OUR WATER-POWER RESOURCES

West Coast Times, 23 March 1910, Page 3

OUR WATER-POWER RESOURCES

TO BE DEVELOPED BY THE GOVERNMENT. AN EXPENDITURE OF HALF A MILLION A YEAR. IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE PREMIER. [by teleobaph—pek puss association.) WELLINGTON, March 22. The Prime Minister announced tonight that the Government had decided to control' and develop the water power resources throughout New Zealand and for this purpose to ask Parliament for authority to expend up to £500,000 annually. “This is to enable water power to he used for public as well as private purposes in different parts of the country,” stated the Premier. “The present method of leasing water ppwer does not appear to have worked out at all satisfactorily consider able difficulties having been experienced in assenting to the requests of applicants for power. It is also evident that under the leasing system a very ranch heavier charge would be made to the users of power by private undertakings than would he imposed by the State. In one instance what the country would get if it leased its water power would run into £1 a thousand horse-power per annum, while those who arc endeavouring to obtain an option propose to charge as high as £lO to private users, so that the matter has been very troublesome.

“After carefully considering it,” lie said, “tlie Government has decided to control the power itself, and t|> expend annually an amount up to the sum mentioned upon its development, thus enabling the users to obtain power at a rate very much less than it could he obtained from private uindertjikiiigs. The Government has decided to extend the electrical generating plant at Okire Falls, Rotorua, which to he duplicated.