KAPONGA’S POWER SCHEME.

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 31 December 1925, Page 7

KAPONGA’S POWER SCHEME.

PAST YEAR’S DEVELOPMENT.

ACTIVITIES BRII4FLT REVIEWED

Thu principal feature of the year ’a progress under local body direction in the Kaponga district consists of the activities of the Town Board iu connection with its administration of the hydro-electric scheme, known as the Kaponga. electric supply. Extending over some 80 square miles of rich rural laud, the service provided is essential alike to the progress of the residents in the town itself and the contentment and success of the rural settlers.

Starting some years before the formation of a power board to distribute the benefits, of electric light and power became possible, Kaponga had to avail itself of the limitedr powers of a municipal body and had to approach the county councils for permission to reticulate their areas. This was willingly given iu the case of the Eltham County in 1918 and the Stratford County for tilie Rowan area in 1921. Having no power of rating the land supplied, the Kaponga ratepayers themselves had to shoulder the risks of making the venture a payable one, and it redounds to their, credit that they took the risk and pushed out over the area so that, at this date, their network of lines covers; the district allotted to them, with the exception .of the extremities of the roads leading up to the mountain reserve. Even these are being gradually built up as requests for supply, come in. The miles of line now open for use total 42. During the year under review the load has reached the point, when the ratepayers can be assured that the scheme is an accomplished fact, the earning power being in the vicinity of £4090 on a capital outlay of £28,000. CONSOLIDATION WORK. The work of the year has been devoted! to the consolidation of the system, the principal item, the reconstruction of a certain portion of the pipe •line with 36-inch reinforced' concrete piping, being completed, thus ensuring supply to the turbines. Fifteen hundred feet of the line has now been rebuilt at a cost, of £2OOO. Additional consolidation work proceeded with was the completion of the reticulation required to cover the whole of the licensed area. On the Aurffa road one mile of power line was erected; going south fromi the Eltham road', and one and a half miles going north to the Stratford-Opunake road, while on the latter road another one andf a half miles of line was extended to Mnkaka. A further mile on each of the. Rowan and Manaia roadg south, of the Eltham road was also completed, and a; high tension line was carried up the Manaia road to the junction of the StratfordOpunake road, where a transformer was installed as a distributing centre. Another high tension line is being extended down the Lower Dutliie road to Matapu, thus enabling service to be given in this area either from the Skeet road on the Duthie road, the result being a greatly improved efficiency. This work is still proceeding. Its completion will leave only 1 a small amount of work on the. Upper Duthie and the Upper Palmer roads to finish the whole area, and it* is anticipated that this will be accomplished during the next two months. Negotiations uVe at present being carried out with the South. Taranaki Electric Power Board for the reticulation by the Kaponga Board of the Manaia, Rowan, Mangawhero and Auroa roads between the Opunnke railway line and the original railway reserve to the north of the line, the estimated cost being approximately £I4OO. INCREASING DEMAND. The number of consumers is steadily increasing, having now- reached 371, made up as follows: House lighting 248. business premises, churches and halls 48, milking machine motors 62, factory motors 7, o fiber purpose motors 6. The sales department indicates a steady demand for motors—in excess of the most optimistic expectations—and during the latter part of the year a considerable amount of preparatory work concerning the. supply of heating power for stoves has been carried out. data in hand compiled from experiments made under the usual domestic conditions showing that household cooking can be performed by means of electric staves with greater economy than is afforded' by other means. On a dozen farms in the area the mow well-known farmers’ hot water supply cistern is working. To Mi- 11. Hooper, of Riverlca, belongs the credit of being the first to recognise the benefits of this means of cleanliness, the heater in this case being now in it;s fourth year.

Tlic dairy factories. in, this area are 31 ow all using: the power, although in some eas.es only partially so. The saving in each case is substantial, even now while firewood is still available. As, however, improvements in heating are developed the power will be used more and more to save fuel. The Kaponou factorv directorate has instilled 5 lc.w. of water heating, giving some 800 gallons of hot. water every morning to start off with. This experiment is being carefully watched bv the directors with a view to being adopted at the branches, DIFFICULTIES SURMOUNTED.

The scheme has not passed through its initial stages without troubles. These may be mainly ascribed to difficulty with the water, supply. The new dam.' erected in 1924 at a cost -of £I7OO, and the new pipe-line, have now effectually disposed l of any fear of a water shortage for the present size of plant. The storage available is over half a million cubic feet of water, and it is estimated that the river can always be depended, upon to give a partial SU Well planned, and administered, the scheme, now that the initial difficulties have been overcome, is affording highly appreciated services throughout the area and it was commented upon ■ m very favourable, terms by the inspecting engineers of the Public Wqrks Department during a recent official visi .