HYDRO=ELECTRICITY.

Taranaki Daily News, 27 August 1921, Page 7

HYDRO=ELECTRICITY.

DEMAND GREATER THAN THE SUPPLY. NEW PLYMOUTH’S TRUST. (No. III.) Mr. Parry, late Government chief electrical engineer, in one of his reports, stated that no instance was known of where the supply of a hydro-electrical installation was sufficient to meet the de-, mand; the works invariably had to be extended to meet the demand. This experience will assuredly be Taranaki’s. All parts are already crying out loudly for the power, and it is not too much to expect that for every horse-power generated at the Waiwakaiho there will be clamant demands. It behoves New Plymouth to do its very best to meet the demands, for its own protection if for no other. So far the town has done everything possible to exploit ite hydroelectric resources, and has taken upon itself responsibilities in this connection greater than any other provincial town in the Dominion. It is certain that if one big 'board, comprising the whole of Taranaki, had had control, greater headway could not have been made; indeed, it is questionable if the works and arrangements would have been so far advanced. Thus far, therefore, New Plymouth has been true to its trust, and it remains for it to continue to discharge its responsibility to the rest of Taranaki, as well as to its own ratepayers.' For be it remembered the works, though | in possession of New Plymouth, are for the benefit of the who’e, and not of a part, of Taranaki, and that it can only retain control so long as it continues to! exploit the hydro resources to the nt- • most. If New Plymouth halts when ths , present partial scheme is finished whilst; other parts are clamoring for power, then J Taranaki as a whole might well go to ; the Government and obtain authority to j assume New Plymouth’s powers and - rights, paying, of course, full compensa- ' tion therefor, and carry out the scheme ■ in its entirety, and thus obtain the i power for which it is hungering. For ! that reason there can be no “let up” by j New Plymouth, and any opportunity of i securing further power, and making the j necessary provision at the works now j under construction therefor, should be | availed of. EVERYTHING TO GAIN. j

It is for that reason that two deputations of representative citizens has waited upon cue coilncil, and asked the members io adopt the advice of the consulting engineers and the general manager to have a survey made of the upper reaches and determine if there are, as the engineers think highly probable, further latent hydro possibilities there, and,, if so, to enlarge ths tunnel before the concreting work is resumed. There is everything to gain by having the survey made, and little or nothing to lose. It will, at any rate, set at rest rhe minds of many ratepayers, and, moreover, prove to the rest of the province that New Plymouth Is sensible of its obligations, and is in due course prepared to discharge them. Before concluding these articles, let ub quote the following passages in a report presented by the general manager to the council on May 16th last. He sums up thp situation in a logical and convincing manner:—

“The complete scheme, as at present designed, provides for three pipe lines capable of conveying sufficient water to give 9000 horse-power at the turbines. A fourth pipe-line would give another 3000 horse-power provided sufficient winter were available. The consulting engineers are optimistic that further water and further storage can be obtained, and there appears to be no reason why their anticipations should not bo realised. Personally I have no doubt that in time to come provision will be made both for further water and for further storage. Even if extra storage be not provided, the fourth pipe-line will be a great advantage when the New Plymouth scheme is linked up with rhe Government scheme, inasmuch as it would enable the 3000 horse-power to be provided for a limited period in an emergency such as a break on the Government transmission lines. It is also possible to conceive many other emergencies in which the extra power would lx* invaluable. If provision from the fourth pipe-line be not made now. it can never be made, as once No. 2 tunnel is completed it will not be possible to enlarge it, and other means will have to be taken to meet the demand. Objection will be raised that in any case the fourth pipeline will not be required for from ten or fifteen years, and that the undertaking will have to carry the burden of £-8500 improductive capital for that period. This is quite probable, although it is not possible at the present time to guage the demands which will be made upon the undertaking when current is available and the transmission lines are erected to central Taranaki. It jia quite within the bounds of possibility that when the complete scheme (Scheme No. 1) is completed the demand will exceed our maximum output, and if provision be not made for the fourth pipeline, any extensions to meet the demand will cost many thousands of pounds more than if'such provisions be made now, and, indeed, it may be found that the cost will be altogether prohibitive. . . . The future prosperity of

