HYDRO-ELECTRICITY.

Taranaki Daily News, 25 August 1921, Page 4

HYDRO-ELECTRICITY.

A speaker at the meeting of South Taranaki tonal bodies <at Hawera on Monday evening, convened to consider the question of the supply of hydroelectricity for the district, referring to New Plymouth’* position, said “it was the Government’s fault that ohe section was able to take advantake of another section. The rivers were for the whole Dominion; not for any particular body.” In other words, it is, according to this gentleman, quite wrong for a loeal body to exhibit self-reliance and enterprise, take on immense liabilities, supply itself with power, and offer the surplus to neighboring districts. The Government should prevent it. All the local bodies should combine, push aside the progressive borough, seize its claim, and exploit the resources themselves for the common good. The fact is, of course, New Plymouth has led the way in regard to hydro-electricity, and acted and worked whilst other places were talk- 1 ing and planning. It g'bts no credit for its enterprise and industry, only misrepresentation. and abuse. The point seems to be Jost sight of that it does not matter at all who is developing the . power so lojig as it is being developed. If a provincial power board had control of the New Plymouth works could greater headway be made than is being made? Not at all. Up till now the borough has - done everything possible to push on with the works, with the result that in the course of eighteen months there should be a considerable quantity of surplus power available for the country districts. Manifestly there will not at first be sufficient to go all round, but that is not the town’s fault. It will take time and capital to carry out the scheme in its entirety, but the substitution of Government control or provincial control would not advance matters in the slightest degree; rather would it hinder them. It is time enough for the outside districts to complain when New Plymouth slackens in its operations. So far the policy of the borough has been to give preference to the outside districts over the Home firm desirous of establishing electric smelting works in the town. If additional water power and storage facilities can be gained in the neighborhood it will be possible to supply both. It is for that reason that many representative ratepayers are anxious to have a survey made of the district, which would settle the question of additional power possibilities once and for all, and would prove to neighboring local bodies that New Plymouth was fully alive to their needs and desirous of meeting them if within its power to do so.