HYDRO-ELECTRIC POWER.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18224, 18 October 1922, Page 8

HYDRO-ELECTRIC POWER.

The setting up of a special board or the appointment of a commissioner to control the extensive hydroolectric undertakings of tho State is foreshadowed in the Publio Works Statement. The Minister is to be congratulated upon this decision, which is further evidence of his de«ire to build up State commercial enterprises upon the soundest and most efficient lines. Though still in its infancy, hydro-electric development has reached such dimensions that specially qualified authority is needed for its daily guidance. There is plenty of evidence that the department is being well served by a staff of enthusiasts, but it is probable that better results will follow the creation of a distinct service. A revision of the rate of expenditure upon the general scheme is announced. Under the original programme the expenditure would havo reached its zenith in 1925, when over £2,000,000 was to have been spent, and thereafter would have declined. In view of the financial position it ; is now proposed to keep the annual cost within £1,000,000 until 1926, the figure thereafter rising, but the tota,l now fixed is less by one and a-half million pounds than the previous figure of £12,902,000. This is not a matter of immediate concern. It certainly will not retard the harnessing of Arapuni, which is to Jbe completed by 1928 according to the terms of the agreement with the Auckland Power Board. A comparison of the year's returns for Lake Coleridge and Horahora reveals the significant fact that notwithstanding the advantages the Lake Coleridge system possesses in cheap initial cost and long establishment, the Horahora plant, in the second year under Government control, shows a better financial return. Lake Coleridge, with a capacity of 12,000 h.p., showed a profit of £1498, but this would have been turned into a loss of £4458 if allowance had been made for sinking fund. The accumulated deficiency now stands at £29,175, but it would be £59,000 had sinking fund been included. Horahora, with 8400 h.p., has turned the loss of £6282 of the first year into a profit of £2522, and if sinking fund were deducted the deficit would be only £59. This result in the second year's operations, when only a fraction of the demand could be met owing to limited reticulation, speaks volumes for the boards and. the progressive spirit of the Waikato.