ELECTRICT POWER

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 146, 21 June 1924, Page 11

ELECTRICT POWER

HYDRAULIC WORKS ABROAD

MR. KiSSELL'S OBERVATICHSTS.

Towards the close of the last Eession of the Wellington Philosophical Society, Mr. F. T. M. Kissell, of the hydro-elec-tric branch of the Public Works Department, addressed the technological section of the society on hydro-electric developments abserved by him,on his trip to America and Europe. On Wednesday evening Mr. Kisseir continued his description, before one of the largest gathr erings held by ' the section. Mr. A. Gibbs .presided.

In view of the fact that most of those present had not heard the previous section of his lecture, Mr. Kissell recapitulated what he had said last year. Thelecture was illustrated. with a fine collection of lantern slides.

• The first portion of. the lecture dealt with the large water-power electrical saPPly schemes operating or under construction in California. This country, he said, was of special interest to "him, because it had many points of similarity to New Zealand.

A feature of this portion of the lecture was the quotation of figures showing the distribution of the power load among various classes of consumer, and a_ particularly interesting statement was given _ indicating the way power consumption grows when it is available, as shown by the figures of the Oregon Company. The population served by this plant in 1916 numbered 69,CC0, and grew by 1921 to 81,000, an increase of 17 per cent. The peak load in the same time grew from BCCO kilowatts to 21,000 kilowatts—an increase of 151 per cent. But the actual consumption of power grew from 42 million units to 130 million units—an increase of 210 per cent. Mr. Kissell analysed these figures further. Commercial lighting, the first load likely to be developed fully, grew only 22 per cent. The industrial power load increased 85 per cent., and the residential ' lighting, cooking, and heating load 164 per cent. The most striking increase, and that which was most significant, was the agricultural, which increased in five years by 535 per ceut. The agricultural load was chiefly absorbed on fruit farms for pumping.

Mr. Kissell, in the course of a description of the Canadian power plants in Ontario, described the remarkable growth of the Ontario Power Commission, the State-organised body which controls the power supply of the State, and which from buying power for distribution has developed into the owner and constructor of practically the whole generating system. England, said Mr. Kissell, was remarkable not for the actual use of hydroelectric power, of which but little existed, but for the way manufacturers had undertaken the production of machinery for export. They were handicapped by lack of local experience of the working of such machinery, but succeeded in spite of that, and he had been impressed by the quantity of plant in progress. Among the buyers New Zealand was prominent.

Norway, said Mr. Kissell, had the largest per capita consumption of electric power in the world —.4 horse-power per head for ordinary industrial and domestic purposes, . disregarding the large amount absorbed by special chemical industries. Current was very cheap, and was sold not by the unit, as here, but by the kilowatt-year; and the rate for cooking and lighting in Christiania was about £5 10s per kilowatt-year. For power, the rate was £5.

Summing-up his impressions, Mr. Kissell said that he considered .that nonp of tlie countries he had seen had potential powers of much greater value than existed in Zealand. In the Waikato, at Waikaremoana, and in the south-western districts were power sources equal to almost anything he had seen abroad, and capable of as cheap development. Biit cheapness of development was of no:, use unless the power could be used,' and in that respect >Kew Zealand was behind; it had not thfe population to make .the development of thepower economically possible. Refer, ring' to the power board system, Mr. Kissell said he knew1 of no better system for the distribution and sale of current; it had" the special virtue of making the consumer partially responsible for the success of the distribution, and tho combination of State and power board control prevented the exploitation ■of the power for individual profit.