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The close of the financial year marked the retirement of the General Manager of the State Hydro-electric Department, Mr. F. T. M. Kissel, and it is appropriate that I should place on record the appreciation of the Government of the long period of arduous and unselfish service so ably rendered by Mr. Kissel. As Minister in Charge of the Department, I formed a very high regard for the unswerving courage and outstanding ability of Mr. Kissel in his chosen field of work, and it is pleasing to record that his faithful service has resulted in the bestowal of the Companionship of the Imperial Service Order. The new General Manager is Mr. A. E. Davenport, formerly Chief Electrical Engineer of the State Hydro-electric Department. APPENDICES APPENDIX A.—ANNUAL REPORT OF THE GENERAL MANAGER FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH, 1948 The General Manager to the Honourable Minister in Charge. Wellington, 10th June, 1948. Sir, — Pursuant to section 15 of the State Supply of Electrical Energy Act, 1917, I have the honour to present herewith my first annual report of all operations of the State Hydro-electric Department for the year ending 31st March, 1948. It will be appreciated that during the year under review the Department was under the control of Mr. F. T. M. Kissel, who retired from the position of General Manager on the 31st March, 1948. Mr. Kissel had acceded to a request to remain with the Department for an extra year to enable the new organization of the Department to be consolidated. During the same period it was thus made possible for me to visit overseas manufacturers of electrical plant in order to ascertain the position regarding present and future deliveries of plant for New Zealand. In the interests of paper economy, the report is again condensed, and various statistical tables have been omitted. ELECTRICITY CONTROL As reported last year, the abnormally dry weather conditions which prevailed in the North Island in January, February, and March, 1947, and the heavy consumption of power in the same period, resulted in storage at Lake Taupo and Lake Waikaremoana being drawn upon prematurely. By the second week of April less than one-sixth of the control storage remained at Lake Taupo, and at Waikaremoana the lake was 21ft. below full. At Taupo the average rainfall over the lake catchment area in April and May was below average but better than in the preceding three months, and this small improvement, together with the reduced consumption of electricity following the 5-per-cent. reduction in allocations first imposed on the 13th March, and extended to a 20-per-cent. reduction on the 20th March, resulted in a slow but steady recovery in storage. In April the first machine at Karapiro was supplying power to the system, and this materially helped. Following heavy rains in June storage recovered rapidly, and by the middle of July Lake Taupo was almost full.

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