Worse Electric Power Shortages Are Predicted

Greymouth Evening Star, 4 September 1947, Page 2

Worse Electric Power Shortages Are Predicted

Four years before the Coal Creek power .station is finished the load on the South' Island power : system ’ will exceed the generating capacity ’in prospect by 25 per cent., unless some new scheme is quickly ’ developed. Next year, the generating capacity will be a little more than the system load,, but, unless weather conditions are favourable, there 'will not be enough water storage to last through the winter.. , . : . These predictions’ were made in a report presented to the ' Canterbury Progress League last evening by Mr A. Buckingham, chairman of the league’s electricity vigilance committee. He gave the following estimates of .generating capacity arid of load on the system for the next five years:— . ; . Percentage

station was not expected before 1956, and obviously some other source of supply must be made available to bridge the gap between the Tekapo and Coal Creek stations, the report said. That could be provided only by a fuel auxiliary station, fired by oil or coal,, or a smaller hydro station capable of completion much earlier than the Coal Creek station. “In New Zealand the Government has monopolised the, business of generating electric power, has prevented others from developing sources, of supply, and therefore-must bear the responsibility of furnishing the country with a completely adequate and dependable power supply,” the. report stated. It seemed probable that lack of staff would limit the speed of construction of power stations. That was partly a matter of housing and could be largely overcome by large-scale housing construction, of a good standard, at or near power sites. “The present housing schemes are only accentuating the power shortage,” the report concluded. “They encourage employment in new secondary industries—many of them of little econoiriic value—all of which need power. The’proper place for transit camps is not in the towns, but at the sites of future power stations.” The report was adopted.

Generator capacity. k.w. System, of load, capacity k.w. to load. 1947 165,000 160,000 — 1948 180,000 176,000 102.5 1949 180,000 193,600 93.5 1950 206,000 213,000 97 1951 206,000 234,000 84 1952 206,000 258,000 80 The completion of the Coal Creek