As the House is aware the Electricity Supply Board is financed by advances from the Exchequer authorised from time to time by legislation. One of the principal purposes of this Bill is to raise by £7,500,000 the limit of advances which may, under existing legislation, be made to the board. That £7,500,000 is a token vote intended to cover certain expenditure of a capital nature which the board proposes to undertake as soon as may be. I do not think that the sum will cover the whole of the capital expenditure to which the board will be committed by reason of these developments. The developments contemplated are—firstly, the construction of works on the River Erne for the generation of electricity; secondly, the construction of a steam station at Clonsast in Laoighis, at which turf will be the fuel burned, and certain other purposes which are properly described as normal developments of the board's activities. Of the total amount contemplated to be expended in the near future—roughly £3,500,000 would be required for the River Erne, and £1,500,000 for the Clonsast station. Some £2,500,000 would be required for the development of the board's distribution service and about £800,000 for various contingencies, including manufacturing operations by the board. There are minor items to which I need not refer in any detail, and a subsequent small additional development of the River Liffey, certain things which the board requires for its work, expenditure on the protection of fisheries and the projection of future developments.
The total capital cost of the programme which the board has prepared, and for which it asks these advances is estimated at £10,000,000 at pre-war values. It is impossible to give any precise estimate of what the cost will be until orders for the plant and equipment have been placed. It is not yet possible to place these orders, and consequently no very precise estimate of the actual cost of the works can be given. The Bill proposes to permit the board to undertake development of rivers for power purposes without the obligation of securing specific legislative sanction for each such development. The position of the board at present is that it has under existing Acts full powers to undertake development of steam stations, subject only to the capital being made available by the Exchequer, but it has no such power in relation to water power stations. The only water power stations constructed, that at the Shannon and those on the Liffey, were each authorised by specific Acts. In view of the intention to proceed with the Erne development and with a number of other smaller developments on various rivers it is considered that a time has been reached at which the power of the board to undertake water power development can be established by legislation. The proposal in the Bill is that the board, having prepared plans, will submit them to the Minister for Industry and Commerce, and subject to his approval the works may be proceeded with.
Whatever reason there may have been in the past for retaining to the Oireachtas the power to authorise each specific and separate water-power development, in my opinion, no longer exists. The Electricity Supply Board has now been established for a number of years. It has built up a competent staff able to undertake the planning of this development and we can, I think, with confidence, entrust them with the task of preparing these plans and carrying them through without any of the safeguards which were considered necessary in the early stage of the board's existence. I presume the House will agree as to the necessity for making ample and speedy provision for the installation of new capacity by the board. It may be that the works now contemplated—the water-power works and the steam generating stations—will not be possible of completion until some time after the conclusion of hostilities, when the necessary plant and equipment can be procured abroad. However, it was decided that all the necessary preliminary steps should be taken, that the legislation should be enacted, plans prepared, sites acquired and whatever construction is possible under present circumstances completed as soon as possible, so that, when the equipment becomes available, there will be no avoidable delay in getting it into use.
We shall have after the war a situation in which, for a number of years, the demand for electricity will be substantially in excess of the board's capacity to supply. Before the war, the demand for electricity was increasing at the rate of, approximately, 30,000,000 units per year. It will help the House to understand what precisely is involved in an increase at that rate when I mention that the capacity of the Liffey power station is 30,000,000 units. At the rate at which the demand was growing before the war, we should have required a new station of that capacity every year. The installation of new capacity during the war was not possible and there has been, therefore, a damming up of demand which will become effective immediately normal conditions are restored in trade and industry. If we assume that the demand would have grown during those five war years at the same rate as before the war and that the whole of that new demand will be effective after the war, then the contemplated station on the Erne will be merely sufficient to make good the arrears which have been occasioned by the war, and the continuing growth in the demand after the war, which is estimated by the board at about 40,000,000 units per year, will involve the planning of further stations sufficient to enable that demand to be met. It is my opinion that we should, at least, plan upon the basis of being able to meet any increase in the demand which may arise—that, in other words, we should plan for surplus capacity rather than for a continuing deficiency. The possible growth in the demand for electricity here is difficult to estimate.
