BIG ELECTRIC CABLE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19474, 2 November 1926, Page 11

BIG ELECTRIC CABLE.

PENROSE TO KING'S WHARF. TENDER OF £65,000 ACCEPTED, ENGLISH FIRM'S CONTRACT. PREPARING FOR ARAPUNI SUPPLY The 22,000-voJt electric cable which will convey Arapuni power from the Penrose sub-station to Auckland in 1923 has been ordered from England by the Auckland Electric-Power Board. The contract has been let by tender to Messrs. Siemens Brothers, the English electrical engineers, at a cost of £65,150, the board acting in the matter upon the recommendation of its London agents, Messrs. Preece, Cardew and Rider. The cable will be laid underground in quadruple for a distance of seven miles from the sub-station to King's Wharf power station, which will then be converted into a substation to step down the power for city reticulation. The four cables will be of the latest -25 sq. in. 3-core kind and will be laid coupled in pairs. There will also be a 12-core pilot cable for protection, making five cables in all. with a total length of 55 miles. They are so designed that any two may, if necessary, carry i.he entire load that will be needed by Auckland. The cable ordered is wire-armed and is the very latest design in cable development, possessing a special form of protective casing for the core. It will be laid 4ft. underground on a scoria bed and will bo covered by a concrete slab over the entire length. The construction of the trench to carry the five cables has already been commenced at ihe Penrose end, a small gang of men being employed in digging the trench through Government and Power Board property. When delivery is made of the first portion of the cable in sixteen weeks, it will be laid and covered up permanently, so that the work is proceeded with and finished in sections. Other contracts for the supply of material in connection with the coming of Arapuni power were let by the Power Board at its meeting yesterday. A tender submitted by the British firm of Metropolitan Vickers for the supply of transformers for the Penrose sub-station was accepted at £2974. The same firm secured the contract for the supply of the necessary switchgear. The price was £823. A contract for the supply of pole type automatic oil switches was let to Messrs. A. D. Riley and Company for material manufactured in Australia by Messrs. Ferguson and Pailin. The price was £2751. This switch, although not the lowest in price, was considered by the general manager, Mr. R. H. Hartley, as more suitable for the board's purpose. For the supply of non-automatic switches the tender of Messrs. Tolley and Son at £3BO for switches manufactured by Messrs. Johnson and Phillips in Great Britain was accepted.