CITY POWER

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 65, 19 March 1925, Page 5

CITY POWER

A WELLINGTON ENIGMA x

MANGAHAO AND EVANS BAY.

(By "Plain Citizen.")

Tho editorial, published in "The Post" yesterday, regarding the dubious position of the city of Wellington in regard to the electric power supply which has been brought to its boundary by the Government, must have created not only interest but some anxiety among those who bave-jthe interests of the community at heart.

It has long been a source of astonishment to me that the people of this city have been kept so ill-informed regarding a question which is of paramount importance, not only because electricity is a great contributor to the personal comfort of the modern man, but because it is one of the most powerful factors in the prosperity of a country which can make use of it. Wellington, it seems to me, is in the extraordinary position —through a grave blunder for which the Corporation was wholly responsible—of being saddled withj a double power supply. It has been known for years that the Government was prepared to supply, and, indeed, promised to supply, half the output from Mangahao, and that that amount of power would meet the requirements of Wellington for many years to come.

I' recall that, owing to fear that the existing city plant might break down through overloading before the Govern.ment supply became available, it was decided to press on with the construction of a new plant ablo to deal with the possible crisis, and wben the time camn. to act as a "standby" to co-oper-ate with Mangahao and carry the peak load over such "block" power as the Corporation decided to take from the Government. It was also decided—in my opinion, too hastily—to build the plant at Evans Bay. It is irrevooably there, and it is useless to trouble now about that point.

Prom such scanty information as is available to the average intelligent man, it appears that the plant now in use at Evans Bay is at least enough to deal with the peak load;, 1 it would seem so from the fact that it is doing practically all the electric work of the city. But we are informed that, with thousands of kilowatts ready to be released at the Khandaljah sub-station, additional generating plant is being erected at Evans Bay. What for? The only result that I can see—assuming that Government power ja to be used—will be that the ovprhead expenses of the power plant will bo increased, and the consumers will have to pay. ' * I am reluctantly forced to the conclusion that the G'ity Council have taken far too little interest in ono of their most important concerns. The Evans Bay station might well be one of the show, places of the city. Have the councillors seen it! Do they understand what they have done to the city?

It is a long time now since, we first heard that there was a difficulty over the agreement between tha city and the Government as to the terms of the use of Mangahao power; but nobody has been good enough to let us know what the argument is about. Why is it sucE a deadly secret, when it is the people's business? If there is an idea that the city of Wellington. ' by" building a, super-power station, can force the hands of the Government on some point in the agreement, it seems to tno to b» a very silly one. The Government will either sell a big block of tho current from Mangahao to the city, or it will sell it elsewhere. It the latter, Wellington may in the future be sorry that it let it go. On the other hand, if Mnngahao supplies the city with even half "the amount which it was, intended to provide (and that half is the' mere trifle of 60C0 horse-power) the Evans Bay plant will, for all practical purposes, go out of commission. Its activity will not cease, however, in regard to the capital charges: and these, as I have already indicated, are being increased by the installation of additional machinery.

It looks as if the promised blessing of cheap electricity will share'the fate of a good many other promised blessings.