POWER SHORTAGE

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 11, Issue 53, 14 July 1947, Page 2

POWER SHORTAGE

MR SULLIVAN’S VIEWS EXPRESSED IN HOUSE The policy of the Government had brought about shortages of all kinds and particularly shortages of the bulk supply of electricity, declared Mr W. Sullivan (National, Bay of Plenty), discussing the hydro-elec-tric supply position in the House of Representatives. During the last eight or ten years the Minister of Works knew that the position would have to be faced but he and the department failed to adopt a policy that would correct the position.

The power famine was forecast as far back as 1936, said Mr Sullivan, “and I repeat that the blame is fairly and squarely, at the door of the Government and the Minister in charge,” he added. “There had been nothing but muddlement from beginning to end. The Government has failed to instal the necessary generating plant throughout New Zealand, and who is to blame for that? Only the Government. It has a monopoly in the production of electricity. On numerous occasions it has refused licenses to local authorities to instal hydro-electric works and indeed all along the line its attitude has been one of disregard for the needs of the Dominion.”

Emphasising that the Government was warned of the position in 1938, Mr Sullivan said that all along the production of bulk electricity had lagged behind the demand. The consumers had overtaken supply over a long period of years until th,e stage had been reached where unless immediate steps were taken to corect the situation the country would suffer more in the future than it had in the past. The supply authorities warned the Government in 1938 that the shortage would occur, and in 1943 the associated engineers advocated the installation of fuel burning plant, but all those warnings were ignored by the Government.

Eight or nine years ago the State Electricity Department set out to close down minor hydro-electric schemes in the country, and the Government refused to issue licences to many local bodies to instal generating plant. The Government had argued that the installation of oil-burning plant would be too costI ly, but Mr Sullivan said he would say that if it cost a million or two that money would be recouped by the extra sales of power, at present denied because of the Government’s bungling. Such plant shpuld be in- j stalled at the earliest moment. The j Government’s housing target was an indication that more and more electricity would be required, and industrial expansion would also take more power. How could rehabilitation schemes be carried out unless electric power was available? Stressing how the dairy farmers had suffered because of power cuts, Mr Sullivan said the fact that water heading had not been -available had caused many farmers to supply second grade l cream to the factories. On the one hand the sale and use of electricity had been restricted, and on the other the Government had allowed schemes to develop inside New Zealand which made a pull on the power to such a that there had to be more and more rationing. “The public and the members of the Opposition want the Minister to put forward a tangible scheme showing how we can get out of the muddle into which he has put us,” said Mr Sullivan. “Wte want to know what he is going to do. The people are tired of the blackouts. Under the Bay of Plenty Electric Power Board we had an fk electric cut-off from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., from 7 p.m. till 8 p.m. and from 10.30 p.m. until 3.30 a.m. I am certain that the advice given to the Minister and to his department by some of the best engineers in the Dominion' on more than one occasion, namely, that the only way to overcome this problem is to instal oil-burning plants—has been ignored. It has been said that every country is suffering from an electricity shortage, but there is , no shortage of electricity in Canada, the United States, Switzerland or Sweden. We would expect a shortage in the United Kingdom, in France, in Belgium and in those countries where their plants were destroyed in the war, but there is no shortage of, electricity in South Africa. They run their electricity under a commission of responsible engineers and business men who advise the Government on the requirements of the State in the matter of bulk supplies for a long period ahead. It is the duty of the commission to see that schemes are installed and operated, and the schemes are operated without profit or less. It would be a good thing if the Minister would give consideration to setting up a similar commission in this country, as in that