THE New Zealand Herlad AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1920. A CASE FOR CONFERENCE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVII, Issue 17650, 10 December 1920, Page 6

THE New Zealand Herlad AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1920. A CASE FOR CONFERENCE.

Tee sound suggestion was made by the Minister for Public Works yesterday that the local authorities in and around Auckland should confer on the question of hydro-electric supply. The conference will be all the more valuable if it succeeds, in placing electric power issues in their coi rect perspective. Chief . emphasis was laid in yesterday's discussion upon the distribution of power. The cardinal fact for Auckland to realise is that power must be generated before it can be distributed, and that from the Auckland point of view the prospect for the generation of power in sufficient volume and in reasonable time grows steadily worse. For this the unfortunate doubt as to the practicability of the Arapuni scheme is mainly responsible. The Public Works Department cannot be blamed for delaying this scheme until convinced of its soundness a department which was culpably negligent would sanction so vast an engineering work until all reasonable doubt - was removedbut the fact remains that the delay at Arapuni is giving other districts a lead in hydro-electric enterprise which will be of great industrial value to them. The Minister can do no greater service to the Auckland district than to expedite without embarrassing the engineering inquiry which is to determine finally the prosecution or abandonment of the Arapuni work. Till a decision is reached on this point local conference can be of little value. Auckland needs, and needs very .badly, a unified electric power policy, based not only upon the industrial requirements of the city, but upon suburban and rural demands. It may be that petty jealousies have militated against the formulation of such a policy, but it is nevertheless true that the data necessary to its elaboration is not yet available. When Greater Auckland, including the whole isthmus- of the Minister's ideal, knows what power the State will deliver to its borders and when the State power will be available, it will be possible to prescribe the plant or plants necessary to tide over the interregnum and serve as a stand-by against failure of the main supply.

There has been an unfortunate tendency in Auckland to multiply electricity proposals. Several of these are now being canvassed by local authorities, either as instalments of the State scheme or as local enterprises to serve a temporary purpose. Insofar as these suggestions obscure the first principle of power production they are potentially mischievous. Concentration is the secret of cheap power. _ Numerous small schemes mean inefficiency and dear power. For this reason public opinion in the Auckland provincial district should range itself behind the Arapuni scheme, or if that prove impracticable, then the next best, which in Mr. Parry's opinion is Aratiatia. For the same reason the local authorities in Greater Auckland should endeavour to co-ordinate their plans for temporary supplies and stand-by plants, otherwise the district will be cumbered with a

variety of small schemes which in a few years may have to be scrapped. The advantages of large-scale production are so marked that it would be infinitely better to accelerate the Arapuni or alternative scheme than to press the Government unduly for a temporary supply, if the provision of that temporary supply gave it an excuse for delaying the larger work. So many districts are now clamouring for power that any division in or weakening of Auckland public opinion will inevitably react against the province- Already there has been a marked depreciation in the comparative prospects of the city and surrounding districts, due partly to the pressure of other claims. Mr. Parry bracketed the Mangahao and Arapuni schemes to proceed simultaneously. Arapuni now appears to be a bad third. The Public Works Statement forecasts power from Mangahao within three years and from Waikaremoana within four. No time limit has been placed upos the Arapuni scheme, but as soon as the engineering judgment is pronounced the Minister should be asked to redeem the unavoidable delay that has taken place and give the Auckland scheme the preference Mr. Parry recommended it should have.

The Minister has laid down the same principles of co-ordination and economy for the distribution of power as for its generation. This leads him to prefer comparatively large power board districts, with the cities associated with contiguous rural areas for reticulation purposes. In the case of Auckland he recommends one board for the whole isthrfius. There is much to be said for the principles enunciated by the Minister. The multiplication of power boards will undoubtedly lead to overlapping and waste, and an increase in overhead charges and probably to a lessening of administrative efficiency. When it is realised that more money will be spent in reticulation than in generation, the importance of strong administration on the part of the power boards becomes apparent. They are destined to become a vital part of local government machinery and it is essential that each should be strong and self-contained. In the practical application of these principles difficulties will no doubt arise. Some are presented by the Minister's plan of a single board for Greater Auckland. They are a matter for deliberate conference and friendly negotiation, and will doubtless be fully discussed by the proposed conference. It is to be hoped, however, that the conference will remember that power cannot be distributed until it is generated, and place production first on the order paper.