HYDRO-ELECTRIC WORKS.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 16212, 24 August 1923, Page 2

HYDRO-ELECTRIC WORKS.

PROGRESS IN DEVELOPMENT.

(Official Message.)

N WELLINGTON, tliis tfay. Substantial progress is being made with the development of the hydroelectric power of the Dominion, said the Minister of Public, AVorks in his Public- AWorks Statement, 'flic total outlay on all schemes during the year has been £450,247, and the total out lay at the end of the year was 100. Two schemes. Lake Coleridge -ml Homhom, are in full oj oration, and are being extended. The construction power plant for AA'aikfiremoann. .’.us Leon installed, jind is Velng used ponding construction of the main plant to supply the local demand, and- two of the largpr schemes are' under ■construction, viz., Atangahao and # A puiii. » ' 1 ii\KK COLERIDGE ELECTRIC I’QAVER, .Sf-i vi LLY. ,!, ,

.Satisfactory; / tabled from ’Lake Coleridge during the year. The. financial result i$ as follows: Capital'Outlay, ,£843,033;. revenue for year, £69,153; -working expenses, £.19,271; interest, £35,275/Llcpree i nti on/£9307/t otal rfnnual costs, £03,853; profit for year, £5300. This • piiabh s the acctunulated •deficiency -on the-profit .arid, loss account tp.bo reduced from £29,176 to £23,876. but it •inuft still; be noted that no provision •has' yet - been -'•made ■for-; the- sinking fund, the accumulated ,'dqficianpy on ■which: is now-about-£37,76s;"which, in accordance with the State "Supply of •Electricity- Act, must ' be .paid -before -tho< installation can bo considered as paying its way. The-total'deficiency is therefore £61,641. The - installation at tlio Lake Cbleridge powcr hpr.se has been brought up-to full capacity of the' present .tunnel,, .viz.*,,. 12,Q.0Q. kilowatts. or IO'.OOO horse-power, fey the reu*ent addition-of-two new generating units, each of 300,0 ~and. ,the author extensions for which -provision has been made will entail a second tunnel and intake works. The Harper river diversion- has been completed, and is operating satisfactorily. , In >„ order to give the additional storage Requited for the future r,extensions, the outlet Wir has been raised,, apd the * water has already# overflowed,; -.the higher level. The proposed extension beyond .the present, capacity: will consist of.: two units, each of- 73<)Q k.w. (10,000 h.p.), with the provision for the future - addition: of a third- similar unit. Towards this increased capacity ‘ the ■ necessary transformersat the power house and the transmission lines lOjAddington have. now .bgen competed, leavijig the tunnel power house extension .and Addington, sub-station extension to enable, the increased. supply to .be- >giyen!- Plans.,-and (speeifiea t'ions for tiipso arfs ready, and..will ><* issued as soon as the Christchurch city is- jvreparod-to -enter into a contract to take the additional output ' necessary to justify the_works. The lino tpu, .Ashburton i.an«ls,3Jipiam has been • completed, *and - arrangements have been made to supply power to the Power Hoards in both those places at the same .rates as to all other retidilating authorities, .except Christchurch city. It is recognised that as the load develops with' the extended plant it s will he possible in a few years to re- ! -, duce the ‘ standard charges. , intimates indicate that it will be necessary to maintain them until 1928, but an offer lias been mode to the Christchurch ! city of a ton* yearaf contract, to commence at once- at 10 per cent, below I the standard rates. -Tho load on the : power house has increased rapidly, dur- . ing the year owing,to the. removal of i restrictions, - -’The . estimated cost of the extensions to the Lake Ooloridge plant to increase, its tcapafeity byi!s,ooo k.w., is £371,000. The Christchurch ; .City Council have obtained a valuable report «?n the possibility of developing ■ the Waimafcariri -.'river; at Otarama , Gorge, which is -estimated to . cost over £900,000 -for.,a plant .of tho samo i capacity. It is claimed 1 that this* in- l would ; Kaye. :.a,.gTO%fcer ; capacity for future extensions than the! Lake-'Coleridge;. plant,.• buLy.os 15,000 Jew, will be sufficient for many years • *tc come this,:.canudt;.bo considered an i advantage ,which would justify an additional - expeUditure’.Of oyey, £500,000. As a rcsult .of tbisUifferenceyip capital, outlay the. necessary , additional • power- canr:be,.givett, froin. J '.Lake Colo- ; i ridge earlier. and ; .at a- cheaper ; i than from. tho irVVattnakariri.: m: More# -j over,-if the Waimakiu^ri''scheme-‘were , developed tho present,.'-.power -from • Lake Coleridge' would h%ve to' be‘sold ; miinly in North and"•-South • Ca nte jrdiury. This will involve a .large putlay in transmissijon linoa,# Which will fce necessary in any cpse; but fhe cost. , ' would have to be ,borne by, a: smaller , output,# and the load would- take three or four years to develop. Moreover, this smaller load would have to darry the burden of capital charges for a Ivj rge outlay which, has been incurred, especially for the-; : supply ! to Christ- , church, and u-hiCiK is ‘ practically useless for the supply pf the remainder of the demand. As'a resuft it would involve a substantially higher, cost of power ,to consumers outside of the city. Atrthe-Offer nowr.mado to the city for it tettvyetrsf contract the actual cost of power from "Lake Coleridge .will be cheaper than the post of Waimakariri power as eajtiniated by the 1 city ,for;'nine yea-re out; of - >( tho ten, and after the tenth year, of -course, * j the question of the further reduction ' of -rates? which can hbi.nia.do on^thercuowal\.of, the wntrnet will - come', up ' for consideration.,-" HOEAHOEAvHLECTRIC power ■ v /. SUPPiY. Servlet lan* ..beau maintained .satisfactorily" during the'jfeat,'and. the’ reticulation -has, .beeuLrapidly extended fcy tho Power TSotrian the farming districts. The number of electric milking machines .connected to the, / mains of the four Power Bairds in, the district has increased diring the▼car to 880..-.;.SPhe financial results of the year.', separations' are as follows: Capital- outlay,. £305»d22;-Tevenue, £41,818; work ing; expenses*: M 721 } interest, £19,208;' depreciation, ,£(3620; fflthl an- ' nual costs, £35,549; profit, £6209. Th if has enabled the. accumulateddeilci-? t W y of £5882 to.be paid off, Slid £3B6' iei available towards (the acbyjaulated sinking fund deficiency, of £8459. The , load at Horahora reached 6900 lew during the year, which is 10 per cent, overload on the present installed capaeity of 6300 k.w. - An arrangement was entereddnto durMg, the ym with! the AtickJ&ncf Electric Power Board U> rive t hem 2000 hip. frorariHarahora in advance o f ?t he - .Ypow!f*ftup.f>ly from Arapuni/ which cannot be given until 1928,* and the,, - eoostrMetion of the roccflfl&ry tmnstnission for tins purpose is in hand, . riith the necessary extension cLt ew; i ‘ eistingi of'two units, each, of £OOO k.w, The’arrangement with the Grand June# i t i, oa Company to utilise their steam plant at Waihi as a standby yjoved very useful on several occasions during the enabled the supply ait Waihi 'to.'bo maintalnod duriing the annual -shut r.down- for the c-vorhanl of . tlie , trensnltejh)n line. WAIKAREMOANA* ELEGf 810 V , POWER • BHPBIiY. . ;■ The, m-pn.'plant for \Vai,knremoana is designed for 40,0<W’1».p., capable of extciuiioii to *- (50,000 tno ono site and up to 130,000 :in three power stations, but the most urgent necessity , was about 500 k.w. to supply the VVai# roa borough and freezing jvorks. This l was# proyidod,'byf,i.nblihllw& t0I ?‘ iporary (exeitere . for inhip., 11 q plo nt > ♦.-aeh consisting of a 500 h,p# perten wheel, ewapl(!d ous motor, Msed J? the meanwhile, a 350 k.w. direct cur* -1- - \ ; - us.- '' ", . * ' : - \ ' ■ . --• ... . i ''

