The Press MONDAY, AUGUST 12, 1968. Waitaki Power Schemes

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31755, 12 August 1968, Page 12

The Press MONDAY, AUGUST 12, 1968. Waitaki Power Schemes

The agreement to sell Manapouri power to the aluminium industry has made possible—indeed, made necessary the early harnessing of the water resources of the Upper Waitaki Valley to generate electricity. A network of generating stations on the Waitaki River and its tributaries will eventually produce more than twice as much power as the Manapouri scheme; their output in a year might exceed the present annual output from every station in New Zealand. What is more important, the cost of electricity from the stations in the Waitaki basin will be lower than any alternative source of hydro power. Even with the additional cost of transmitting the Waitaki power to the North Island the price will be competitive with that of nuclear power; considerable overseas funds will be needed for both the establishment and running of a nuclear power station. Just as the sale to the aluminium industry of Manapouri power was the key to the starting of work in the Waitaki basin, so the pace of the big development programme will depend to some extent on the future power requirements of that industry. Under their, agreement with the Government the proprietors of the aluminium smelter must give timely notice of their intention to draw more power from Manapouri: and the pace of power development elsewhere will be adjusted accordingly. Unless there is an unforeseen increase in the demand for electricity in the South Island, no additional generating stations outside the Waitaki system should be needed within the next decade.

The Minister of Electricity, Mr Shand, mentioned only three power stations in his announcement that the Government has, in principle, approved the development of the Upper Waitaki scheme. These stations—Maryburn, Waitaki, and Ostler—will have a combined capacity of 424 megawatts. Two other stations in the scheme—sited between Ohau Bridge and the head of Lake Benmore —are planned to have a capacity of 424 megawatts and to use the combined outflows from Lakes Tekapo, Pukaki, and Ohau. The increased storage, provided mainly by raising the level of Lake Pukaki, will be one of the most significant aspects of the scheme. This will increase the production from all present and future stations except Maryburn and Tekapo. When the upper Waitaki basin has been fully exploited a new series of stations may be built on the river below Kurow. Although this vast reservoir of water power may seem to offer the power planners ample scope and flexibility to increase the supply of electricity, the decision to start work has been taken none too soon. It is unfortunate that the large force of capable workers at Otematata could not have been transferred directly from the Aviemore project to the new work. But it is clear that the Government intends to maintain a reasonable balance between the foreseeable demand for power from time to time and the need to conserve capital Several years may pass before the work in the Upper Waitaki basin requires a labour force of the size that was needed at Benmore and Aviemore. An immediate start on the groundwork of the scheme should ensure that successive parts of the plan will be completed to meet demand in the North Island and to replace energy diverted from Manapouri to the aluminium industry.