POWER FOR COROMANDEL

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21347, 23 November 1932, Page 15

POWER FOR COROMANDEL

ANOTHER SCHEME DROPPED

THE PROBLEM OF FINANCE

[by telegraph—own cor respondent]

THAMES, Tuesday It was reported at yesterday's meeting of the Coromandel County Council that the deputy-chairman and other officials of the Thames Valley ElectricPower Board had visited the township and conferred with the local riding members concerning the possibility of extending the power line to Coromandel and Mercuiy Bay. The engineer to the board had stated that it was hopeless to consider extending the line to Mercury Bay. To bring power lines from the Thames County boundary at Waikawau to Coromandel and the installation of plant would cost in interest alone £2500 a vear.

The cost of the construction of the line would be about £4OO a mile and the Power Board would have to be guaranteed 12| per cent on its outlay, with the cost of current added. The council considered that the whole scheme was impracticable, being far beyond the means of the ratepayers. Some time ago the Coromandel Council obtained a report on the possibility of harnessing a stream in the county to generate electricity. The report stated that the Waiwawa was practically the only one with any volume of water and it would hardly be sufficient- to generate enough current to supply both Coromandel and Mercury Bay. The cost of installing machinery was also considered too high for the council to finance. Residents of Coromandel are desirous of having electricity installed in the local hospital and there is a proposal to harness one of the near by streams for this purpose.