rent generator. This plant was put into service in December, 1922, and is giving sniisfateion, thus rendering the industries of AV/iiron. independent, of the- fuel supply. MANGAHAO ELECTRIC POAVER • i PLANT. Tho construction of f this work is making substantial progress on No. 1 tunnel. A length of <Bl chains excavation lias been eo-m])leted, and concrete lining carried for a quarter of the length. No. 2 tunnel is one mile 28 chains .in length, nr/d I lie exeavatioii is complete here also, while approximately' 27 chains of lining has been done.. The excavation and lining of the by-pass tunnel is The Mangahao, and Arapeti dams are under construct.ioji, and good progress has been made in spite of eonsidei'abl!; difficulty and damage owing to nuniierons -floods. \ The power house construction is now well in hand, and, although it has been delayed by a shortage of carpenters, it is hoped to have tlie building sufficiently advanced to enable the'erection of the machinciy, to be commenced about Novem,bcr. The surveys of the transmission ■lilies to A\ 7 ellington, Ma.rton, Dannevi.rkc, and Maste-rten are completed, end the .survey parties are now working from Dnnncvirko towards Napier. ■ and erection in making substantial progress. In view of the carlj r completion of this plant it has been necessary to negotiate the supply contracts with.the AA'ellington city and the seven Power Boards which have been formed to undertake the distribution of tlio -power. This scheme is being installed to its’ full capacity of 2400 k.v.n. at once, and it is necessary to obtain the greatest possible output from tho stare in order to ensure financial success. The greatest demand, probably 12,000 k.v.a., will come froifi AVellington city, and the -balance of the power is beingreserved for tluj Power Boards, but in order to ensure its utilisation -and its distribution over the widest possible area guarantees arc being asked from eaclr board dependentupon the reservation of power capacity required for tho-. district - concerned. It is recognised that it ivill take some years to build up a load in each district to the amount, required to be reserved, and the full guarantee, is therefore not required until tho fifth year, proportionately smaller amounts being required to be* guaranteed for the earlier years. Undpr these conditions only two of tho, boards have accepted their fall allocation, three have'accepted guarantees based on reduced allocations, and two othert are not yet prepared to accept any allocation. Out of.the/24,000 k.v.a. power house capacity there are still 5250 k.v.a. avail-able-for allocation. This power will, of course, be*given to the first district within reach of the mains that is in a position, to give a guarantee to take the power actually available, and with the object in view arrangements are being made to extend the mains to, Napier and Waqgnmn in order to] reach a wider market. Negotiations! fof the sale of power to the city are proceeding, and it is anticipated they will reach finality shortly.

