THE FUTURE OF WAIPORI.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20704, 30 April 1929, Page 9

THE FUTURE OF WAIPORI.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir, —It is, pr liaps, unfortunate that the proposed sale of Waipori. should be made more or less an issue at the municipal elections nqw ponding, more eapeci' ally as full details of the proposal to date and the probable far r reaching effects of any decision for or against such sals '-ave not been thoroughly travel;- •’ on the public platform. The immediate requirement ot ,Ota/o u more power. The lack of it is stifling industry, and the outlook for immediate re lief is not hopeful This need was voiced by the writer as far back as July, 1926, and the Otago_ Expansion League took the matter up with representatives of the

various supply authorities in the province Nothing further was done, and we are now in Jic deplorable position of not having enough power for the needs of Dunedin, to say nothing of the country consumers’ requirements. The development of Waipori has steadily proceeded, ■ but the demand for power has in the past three years exceeded the expectations of those respon sible, and it is now practically impossible for Waipori to give relief without sub stantial assistance from an outside source It has been stated that Waipori could, unaided, give relief as quickly as any out side source. This may be so, but for hov long? It is not a matter of the installs tion of electrical generating machinery alone; water is required to operate such machines, and therein the trouble occurs. The average flow of the river, togethei with the storage available, determines the amount of power available "or distribution. If the capacity of the Tver is over taxed by the installation of extra machi nery before the completion of the proposed new dam, we shall probably find ourselves in the unenviable position of having a large and costly hydro-electric station and dam and not enough water to enable that station to be operated at its full capacity The constant drain on the present dam will be such that the filling of the new dam will ’ e deferred perhaps for yea.s, and during this time full advantage f the _ generating equipment will not be available. In the meantime the shortage of power will of necessity be very ar parent. It is all very well for Mr Marlow to state that the development of the river below the power station should have been proceeded with prior to the development of storage areas, but bow many rate payers would have agreed to the expenditure of a large sum of money for such a purpose 14 years ago or even two years ago? Fourteen "oars ago the n™n o sal was impracticable in view of the 1; ek of storage areas and the relative cos! of pow ■■ derived from such a development. Two years ago the Government oul have hesit ited to gi e consent to a de velopment of that nature without verv careful investigation as to its soundness Even at the present time it is doubtfiwhether such a project would be sanctioned in view of the Government’s scheme for the interconnection of power stations In this relation it should be noted that no sanction has yet been given to the city’-* request for the right to this development In the meantime where is the power to be obtained save from the Government? It is pleasing ‘.o note that Mr Marlow will only oppose the sale of Waipori until such time ns he is convinced that the sale will be in the interests of the city, and no other assurance is necessary from a gentleman who has hitherto given freely of his time and energy in that city’s in terests. Waipori is, doubtless, an asset as it stands to-day. Has it a goodwill value? The only goodwill value worth considering is being retained by the city in its retention of its revenue from the sale Of power. The city is being refunded the amount expended on the development of the Waipori head works and station, and is saving any additional expenditure on its future development. In addition, it is partly insured against the faiure of Waipori by «he provision of an outside source of supply. Under such conditions the value of any goodwill should not be placed in the scale. The Government offers to assist the city by a definite offer to supply 2500 kw within 12 months, and also to proceed immediately with the erection of a line connecting the Lake Coleridge system with Waipori, so that surplus energy from that source will be available to Dunedin at the earliest possible date. Naturally the Government requires a fair payment for this work and an assurance that Dunedin will become a permanent consumer for a definite amount of energy. The city or any other supply authority will not erect a costly transmission line unless permanent loading is assured, and no exception can be taken to this condition. The city needs the Government, and the acquisition of Waipori by the latter provides the best means of solving the many problems attendant on the present shortage of power and the possibility of similar trouble in the future. It is hardly a matter for decision by the average man in the street, as the issues involved are to a large extent highly technical and in many cases only apparent to experts fully acquainted with all the details and the bearing of each on the whole. It is too big a deal, and is of too great an importance to the future of thiSjoity to be lightly considered from the points of view of sentiment and selfishnecdss, and the writer earnestly hopes that the decision will be left in the hands of those capable of fully understanding tn 6 urgency of immediate action when all the details are placed before them by their expert officers.—-I am, etc.. _ ■ . , A. P. Aldridge. Dunedin, April 29.