ELECTRIC POWER

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26540, 15 August 1947, Page 6

ELECTRIC POWER

Need for Use of Natural Resources . .... , ~y<, • ■ K • -1 ,*> r -- HIGH COST OF FUEL PLANT Parliamentary Reporter. ■■<->■■■ WELLINGTON, Aug. 14. The difficulty of obtaining the necessary, plant for additional power generating stations is referred to by the Minister in Charge of the State Hydro-electric Department, Mr Semple, in his annual report on the activities of the department which was presented in the House of Representatives to-day. The immediate post-war position, he said, was very disturbing and; it became nearly impossible to forecast the time required for any particular work. , ,C !. The Minister said the whole subject of electrical supply must now be reviewed in the light of present conditions, but he was certain that the electrical needs of New Zealand could best be met by a concentration of effort upon major hydro-electric schemes. Any other method of dealing with the problem could result only in delays to the main projects and consequent further deterioration in the power position. -

The Minister said that the operating cost of any fuel-driven plant in New Zealand was very much greater than that of main hydro generating plant, so that there could be no question of' using a fuel-driven plant other than for stand-by purposes. The difficulties' and delays* in obtaining plant at the present time were so great that, as a first consideration, it was necessary to concentrate on obtaining additional main plant. To do anything else could only result in delay in completing the main system. The only justification for departing from that general policy would be if fueldriven generating plant were readily available much more quickly and at a substantially lower capital cost. It would be better, Mr Semple said, so long as good water power sites were available to push ahead with waterpower plants in different parts of the country, even in excess of immediate requirements, to act as a stand-by and later to form part of the main system and be a stand-by against transmission failures. A certain amount of steam-generating plant might be available adjacent to the main load centres as replacements for the existing plant which was reaching a stage of obsolescence, or in case it was not possible to meet reasonable power demands by the early construction of hydro-electric systems. “ Our present power needs are so great that there can be no doubt that any generating plant added to the system must be capable of continuous operation over long ‘ periods,” Mr Semple said. “The size of the plant needed, combined with the necessity for long periods of running, precludes consideration of diesel electric plant except for installation in connection with some particular factory. The present high cost of fuel-driven plant, which is greater than the cost of hydro-electric plant, and the long delay in securing delivery make the present time most inopportune for purchasing this type of plant. Coal is already in short supply so that it is not' possible to obtain further large quantities Of coal for the generation of electric power. The available coal

could be much more effectively used than by converting the energy in the coal to electric power. “ Oil fuel has to be imported and is very high in price, and the use of oil fuel to the extent required would be a very expensive procedure. Indeed, only by the continuance of the present hydro-electric policy can the necessity for increasing the charges for bulk supply be avoided, but this involves some control over the rate of growth of the load, combined with the speeding up of work on the hydro-electric schemes to the utmost possible extent. By these means, the power position can be stabilised and eventually overcome without loading the country with excessive capital expenditure which must be carried on thereafter.” The Minister said the.price of power from a hydro-electric station was fixed by the capital cost, but' a fuel statioh involved about the same capital cost plus an excessive cost for fuel, whether oil or coal. “ There is one possibility which must not be overlooked, and that is the use of natural steam for power generation,” he said. “It is proposed to investigate this matter without delay and to put down trial bores in -suitable locations. Natural steam would provide power comparable to water power in that it would be supplied by Nature. In present world condfSfons it is-very -desirable .that the electric supply of this country should be independent of imported fuel, and to this end we should develop the natural resources with which the country has been generously endowed.” Mr Semple said the stage had been reached where the load demand had overtaken the dry seasop Capacity of the hydro-electric, stations because the recent war had delayed the construction of various stations. It was far beyond the ability of fuel stations to overtake the shortage and the information available indicated that a steam station could not be. built in less than four and a-half years, even if the manufacturers were to adhere closely to their estimated delivery times.