More gas for north; perhaps none at all for south

Press, 22 February 1977, Page 3

More gas for north; perhaps none at all for south

■ The Minister of Energy Re- ' 'sources (Mr Holland) has given good news to North Island gas consumers, but has 'sounded a note of doom for ' users in the south. More Maui gas will probably be offered to North Island domestic consumers, to [supplement Kapuni gas, but. . there are no plans to send this I south. Indeed, said Mr Holland, opening the annual conference of the Gas Association in Auckland, the outlook for the gas industry in the South Island was not encouraging. Only if natural gas. or fuel based on natural gas, was available there would the in-, dustry be able to continue. “If there is, then we can probably prop up the industry! Tor a few years with sub-, Isidies,” he said. "If not, we may as well admit that the industry’s days are numbered/ and make provision accordingly." Christchurch gas would go the way of other South Island undertakings. However, much of the blame for this state of affairs has been put on the Christchurch Gas Company: by the local secretary of the Gasworkers Union (Mr G. G. Walker). The Gas Company was throttling the gas industry in the city by its short-sighted policy of not renewing plant, said Mr Walker. The Government also had a hand in the strangulation of the industry by constantly increasing the price of gas to ithe consumer. I The company should be

■ i"working flat out” to modern-' rise and replace the plant, he! i said. If the gas industry in ; Christchurch closed it would • be a tragedy because an alternative heating agent would be lost to the city. By-products , of the gas making process; /would be lost too—coke< clean-burning fuel, and tar .used in the beer and carpet ’•industries. "There is far too much pro- ■ paganda about the smoky 'old gasworks,” said Mr ' Walker. "It is fair to sav it is 'old. but depreciation is ■ allowed for in _lf

•la higher depreciation rate is I tjneeded in this particular in- I i dustry, it should be legislated I for.” ■ The company must stop its f !; “insidious” propaganda of I ;! constant statements that the ; | works would be closed. The , union admitted that the gas- < ■ works needed updating, but t tiwith the tens of millions of/ j dollars invested in gas-lines ; • and equipment in Christ- < ■ church maintained by workers t ■ in the city, the gas industry ;! should not b closed. j ; "The Government must be 1 f told that this industry is not i (

to be taken from our city but updated." he said. "The Press” submitted Mr Walker’s comments to the gas company for comment but no reply was received. Natural gas might suppb 30 per cent of Auckland’? domestic energy market by mid-1980. according to Mr Albert Veart, general manager of the Auckland Gas Company, Ltd, reported by the Press Association. Mr Holland said that the gas industry would now get 20 per cent of the Maui field instead of the 10 per cent originally intended. Previously the Government had intended that only 10 per cent of the gas be used for this purpose. Mr Holland said he envisaged an initial 13 per cent when Maui started in 1978-79. and up to 20 per cent in the mid 1930 s being diverted to the private , sector. This, he said, would still leave a substantial quantity of gas for electricity genera tion. Gas supplies only 3 per cent of Auckland's requirements at the moment, because the industry is restricted by the quantity of gas available from Kapuni. However, a 20 per cent share of Maui amounts to 10 times the gas that the industry gets from Kapuni. Mr Veart said the Auckland Gas Company would now be able to aim at getting gas into 50 ner cent of all new home. There would be problems installing enough gas pipelines and gas appliances.