SOUTH ISLAND’S POWER SUPPLY

Southland Times, Issue 24353, 6 February 1941, Page 6

SOUTH ISLAND’S POWER SUPPLY

WINTER SHORTAGE NOT EXPECTED USE OF WAITAKI ALLOWS STORAGE OF WATER (United Press Association) CHRISTCHURCH, February 5. There is not likely to be a serious shortage of power in the South Island, according to official calculations, unless an unusually dry winter is experienced. The use of new generating units at Waitaki has enabled the storage of water at other supply points—Lake Coleridge, Monowai and Waipori—sufficient to meet expected needs. This was explainde in an interview by the Chief Electrical Engineer of the Public Works Department, Mr F. T. M. Kissel. Mr Kissel indicated, on the other hand, that, the department was seriously perturbed about delays in the delivery of plant for power supply extensions caused by war conditions. These delays might affect the supply position in 1942, but for the coming winter only unusually dry conditions would cause the authorities any great concern. To emphasize the difficulties being met in the supply of plant for new stations and for additions to existing stations. Mr Kissel said that generators being built for New Zealand in Great Britain had actually been damaged by enemy action while on the shop floors, while other plant ordered some time ago from Sweden was still held up in that country and there seemed little prospect of having the machinery released. WAITAKI’S ADDITIONAL UNITS “I cannot see that there is much prospect of any serious shortage in the South Island,” Mr Kissel said. “That applies to the coming winter, when the water supply is normally short in Canterbury and other generating areas. For future years there is not much prospect of a shortage unless deliveries of plant stop altogether. We have taken full advantage of the additional units at Waitaki and they will be run all summer as long as the water lasts. Their use to full capacity has allowed us to store water in Lake Coleridge, Lake Monowai and Waipori, where considerable additional water has been penned up for use during the winter. In fact they are almost full. We will be able to run on that storage for the winter and I can say that there is not much fear of a shortage this winter in the South Island. If we had an exceedingly adverse season we might have trouble, but the season would have to be really exceptional. The position in the North Island, is much worse than in the South " In planning for the future supply in the South Island a great deal of importance had been attached to the new scheme for generating power at Highbank at the outlet of the Rangitata diversion race into the Rakaia river, but the delay in securing plant for that power station and in the securing of steel necessary in the construction o£ the race had'held up the Highbank project. It had originally been intended to have the Highbank generating power in August of this year, but now it would not be operating until much later. Highbank, Mr Kissel said, was expected to ease the pressure on the supply for the winter of 1942. It would as far as could be seen do that, but there was no certainty in that expectation now because of the many delays in the arrival of vital plant.