Dunedin power plants clogged

Press, 7 June 1980, Page 6

Dunedin power plants clogged

PA Dunedin A’slip which has knocked out Dunedin City's major electricity generating plant on the Waipori River could cost the. city hundreds of thousands of dollars. The No. 2A station, which generates 56MW of the city’s 74MW generating capacity, has been partly filled with silt, sand, and gravel. About 1700 cubic metres of gravel slipped against the side of the station, broke the ■ lower-floor windows, and i filled the area with debris. The station’s generators ; have not been affected, but ; control equipment will have I Ito be removed and dried. It is too early to assess the ’ extent of the damage but it i will be several .weeks before i the station is generating ] again, according to Cr T. K. < S. Sidey, chairman of the i Dunedin City Council’s ’ energy committee. i

The council’s No 3 station intake is also full of debris and will have to be cleared. Dunedin will now have to buy peak-load electrictiy from the State. Already the city’s purchase has risen from 60MW to 115 MW peak load. The total cost to the city will depend on the attitude the State takes to pricing policy for the extra power. Cr Sidey said the city hopes the Electricity Division of- the Ministry of Energy will realise the situation has been bought about by “an act of God” and offer a more sympathetc price than peak load. Mr Sidey-is also concerned that if the station is not running by the end of this month the need to buy more power from the State will adversely - affect the next nine-monthly power price, which is based on peak-load use. I