ELECTRIC SUPPLY IN DOMINION
*—:— INCREASED DEMAND AND LOWER COST MR SEMPLE EXPLAINS PLANS FOR EXTENSION (press association telegram.) WELLINGTON, June 3. “The growth of the electric supply business from the first State-operated hydro-electric power station at Lake Coleridge in 1915 until the present day is an indication that electricity is now an integral part of the national economy,” said the Minister for Public Works (the Hon. R. Semple) this evening. He said that the installed generator capacity throughout New Zealand had risen from 6000 kilowatts in 1920 to 235,000 kilowatts in 1937, and the units generated had increased from close on 100,000,000 in 1920 to 1.087.000. in 1937. an elevenfold increase in -17 years. “During last year the increase in units generated by Government hydroelectric stations alone amounted to 179.000. units, or a 20 per cent, increase in the units generated in one year,” Mr Semple continued. “To cope with the ever-growing demand for electricity, the Government has found it necessary to expand and extend its generating plant throughout the country. During last year, two new units, each of 21,000 kilowatts capacity, were put into operation at Arapuni. A further 20,000 kilowatt turbine and generator for Waikaremoana have been delivered and will be installed during the coming year. Tenders have closed for two 15,000 kilowatt units for extensions to the Waitaki power-house, and authority to proceed with the development of the Lo’.ver Waikaremoana scheme, reutilising water pa.ssed out from the existing station, has been obtained. “In addition to the Government stations, the Hume Electric Power Company is proceeding with the construction of a new power station on the Cobb river in the Nelson Province, which will have an immediate output of 9000 kilowatts. , “During the last year, new transformers up to a capacity of 115,350 kilowatts have beeh placed in service and altogether 138,200 kilowatts of transformer capacity have been ordered by the Government during the year. “The increased demand for electricity is materially assisted by the general policy of supplying power at cost, since the lowering of tariffs, made possible by the increased demand, has the effect itself of further encouraging increased demands. This general policy has resulted in the price a unit averaged over the whole Dominion falling from approximately 2d a unit in 1925 to approximately Id a unit in 1938, a figure which compares more than favourably with such highly developed countries as Great Britain, the United States, and Australia.”
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Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22419, 4 June 1938, Page 8
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404ELECTRIC SUPPLY IN DOMINION Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22419, 4 June 1938, Page 8
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