IMPORTANCE OF WAITAKI.

Press, Volume LXIX, Issue 20910, 18 July 1933, Page 8

IMPORTANCE OF WAITAKI.

CITY'S POWER SUPPLY. EARLY COMPLETION NECESSARY. The urgent need for the completion of the Waitaki hydro-electric work construction in order to en-' sure a stable power loading for Christchurch was emphasised by Mr E; Hitchcock, general manager of the Municipal Electricity Department, in his annual report presented to the Christchurch City Council last evening. He said that any increase in the city's power supply demand might lead to a serious shortage if Waitaki were not able to generate. "Although the load on the Lake Coleridge plant has been reduced by difficult economic conditions, the lake level has caused anxiety for the greater part of the year under review," Mr Hitchcock says. "The Public Works Department found it necessary to operate the Diesel standby plant at Lyttelton for 16 hours daily from August 1 to May 16, a period of nine and a half months. The season was exceptional, but there is little doubt that to this standby plant Canterbury owes its continuity of supply. This plant was installed as a result of the power shortage in 1930, and was first put into commission from July 14 to September 18, 1931. The recent period of its operation and the daily hours run have been a measure of the seriousness of the situation. Normal growth of load under ordinary conditions would probably have severely strained the available power resources. The necessity for its use has effectively demonstrated the urgent need for putting into operation the Waitaki development. The Diesel Plant. "It will not be questioned that there is due an appreciative recognition of this Diesel plant and its availability, .under such circumstances, but the over-development of Lake Coleridge and the delay in the completion of Waitaki rendered its installation imperative. The Waitaki construction is a somewhat delicate subject, and a complex one, as any compound of political, economic, and engineering considerations must be. The extent, however, to which its supply has now become a factor in the whole civic well-being of Christchurch and other townsi and the rural areas of two provinces, makes it one to which it is difficult to refrain from reference.

"From the engineering point of view, continuous construction would be the ideal. From the ultimate economic point of view, every year's delay adds to the interest burden of its early, operating years when it does From the immediate economic point of view, the difficulty of the required heavy expenditure can be well understood. It will, however, be conceded" that from the several points of view of unemployment relief, minimising the burden of accumulating capital charges, and the community interests of Canterbury and Otajgo, it is difficult to conceive of any piece of public development that can make as strong a claim, or as valuable a contribution. Lacking, supply from Waitaki, even retarded development may tax present resources, but any return to the normal growth of load, such as was experienced up to 1930, would be attended with the grmTest risk of serious dislocation from shortage of supply."