The Press MONDAY, JANUARY 28, 1963. Manapouri-Te Anau Power Development

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30041, 28 January 1963, Page 8

The Press MONDAY, JANUARY 28, 1963. Manapouri-Te Anau Power Development

Proposal* for the Government to take over from Comaico Industries of Mel* bourne power generation from the Manapouri-Te Anau lakes system will need to be examined very carefully before decisions

are made. Water power from these lakes was to be used in the ultimate reduction of aluminium foom alumina manufactured in Australia from bauxite mined in Queensland. After spending a considerable sum on preliminary work, Comaico found that for various reasons (some economic and some political) the huge amount of finance necessary for the project could not be raised at this time. Comaico has, therefore, delayed its development plans indefinitely. The fulfilment of Comalco’s agreement with the Government (as set out in the Manapouri-Te Anau Development Act, 1960) does not immediately come up for consideration, because the company has plenty of time to reconsider its plans and complete a power plant having a designed installed capacity of at least 100 megawatts by the deadline, which is June 30, 1971. The question does arise, however, of leaving the generating power of the Mana-pouri-Te Anau lakes unused until such time as Comaico may use it Government thinking appears to be that the power project at the lakes should be developed by the State. The purpose would be twofold: to keep the Comaico project moving and keep the aluminium concern’s interest in smelting in New Zealand alive and to provide power that would be fed into the national grid. If the Government proceeded with the development for its own purposes, the agreement between the Government and Comaico, which was given statutory form in 1960, would have

to be amended. Immediate effects would be surrender by Comaico of water rights and the passing to tte Government of plans and preliminary development work. In return for this, it is suggested, the Government would guarantee Comaico a block of power. The cost of the scheme to the Government would be offset, it is proposed, by deferring construction of the Aviemore station on the Waitaki river. An attraction of the Manapouri-Te Anau scheme is that the assessed cost of power is the lowest available in New Zealand. But the question against which the whole project stands to be judged is what is to be done with a (possibly) huge surplus of power from the Manapouri-Te Anau lakes system if Comaico were unable, even at a later stage, to go on with its smelting scheme. There are suggestions that Comaico might be required to make some form of financial guarantee of its intention ultimately to proceed. If this were done it would afford the Government some protection against constructing a power station of a much greater capacity than could be used. But when all the circumstances are taken into account it is difficult to see Comaico agreeing to a financial guarantee of sufficient size to be of much value to the Government. The Government’s concern with future power planning is commendable. At the same time it would clearly be undesirable that the Government should spend a large sum on a surplus of power. Among the things that should be made clear when the Government’s proposals are fully revealed is how Lake Manapouri electricity is related to other energy sources that should be comprehended in intelligent, economic power planning.