ARAPUNI'ELECTRIC POWER ■ SCHEME. In accordance with the contract entered info-riith the Auckland Electric iPowcr-Board, specifications have beep •drawn" up and issued for the construction of the dam and head works pit the Arapuni rapids, AYfaikato river, and tf.ndcnj, close early next year. Several inquiries have been received from -large construction firms fp Groat Brittain and America. Meanwhile tdulevs ■for the power house building and plant ■will be -advertised shortly. The do partment' has .already-let contracts for it-he construction of the access ro-ud between the, Tailway and tho dam site, and, has organised a haulage plant for The object of ffhis-is to avoid delay iq opening up •the %york,.when the .dam construction .iasundertaken. In, order tliat Arapunishail be remunerative from the start, lit Ls necessary to ehsijre a combined (load-of at least 30,000 k-.w. on this station and Horahora. Towards tliis the Auckland Power Board will have an .installed capacity at the end of this :year of 30,000 k.w., and has recently •decided to instal a further 5000 k.w. •in order to cope with the domand ij; anticipates before 1928. A proposal-is also in hand for the formation of the iFranklin Electric Power Board, 'which ■will further increase the demand. This bvith the 10,000 k:w. of load which it (is. anticipated Horah'oya will be carrying in 1928 will give the full amount •of business which is- required to ren•der tho Arapuni scheme remunerative from' tlie.start.

HYDRO-ELECTRIC POAVER GENERALLY.

The futuro', development at' hydro electric-power in the dominion is in cheated in-the tnbLe "reproduced here wnith. Tho following- -works are pro vicled for:— » ;

- Completion of -Mangahao to 20,000 k.w. in 1924, with transmission lines to supply Wellington, ■ Masterton, Dnn.nevirke, and Mar ton, and with early extensions to Napier and AVanga-

i.ui. - ;■ , « - u (b) Construction of Arapuni headworks, together; with the .first ? three generating uniti, ainonnting to 45,000 k.w. in 1928, with additional units of 15,000 k.w r . each „as rcquire|, also duplicate transmission lilies to Auckland.

(c) The ex'tensiqn of the existing power house at Horahora, whinli js now in hand, and will be completed early in 1924, bringing up its capacity from 630.0 k.w, to .. 10,300 k.w., .with transmission glides to Auckland, Te Kuiti, and Rotorua, in addition to the existing lines ,to AVaihi, Hamilton, UjkJ To ASyamutii. (d). The extension of Lake Cole- • l-idgo by, the addition of two units, each of 7500 lt.W# capacity in 192 Plans, ana- specifications for the work are ready,- and .the work 'will be proceeded* With as soon as a definite contract can entorad into with tho Ohrifltehiireh City Council to take tlie power. The programme for devclop-.-ifieht of Lake Coleridge includes extensions of transmission lino r ’to AVaimsite, ..Oanmru, and North Canterbury, in-addition to the lines to Ashburton .and Tjmaru, which are practically ccmpjpte.. , ; (d) In addition to the above preparations are being made for the insinuation of ,a major scheme at AVai-kare'-nojuia, This wi!l probably take the form of two wit?* of .16,000 k.w. each. In the attached programme this is. scheduled for/ completion in 1,928, but will not be undertaiceji uptil the power denunul in sight assumes propoytions in keeping with a station of tbw'.eiize,

