GOING AHEAD.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 155, 4 July 1938, Page 9

GOING AHEAD.

COST £500,000.

POWER EXTENSIONS. COMING EXPENDITURE. REPORT TO AUCKLAND BOARD Ivxpclldit lit e ill the v|. .:. v ~f t'.oo. wit hill the next fe .v \ i.i i lii |. ..\ nlifor the reipiireiiHiil » of tln \,nl- i iinl Klectt ic I'i.u er lio.-n .1 vv ;c t i i m n report prescntcil to a itiecl i ft !.,• hoard t his afternoon h.\ I lie genei .i I manager. Mr. It. 11. li.n I h-v . In contrast with Ihe attnud. mi the early \earn of the Loanl'- 1,.-l.u v . v> .n t here Wei c rel'ei dice- to -11 n,, I ion point. Mr. Itai t ley said ih.n i, I, ~ point was too fa i n «.u hi • ohm* i i.hi » itll the Imai lis oi M.ini- .il 101 lI" lie seriously eoti-iilci eil ;H the pi i .ir lime, He referred to the propose.l evterwioii as another stuge m the de\elopmenl ol the undertaking It »«> not po..i'nlc m desirahle at prc.-enl for him to l'M e the hoard all the details in conned ion vv il h the proposed expenditure, hut he vvi-hed to inincv in a hroail vv a v what the p... sihle leipiii ement s unv likelv to lie within the next three or f vents." Major Items of Cost. A schedule was siiluuitied which -howed the contemplated e\ pi ml it ore LMolip-d ill two sections. I'hc majov section, imohinir a total of I ''tV> Itiid. provided for an out In v ..f £** ' 000 on 22.000 volt extensions. £22 000 ~,, .uj|,|, gear for the same \nltnge. £10.000 follow tension services and general exten siotis. £20.000 f,, r general rvh.ii«ii.n« and strengthening of tl xislin;.' retieiila lion. £10.000 for meters, including house service meters. £*000 for lire tight in-; equipment, at suh -tat ions, {'soon for pilot and supei v isotv cuhles for control in suh station*. flH.fiOO for main trans former hanks, and £.'<.'.fiOO for lm ihi in;'-, circulating water flumes, lift gate* mid other equipment.

In tin- Fecund section, with a Infill estimated expenditure of £'111.000. the largest item was £1011.null f,,r changeoxer work in the city fmm direct to alternating current, fIHOOO f,, r tepliircment of switch gear at the Kp-mn traction sub station, and £7."><i(l to nplac.i existing switch "/cur. The total est i mated expenditure in the t.wo section* was f4t.ti.iinn. Enormous Growth of Service. For immediate capital i eijuirement 4 Mr. IWlle\ urged (he I I|o pioece ( { to obtain authority to raise I lie un exercised loan authority of £'_!'.I<I.(MNI under the general extensions and iin provemenfs loan (lO'iK). |V was of opinion that the ai nt eouhl lie raised ill Auckland, and the .ielicntures sold over the counter. He hiiii| that, the provision would meet the i |„ of the next 18 months or two veals.

Referring to the extensions of the high voltage system, Mr. Kurtlcv said the reticulation and control affected was the backbone of the board's supply system, and in some cases if called lor immediate attention. He mentioned particularly supply from the IVn rose substation to t lie sub station at The Drive. Kpsotn. The men supplied from this source had grown emu inouslv.

While the two cables were sulficicnt. (o cope wi(h i,, day's loading. II li.l plo\ide it reasonable iiihi-in fur I lit urn expansion, if one ~(' th<' culdcs were lust, iluc tn a fauly (lir. position would lx> very nwkward. mill (lie hoard would have (.1 resort (u nil sorts of temporary feeds to curry on hiit isfiietorilv. There, was concern about tlie position, o\\ injr to tlio difficulty in procuring the neccsMiry rallies in rcasona |,|„ time, nnd also the laying mill joint in)/ of tliem. which was work that could not be curried out hurriedly. Immediate Finance. Mr. Bart ley cxphkim-d this afternonn tliHt tlie hoard still hail power to raioc £2!><).o<W», this Immiik portion of the original loan of £il."ifl,(MK» authorised in I»2H at a rate of 5 per cent. Much lower rates wore ruling to day.

After seventeen years, in which the. Auckland system had recorded a (growth which had few paralclls in the world, the eonsiimption of power today was H."iO unit* per head of populat ion. This ranked as fourth or fifth in the world. The only eomparable growth with that. of the Auckland hoard's district, within the British Empire, whs in parts of the. grid system in Kngland, where tirpin territory was tappeil, and consequent lv development cofld pr<s d at *n occasionally phenomenal pace.,