WAITAKI HARNESSED

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIV, Issue 283, 27 October 1934, Page 7

WAITAKI HARNESSED

GREAT POWER WORKS.

OFFICIAL OPENING CEREMONY

Per Press Association

WAITAKI HYDRO, Oct. 27. A little over six years ago it became apparent that the Lake Coleridge hydro-electric plant would be unable to cope with the ever-increasing demands made upon it, so the Government sought for and found a bigger source of power—the Waitaki River, which, if it were fully developed could provide one million horse-power. Since then, work has proceeded night and day on the construction of New Zealand’s mightiest dam, the biggest individual engineering undertaking ever attempted by the Public Works Department of the Dominion. The genius of Mr F. T. M. Kissel (chief electrical engineer to the department) conceived and designed the scheme, and the administrative and organising ability of Mr R. H. Packwood (engineer-in-charge at Waitaki hydro), carried it through successfully. Linked up with Lake Coleridge and Lake Waipori, this plant will now provide electric power for the major part of- the South Island. Unless one has been closely connected with the work, it would be difficult to gain any conception of the incessant toil, in offices, in workshops, on land and in. water; the hardships, with mountain storms and blizzards, snow, floods and temperatures ranging from 48 degrees below freezing point in winter to about 90 degrees of heat in Bummer; the care and problems that accompanied the control of over 1000 men and their families; the constant risks, not only to material and plant worth many thousands of pounds, but also to life and limb; and a myriad important details. The genius of man has triumphed over the colossal forces of Nature in a long and stern battle, in which nine lives have been lost and about 1400 casualties, fortunately mostly minor, have been recorded. A treacherous river at any time the Waitaki has been deemed unconquex-able by many old settlers, but the battlers were favoured by fortune, for not once during the whole six years was a real ‘ ‘old man” flood encountered. The roaring flood pouring over the great spillway to-day inspired awe in the observers, but there must also have been wonder when it was realised that the flow was only moderate compared with that of a big flood. The total length of the Waitaki dam is 1800 feet, with a spillway of 1200 feet, and it far exceeds in volume the next largest in the country, Arapuni. It contains half-a-million. tons of concrete, the maximum height being 120 feet, and thickness at the base 145 feet. This huge barrage now controls the flow of a river which, m flood time, is six times as great as that of the Waikato at Arapuni. The power house is a handsome building, 350 feet long, 150 feet wide, and 130 feet high, and is an integral part of the dam. Its lofty windows, with Norman-arched tops, lend an air of dignity to the splendid lighting of the interior. There is provision for five turbo-generators, each developing 23,000 horse-power, but at present only two have been installed. A beautiful lake, 5i miles long and 1£ miles wide at its widest part, has been formed and provides an enthralling picture in its setting of mountain grandeur. The tips of poplar and willow trees, which surround submerged homesteads are peeping above the surface of the water, appearing like miniature islands. A magnificent spectacle is provided by the great fall over the spillway, the largest waterfall in the Dominion. The disruptors in the downstream face or the dam break the fall and form it into a sparkling, effervescent cascade which, in a curtain of mist, disappears into the turbulent waters below.

Inside the power house is comparative peace, the machinery providing enough power to drive a battleship ■without the slightest fuss or noise—in fact, apart from mere size, the great turbines are less impressive than the little generators that supply about 600 horse-power for domestic uses in the power house and village. The sight of this monument to the ingenuity and perseverance of man among the majestic mountain scenery is one that will live long in the memories of the hundreds of people who congregated there to-day. HIS EXCELLENCY’S ADDRESS. His Excellency the Governor-Gen-eral said that of all governmental activities in the Dominion there was probably none more important and certainly none more calculated to assist in expanding its industrial prosperity, its domestic comfort, and its social amenities than the prudent development of its hydro-electric resources and their progressive and enlightened application to the multifarious requirements of modern civilisation. There was scope for wide differences of opinion regarding the relative value and efficiency of private enterprise and that of the Government and public authorities. But in the matter of harnessing water power for a nation’s economic and domestic requirements there must be few who could reasonably doubt the wisdom of Government enterprise, if guided by expert knowledge, long vision, courage and reasonable economy. Making full allowance for some costly experience and temporary setbacks, such as that which occurred at Arapuni three years ago, there was no ground for dissatisfaction with electrical development in this Dominion. If allowances were made for the mountainous character and thin population of the areas not yet reticulated it would be found that electric supply was available to no less than 94 per cent, of the total population (a percentage probably not exceeded in any other country in the world) with an average consumption per capita of about 500 units a year—a rate which ■was steadily increasing. The total capital invested in electrical supply undertakings in New Zealand was £32,000,000, of which £28,000,000 had been expended in the last 11 years. During the same period Government expenditure had amounted to £lO,500,000. INVESTED CAPITAL. The completion of this Waitaki generating station added a further 30,000 kilowatts to the installed generating capacity in the South Island, the ultimate capacity being 75,000, which could be provided by three additional 15,000 kilowatt units as the demand for power increased in Canterbury, Otago, and Southland. It was pleasantly reassuring to know that the public electric supply system of the Dominion had, in compliance with the State Supply of Electricity Act, not merely paid all interest on capital outlay and operating charges, but provided over £1,000,000 in reserves, of which £160,000 had been applied by the Treasury in repayment of loaned capital. Apart from the Waitaki station, the capital invested in the 95 electric supply systems in New Zealand aggregated over £30,000,000, of which £10,500,000 represented Government expenditure. Last year the total units generated numbered over

857,000,000 of -which 80 per cent, were supplied from Government stations.. In spite of adverse economic conditions the consumption of electric energy was steadily advancing, the increase this year being estimated as 5 per cent, above that of 1933, new consumers during the past year having been connected at an average rate of roughly 1000 per month. Approximately 23.5 per cent, of the population of the Dominion were scheduled as consumers of electricity, and as each consumer was deemed to represent a household of four persons, it was calculated that the boon of electric supply was available to 94 per cent, of this country’s total population. It was satisfactory to note that while distributing costs were relatively high in this country when compared with some others, generating costs were exceptionally low, and as consumption increased with increased population, especially in the rural areas, the former would come progressively to yield a satisfactory return on capital expenditure.

The average cost for ordinary domestic purposes was 1.31 pence per unit as against 1.30 in Great Britain, and 1.39 in the United States of America. Although a reduction in the price of electricity supplied to consumers was greatly to be desired tor the purposes of reducing farming, industrial, and domestic costs, it was worthy of mention that the average revenue per unit received from them as a whole was only 1.28 pence per unit and from those obtaining it from the Government schemes for farm and domestic purposes, only 1.234 pence. These figures compared favourably with unit charges operating in more thickly populated areas in other parts of the world.

His Excellency said he desired most heartily to congratulate Mr F. T. M. Kissell, chief electrical engineer of the Public Works Department, Mr R. H. Packwood, the district civil engineer, and Mr L. S. Payne, electrical engineer, and all those who, during the last seven years, had been responsible for the designing and successful execution, in face of many difficulties, of this great engineering feat, of which they and their fellow countrymen, as well as the Government, had every reason to be proud. It was satisfactory to note that the plant, machinery and construction materials required for the purpose were almost without exception Empire products. It was his earnest hope and prayer, as he formally declared open this epoch-making undertaking, that it would prove an incalculable, blessing to people of all classes in this part of the Dominion and usher in a new era of prosperity, happiness and industrial progress.