Preliminary iavtisTigations have been made of sidtablo soiirces. for power for Otago, Marlborough, Nelson, and ,Westland. Tn. addition to the Government developments the Dunedin city are eytpnding their "AYaipori falls station, now of .6000 k.w. capacity, by tho addition of a 3OQO k.w. generator, with provision ultimately for three TP,ore suoh units, and arrangements tmvn bpep made whereby they will .give lu supply pver the Government transmission Jins,

Tho Southland Power Hom’d is pushing' on the Monowai scheme of two Unite, each of 2000 k.w.,, with provision fqir future extension by means of four jporn SUfh whits. Tho New Plymouth borough hjte plans in hand' for a-power station 0f*4500 \s,Wr PP Ihe Waiwakaiho riVer, and the Taranaki Poiver Board one of 1500 k.w. at Tajik!, AVairarapa Power Board, Tauranga Woukjlb Tauniamnm borough have wnalltY wp.tff installations in hand and approaching pomple’ticnf The steam reserve plants uf Auckland, AVellington, ami IjaypTcatgill are tyring extended and xeeppefflicted, arid the steam 'reserve,

winch will be available in the course of a few? years, will be as follows: — Wellington city, 10,000 k.w.; Auckland Power Board, 25,000 k.w.; Waihi Grand •Timetiicn Company, 3000 k.w.; AVmiganui borough, 1750 k.w.; Christchurcli tramways, 2500 k.w.; and Invercargill borough, 2200 k.w. These, with the existing power plants already in operation, will amount in .1930 to 151.500 k.w. of water power and 45,750 k.w. of steam plant, compared with the present total of 29,000 k.w. of water power and 31,000 k.w. of steam and

other power already in service. Titi, development will amply meet, tlie demands and give a margin for attract ing special industries depending on : supply of cheap power. The questioi of n. largo surplus power to att-rac sj-.echl export industries by offerin; cheap electric power I 'is an importan one, and is receiving the fullest con

isderat ion. r J'he Dominion is at present too dependent for its export trade «'ii agricultural produce, the prices of which are liable to serious fluctuations,

and as the .igr!cultural industries of the world are restored to their pre-war output, the prices of agricultural produce ivill inevitably fall. It is therefore important that every effort be made to develop an ex’port trade in manufactured goods or chemical or metallurgical products, and ■in this direction cheap power can assist very largely. The provision of such power is mot in the above programme by the possibility of large extensions to several of the power stations, particuInrlv Arapuni and AAd.ikaternoiiJia. CONTINUED DEMAND.

The continued demand fob hydroelectric power indicates the necessity for tlio department putting in hand surveys ami investigations of available schemes considerably in advance of the -actual requirement's, so ns to ensure that the developments matte ■will be in the best interests of the Dominion as a whole, rather than that of isolated districts. Consequently p'orrions of this work have been car-' riotl out, and as soon as the survey parties have completed the surveys*re-! quired for actual construct ion, it, ih proposed to carry on with this work,] particularly in tho direction of tinsupply tc North Otago, North Canter bury, AVesthuid, Buller, Nelson, and Marlborough, and in the detail location 1 anil survey of one or two of the most economical sources, with a view toj their being made available for the. de - velopment of large electlo-chcmica-; or electro-metallurgical industries. In| view of the magnitude of the works] now under construction and projected; for the development of the hydro-elec-tric resources of the Dominion, it has been decided that officers of tho department should, be required to -.kcep in touch with the -modern developments in other countries by periodical visits to the countries in -which dcvel'opnfents are proceeding most actively along similar lines tt> those of the Do minion. In pursuance of this policy, Mr. F. T. M. KLssell has during the year visited the main hydro-electric developments of California, Canada, Norway, Sweden, France, Switzerland, and Italy/and' the factories of Eng lend and America. As a, result of this visit it. is anticipated that tin latest improvement and economies will bo incorporated in.the designs, now being drawn up. The management of the various electrical power.plants of tlie department, including the. sale, of power therefrom, together with the supervision and control of the operations of' the various electric power board districts and other electric supply organisations, ■ is of consider-able*-proportions, and in a few years will have grown to a. voiy considerable magnitude. AA'ith this in view it will bo 'necessary toiset up a.special-body to take over the administration of the electric supply services, and" so relieve the Minister of many of. the details with which he -is at present concerned. The Minister will "still, however, retain general control]«o£ the ‘department, and the general finance. The exact compositioh of this . body has not yet been determined, but its general function will be as indicated above, and before anything is done the question of its detailed powers and personnel will be given very c:lrqful consideration. t , SCHEME OF OHY r DRO-ELECTRIC POWER DEVELOPMENT. Expended to March 31, 1923, £2,170,000; 1924, £964,000; 1925, £1,094,000; 1926. £1.071.000; .1927, 0.94,000: 1628, £l,104,d00; 1920, £1,140,066; later expenditure, £2,770,000; 'total, £ll',-' 407,000.