the town is linked up with the prosperity of the rest of Taranaki, and anything we do to increase the prosperity of the whole district will be returned four-fold in the development of New Plymouth. It is from this direction that New Plymouth will receive great reward for its enterprise rather than in obtaining abnormal profits from its hydro-elec-tric development. With this in mind I would strongly recommend that the proposal for a fourth pipe-line be further investigated and considered before a decision is given which may have an adverse effect even so far ahead as fifteen or twenty years. If the whole oi the £B5OO cannot be found by the council I would recommend it to consider whether it is not possible to undertake that part of the proposal relating to the enlargement of the tunnel. This, I understand, will cost approximately £5OOO, and will make it possible to put in the pipe-line at a future date, althoiigh at a much greater cost than the additional £3500 now estimated.” A MISCONCEPTION.

There is an impression in some quarters that, instead of an increase in 4 he diameter of No. 2 tunnel, an increase in that of No. 1 tunnel ia required. Thia is a misconception. No. 1 tunnel brings in the water from the Waiwakaiho river to the basin of the Mangamahoe, where eventually it will be stored. Tae Mangamahoe basin is much lower than the bed of the Waiwakaiho. No. 1 tunnel is ' sufficiently large, thanks to the foresight of the general manager (who iirgtxl its diameter should be increased by 25 per cent., a course which the council very properly followed).

The suggestion of the engineers is to turn neighboring water into the valley of the Mangamahoe, not particularly into the Waiwakaiho, because it is believed that the upper reaches of the Mangamahoe are lower than the other streams, as is the ease at the proposed big dam. It is also believed that suitable storage areaa can be built at a reasonable cost.

The key of the situation, so far as the complete scheme is concerned, is the lower level of the Mangamahoe. It has to be remembered, too, that only in periods of drought will the extra water be required. The mean flow of the Waiwakaiho is in itself quite sufficient to develop the full 9000 h.p. It is, therefore, only in times of drought that the extra water from the neighboring streams will be required. THE IRONS'AND INDUSTRY. There is little question that Messrs. Summerson and Sons, of Darlington, England, are sincere in their desire to establish electric smelting works in New I Plymouth. The process they have is quite successful. In point of fact, the smelting of Canadian ironsand has been an accomplished fact for some time, but there is an element lacking "in the Canadian sand which is present in Taranaki ironsand, which gives the finished article of the latter a much greater value. For one thing, steel of a very high standard can be produced by direct means, whilst the platinferous substance in the local sand gives it additional value. The whole question of the treatment of the sand turns on the cost of the electric power required. The cable printed on Monday suggests that if electricity can be obtained at l-10th of a penny per unit the system will be commercially payable. There must be some mistake about this, for Mr. Leggett, the firm’s representative, when in New Plymouth some months ago, offered the • council threetenths of a penny per unit, which was not accepted. The firm knows this, and would not re-open negotiations, as it i« desirous of doing, on this basis. The firm, like all concerns of its kind, is naturally anxious to obtain power as cheaply as possible, but the borough must see, of course, Chat the price is a payable one, though, if it can be satisfied the necessary power is available, it would be justified in making the rate as low as possible so as to attract an industry of such great possibilities. The indirect advantages to the town would be so considerable as to just.if)- a “cut” rate for the electricity.

If a trial survey is made, and shows that extra power can be’ obtained, even an additional 2000 to 3000 h.p., the council would be able, taking the capacity of the present works only at its minimum capacity, to enter into fresii negotiations with the Home firm, which, it is f.o be recollected. has offered to find whatever money is wanted to complete the scheme. Indeed, the firm, which is kept in close touch with the works at this end, is satisfied to negotiate on the assumption that, the present works will give the full 9000 h.p. and take whatever risk is entailed. Tn other words, it accepts. the estimate of the designers of the works as to their capacity. But n trial survey of the country higher up will put the issue quite beyond doubt. That is why the survey has been so earnestly advocated by an important ejection of ratepayers, and why the News has taken the trouble to write and insert these articles explanatory of the whole position.