$1100m to develop power till 1982

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32998, 18 August 1972, Page 1

$1100m to develop power till 1982

(New Zealand Press Association)

BLENHEIM, August 17.

An estimated capital expenditure of slloom over the next 10 years would be needed to develop the electricity generation required by New Zealand in that time, the general manager of the New Zealand Electricity Department (Mr E. B. Mackenzie) said in Blenheim today.

Mr Mackenzie, who will be retiring later this year, presented what were described as “startling” figures on the future power requirements of the country and the mammoth task facing the department and supply authorities. Using past growth as a rough guide for the electricity that must be produced between now and 1982, Mr Mackenzie said that generation had to be doubled. “And by 1990 this could be over 3.7 times what is in service today,” he said.

The increase in generating capacity over the next 20 years would be greater than about 15 or 16 stations of the energy output of Benmore. In the five years from 1985, nine stations of Benmore’s capacity would be required. Mr Mackenzie was elaborating on figures in the annual report of the department presented to Parliament

last week. The figure of slloom was about equal to the total assets of the department developed in more than 40 years. Mr Mackenzie said he

favoured the development of New Zealand’s unused hydroelectric resources to the maximum extent possible. The larger New Zealand rivers not yet fully developed or included in the construction programme for electricity generation were the Waitaki, Clutha, Buller and Wanganui—but the latter two were not very attractive, he said.