The Dominion. MONDAY, OCTOBER 29, 1934. ELECTRICITY AND THE PEOPLE

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 29, 29 October 1934, Page 8

The Dominion. MONDAY, OCTOBER 29, 1934. ELECTRICITY AND THE PEOPLE

His Excellency the Governor-General in his .speech at .the official opening of the new Waitaki Hydro-Electric Power Station improve/the occasion by helpfully indicating how our national system of power-generating I plants could be developed in such a way tha the benefits of cheap current could be broadcast with tlsfac results to both urban and rural users. Lord Bledisloe ref< * re< J the fact, frequently commented upon, tha dis nbuting costs were relatively high in New Zealand compared w. h some ofc . O ; the other hand generating costs were exceptionally low. Ihe probl. is to lessen the gap between generating and distributing costs. One method is to reduce the number oi supply authorities, thus cutting down the overhead cost of administration. • Jh’s ■ ’rieasu e of economy has been stressed before, but it will bear repetition I . Excellency mentioned another avenue of progress in the cheaper current which ought to receive close attention Urban and rural interests hitherto have tended to come into conflict ™ “ ■ question. Lord Bledisloe not only urged co-operation, but showed how practical co-ordination could be effected by alternatingp - _of peak loads. With the extension of the use of electricity for farmihg purposes rural peak loads at daylight periods could alternate with urban peak loads at night, with the result that each section of consumer, would benefit the others. His Excellency s list of farm o P erat, to which electric power could be applied will surprise many consumers, and not a few farmers. These included, he said, electric ploughing, harvesting, the handling of crops, thrashing, electro-silage,, electro-culture, and the trea.ment of plants by intensive illumination, irrigation, pumping, a . liquid manure‘distribution, besides a great variety of purposes in connection with dairy farming, poultry-keeping and bee-keeping, his own experience the use of electric light to increase egg production during the winter months raised’the output by 20 per cent, without detriment to the vitality or constitution of the hens. -Through the same agency the improved scouring of milking machines and other ■ dairy utensils would ensure a more uniform quality of butter estimate to raise the export value by at least Id. per lb. This country possesses in its hydro-electric power stations a most valuable asset. The total capital invested in electrical supply undertakings is estimated at £32,000,000 —£28,0CX),000 in the a. eleven years, in which period the State has spent £10,500,000. Th s expenditure has created resources of supply far exceeding the needs of the present population at the present rate of current consumption. We are told that the rate is steadily rising. To some extent this increase will be more or less automatic as population increases. Wha is really wanted, however, is a wider appreciation of the diversity oi uses to which current can be applied. It should be the business of the supply authorities to study these and to educate the public by literature and demonstration, always with the cardinal principle in view that to the efficiency and convenience of the appliances placed on the market there should be added attraction of current supplies at the lowest possible rates. Unless a great impetus is given to the consumption of electricity much of the capital invested will lie inert, a drag on progress, and a definite (hindrance to the cheapening o the rates. < . '