asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will give an estimate of the extent to which the capital programme submitted by the Electricity Supply Board in January, 1948, has been fulfilled to date, the extent to which higher costs have necessitated revision of the expenditure envisaged under that programme, and the actual expenditure since January, 1948, under each of the heads: (a) generation, transmission and distribution, and (c) rural development.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Capital Programme of E.S.B.
As the information asked for by the Deputy is largely of a statistical character, I propose, with the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, to have it circulated with the Official Report.
ELECTRICITY SUPPLY BOARD'S CAPITAL PROGRAMME.
EXTENT TO WHICH THE CAPITAL PROGRAMME SUBMITTED IN JANUARY, 1948, HAS BEEN FULFILLED.
GENERATING STATIONS:
Pigeon House—Work completed and in commission.
Ardnacrusha—Work completed and in commission.
North Wall, Dublin—New oil fired station—in commission.
Portarlington—New turf fired station—in commission.
Leixlip—New hydro station on Liffey—in commission.
Erne Hydro-Electric Development:
Cliff Station, 10,000 KW. Set—in commission.
Cathaleen's Falls 1st, 22,500 KW. Set—due for service in winter, 1951.
Cathaleen's Falls 2nd, 22,500 KW. Set—due for service in summer, 1952.
Allenwood—New Turf fired Station:
1st—20,000 KW. Set, due for service in autumn, 1951.
2nd—20,000 KW. Set, due for service in summer, 1952.
Cork—New Coal and Oil fired Station:
Plant ordered and being manufactured. Some work on site has been done. The station is due for commissioning in 1954.
TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS.
The capital works on the transmission and distribution systems have kept pace with the growth of generating capacity and have permitted all units available for sale to be distributed to the consumers.
RURAL ELECTRIFICATION.
In the capital expenditure programme submitted in letter of 21/1/1948 it was indicated that for the seven years under review from 1/4/1945 to 31/3/1952, the estimated expenditure would be £8,000,000.
The actual capital expenditure on rural electrification has been as follows:—
|
Year ending |
£ |
|
31/3/1947 |
45,000. |
|
31/3/1948 |
407,000. |
|
31/3/1949 |
825,000. |
|
31/3/1950 |
986,000. |
|
31/3/1951 |
Estimated to be £1,150,000. |
EXTENT TO WHICH HIGH COSTS HAVE NECESSITATED REVISION OF THE EXPENDITURE.
The higher costs are reflected in the following percentages:—
(a) Generation 20 per cent.
(b) Transmission, 20 per cent. to 25 per cent. Distribution, 15 per cent.
(c) Rural electrification, 10 per cent.
ACTUAL EXPENDITURE, SINCE JANUARY, 1948, UNDER EACH OF THE HEADS (a) GENERATION; (b) TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION AND (c) RURAL ELECTRIFICATION.
The following table shows the cost in thousands of pounds of the work actually completed and put into commission each year, the figures, for convenience sake, being related to the board's financial year which ends on the 31st March. For comparison the corresponding figures for the years ending 31st March, 1945, 1946 and 1947 are also given.
|
Year Ending |
Generation |
Transmission and Distribution |
Rural Electrification |
|
£ |
£ |
£ |
|
|
(000s) |
(000s) |
? (000s) |
|
|
31/3/1945 |
809 |
157 |
— |
|
31/3/1946 |
213 |
222 |
— |
|
31/3/1947 |
113 |
303 |
45 |
|
31/3/1948 |
266 |
504 |
407 |
|
31/3/1949 |
921 |
1,667 |
825 |
|
31/3/1950 |
1,645 |
1,458 |
986 |
The figures for rural electrification show the actual expenditure during the year.
The figures for generation, transmission and distribution show the value of work completed and capitalised during the year. The value of all capital work (including rural) in progress under these heads at the 31st March, 1950, was £5,984,477.