ELECTRIC POWER.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume VII, Issue 2126, 7 December 1920, Page 8

ELECTRIC POWER.

SCHEMES INVOLVE ENORMOUS COST. COMMENTS BY THE MINISTER. The question of power development at present was largely one of money, said the Minister of Public Works (-Hon. J. G. Coates), in Auckland. He had worked out recently the cost of a complete system for the whole of New Zealand. The figures, of course, were academic, but he believed they were fairly accurate. Arapuni, Horahora, Kaituna (for which money was already allocated), Waikaremoana, Mangahao, a scheme for Blenheim, Lake Coleridge, and the Otago and Southland works, to be completed in 10 years, would require £59,800,000. The headworks would cost between £17,000,000 and £20,000,000, and the distribution to consumers the balance. It was for the people of the Dominion to say whether works of this magnitude should be undertaken. All the power to be produced by these schemes could be sold to-day. The difficulty experienced by power boards, in common with other public bodies, in raising money at the current rate of interest, said Mr Coates, was one for the Prime Minister, as Minister of Finance, to consider. He knew of one ease, however, where the community had come to its own rescue. It was the pluckiest scheme that had yet been evolved. The people in the district had united, and had guaranteed £20,000 for all necessary works, and reticulation within the district. The Government was carrying the power to the border of the district, and the power board, as usual, was attending to its distribution. As indicating the spirit of those behind the raising of the money, one man was contributing £2OOO. Another resident of the district, a man working on--wages, with a family to keep, had offered a week's wages, £4. He had promised further to contribute a week's wages whenever he could spare it, but confined his definite offer to the first £4. This was entirely a rural community, consisting principally of farmers, with no large town in the district. He was not sure that the same general interest in the question would be manifested in the towns. T ne com " mercial consumers of current would be ready to encourage the schemes, and would doubtless raise money in a similar manner. But it was the domestic consumption of power, for all purposes, which the department wished to foster. It was necessary to catch the interest of the woman managing the home. He hoped that an educative campaign in the matter could be undertaken.

The question for cities like Auckland in the matter of increasing their plants to keep up with the demand pending the arrival of Government current was whether they were prepared to "scrap" portions of their installations in the future. A certain amount of it -would need to be retained as a standby, but if plants were increased at considerable expense now they would have to go later.