession of one of the most up-to-date electrical works in the Dominion, its prospects are of the brightest. Each month sees increased revenue. As a matter of fact, last month's total ( £00.'!) showed an increase of £162 over the corresponding month of last year, and this ' is without taking into account the expenditure on street lighting and the lighting of public buildings. Jn four years the number of electrical units supplied h;;s increased from 2fi8,.180 to :':i!.()"(). The present lias been described as an electrical age. and it is said that the mes of electricity are yet comparatively in their infancy, Bearing

this in mind, the Borough Council in-\ '.i ;uls to make a big bid to popularise) (!;■ electric current. As an indication \ i! i .;ome of the uses to which it is alreadq") ;■ .i. in this town, it is interesting to "i r. -..!'. that, nearly all our bakers mix' 1: ir dough with the aid of electrically- ;■. ■;: :lled plant, and the cost for this < .-vice only runs into about 2s 6d per .1 . ;iih! Speaking ti> a "News" reporter : ■ -X week, Cr. Clarke said that it waa not at all improbable that, in order to encourage and cheapen the cost of installing electricity in the homes of citizens, the Borough Council would eventually j stock all electrical fittings and requisites,' and employ a permanent slaiT of workmen for the purpose. This, he explained, was the practice of many towns. It was also ill his mind to table a proposal to advance money on the deferred payment system to those householders unable to bear the cost of installation in a lump sum. Each light costs about ill to instal, and it was this initial cost that kept many people from becoming consumers. HOW TO DISPOSE OF THE PROFITS. Naturally, added Mr. Clarke, the purchase of a large stock of fittrngs and the financing of consumers would require a fairly large sum. This could be acquired, not by means of a loan, but by drawing on the depreciation fund, which would be automatically recouped. The Electric Light Committee had already let aside about £3OOO odd out of profits to the credit of the depreciation fund, and this coming year it anticipated having an additional £2200 at its disposal. Had it not been for the inroads of previous Councils this fund would to-day.; stand at a much higher figure. The trouble had been that the profits of the ele?trie light department had been,. di- % verted into the general coffers. ' I'n oriTy' two years was in this way taken out of electric light revenue and spent on the streets. As Cr. Clarke remark-j ed: "This depreciation fund, not being controlled by sinking fund commissioners, is entirely at the mercy of the present, and future councils, but it is sincerely hoped that no council will upset the present wise arrangement, and revert to \ tne former system of robbing Peter to pay Paul." Cr. Ckrke added that when the electric light extensions—those con-. templated as well as those in handwere absolutely completed, there would ' probably be no objection to using the i surplus profits to relieve the rates, or as' [ an alternative the price to consumers could be materially reduced.