POWER STATIONS

Greymouth Evening Star, 22 March 1945, Page 3

POWER STATIONS

NORTH ISLAND PROPOSALS

WELLINGTON, March 20

The 10-year plan for the development of the North Island electric power system, as approved by the Government in August, .1943, included the construction of several large power stations on the Waikato river, said the Minister of Works (Mr. Semple) to-day. Of these proposed stations the next to be built after Karapiro, which is at present under construction, would be at Maraetai. This station, which would be the largest so far planned in Now Zealand. would be about 29 miles up river from Arapuni and would have five main generating units each consisting of a 50,000 horse-power turbine ‘operating at a head of about 200 ft. and a 36,000 k.w. generator. Transmission lines of 220,000 volts would be constructed north and south to load centres at Otahuhu and Bunnythorpe, and large sub-stations would be built at these terminal points where the transmitted power would be fed into the existing 110 volt network. In addition to other equipment at these sub-stations, there would be installed large, synchronous condensers, three at Otahuhu and two at Bunnythorpe. ■ All the equipment at Maraetai, Hauraki Gulf, Otahuhu and Bunnythorpe would be considerably larger capacity and .size than any similar equipment installed in New Zealand, said Mr. Semple, and to handle the equipment during erection and maintenance an 80-ton electric overhead travelling crane would be provided at both Otahuhu and Bunnythorpe, while Maraetai would have two 100ton cranes; . „ Contracts totalling over £1,900,000 were now being placed for manufacture of the plant in Britain, Canada, the United States, and New Zealand. The total value of contracts for manufacture in the United Kingdom is approximately £542,000 (sterling), in .the United States £485,200 (sterling), and in Canada £476,800 (sterling), while the manufacture in New Zealand of 74 110 k.v. airbreak switches and those parts of the turbines that can be made in the country will cost about £52,000. The con-,

tracts include provision for the delivery of a considerable quantity of the equipment before the end of next year and for the balance to arrive during 1947. ELECTRICITY SUPPLY AUCKLAND, March 21. A statement illustrating what the Public Works Department accomplished in the way of bulk supply of electricity since 1935, was made by Mr. Semple to-day. During the last ten years, he said, the capacity of the national network of generating plants have been nearly doubled, the actual increase being from 187,G00 to 332,000 k.w. Additional units had been installed at Arapuni,'Waikaremoana and Waitaki. New plants were put in hand and completed since the war started, included the lower development scheme at Waikaremoana, and the Cobb River scheme. In addition big hydro-electric works were in course of construction. “The generating plant in New Zealand has increased by 39 per cent, since 1939,” said Mr. Semple. “The onlv country that bears any comparison" with New Zealand as far as additional electric power supply is concerned is Canada, which has increased its by 20 per cent, during the war, but the greater part of the supply is for war purposes and is not available to the civilian consumei. Proposals were-made from time to time for the establishment of steam plants for generating coal for railways and gas works. The Government had done everything humanly possible to increase the electricity supply and no Government or board could have done more.