We are at present consuming electricity per head of population to a much lesser extent than practically any other European country—certainly any other European country with conditions comparable with ours. I gave certain statistics in that regard in the Dáil which, I think, amply illustrate the scope there is for electricity development here. In 1938—that year was taken because it is the last for which figures are available for a number of, European countries—the number of units per head of population generated by the Electricity Supply Board was 114. In the same year, the figure for Denmark was 316; Holland, 333; Italy, 345; France, 452; Belgium, 620; and Finland, 779. These countries are all somewhat like our own, inasmuch as agriculture constitutes a very large part of their industry, and is a primary source of wealth and of employment. Owing to exceptional circumstances in the case of Norway, Switzerland and Sweden, a comparison may not be very useful. Against our 114 units per head of population in 1938, Sweden had a production of 1,294 units, Switzerland, 1,679, and Norway, 3,417. These figures show that we can contemplate a very considerable increase in the consumption of electricity for industrial and domestic purposes, and that we must plan our future generation programme on a basis which will enable us, at least, to reach the position which was attained before the war by such countries as Denmark, Holland and Belgium, which had no conditions dissimilar from our own other than a more intensive industrial development.
The plan for the development of the Erne contemplates the utilisation of the falls of Assaroe where the river enters the sea at Ballyshannon. It is proposed to develop these falls in two steps by the construction of two dams across the existing river valley and the erection at each dam of a power station. The lower or first step will utilise about 72 per cent. of the fall, and the station will be located at a distance of, approximately, three-quarters of a mile up-stream from the road bridge across the Erne in the town of Ballyshannon. The upper or second step will utilise about 28 per cent. of the fall, and the station will be located approximately three miles up-stream from the lower step. The stations on the Erne will, it is estimated, produce about 200,000,000 units per year at the first stage of development. There will, possibly, be further development which will increase the output to 250,000,000 units per year.
These are, of course, no more than estimates at the present time because, as the works proceed, some variation of the plans may become necessary. It is expected that from 1,500 to 2,000 men will be employed upon the works for a period of three years. The commencement of the constructional activities is intended for the spring of the present year. How far it will be possible to continue them will depend on the availability of certain equipment which will be required when the construction will have proceeded to a certain stage.
As Senators who have read the reports by the Electricity Supply Board will have noted, the board is carrying out investigations of the water-flow in certain other rivers with a view to the preparation of plans for their development at a later stage. The Erne is, however, the second largest river in the country and has a much greater potential power output than any of the remaining rivers. Any further water-power stations will, therefore, be of substantially smaller capacity than those of the Erne, but it is considered not undesirable that there should be a number of smaller stations throughout the country.
As I informed the Dáil, the intention is that the electricity required in the future should be produced entirely from native resources, either by the use of water-power or turf as fuel. There are no technical difficulties in the utilisation of turf for steam-raising purposes, and the only problem that remains to be solved in that connection is the measures that may have to be adopted to permit of turf production, by mechanised methods on an adequate scale, being made adaptable to the requirements of a stand-by station. The new stations to which I have referred—those on the Erne and at Clonsast—will be base-load stations, and the estimates of production from the Erne are, of course, based upon the flow of water in an average year. As everybody knows, the flow of water in any river varies from year to year, and on that account water-power stations have to be supplemented by stand-by stations utilising power of another kind so that, in a particularly dry year, the output of electricity can be maintained. The Pigeon House station—a stand-by station in the Electricity Supply Board scheme—has, for a number of years past, been carrying a substantial part of the base load. In fact, in recent years, it would be true to say that the output from the Pigeon House station has exceeded the output from the Shannon works, but I think it is desirable to get back, as quickly as possible, to the stage in which the Pigeon House would only have a stand-by part, and that the whole of the output should be taken by the turf-burning stations or water-power stations.
The problem of utilising turf for the purposes of stand-by stations is not a technical problem associated with the generation of electricity; but a technical problem in connection with the production and marketing of turf, and the Turf Development Board which is associated with the Electricity Supply Board, in regard to these matters, is giving its attention to that problem.
Another part of this measure relates to the rural electrification scheme, details of which were published in a report prepared by the board at my request and made available to the public some months ago. I am sure that members of the House have studied that report and that it is not necessary at this stage to give, in any great detail, particulars of the scheme adopted by the board. The intention, however, is that electricity should be supplied in the rural areas at a charge which will not exceed the present rural tariff of the Electricity Supply Board. It is not possible to provide electricity at that price in the rural areas without subsidising the capital cost of the network required to bring the supply to those areas. While the estimates of the cost prepared by the Board have had to be based upon various assumptions that may or may not be correct, it is nevertheless clear that if the intention of the Government to provide current in the rural areas at the present rural tariff rates is to be carried out, the board must receive some proportion of the total capital cost involved, by way of free grant. The calculations made indicate that, roughly, one-half of the capital cost of the network must be met by way of grant, but that is by no means clear. The assumptions arrived at by the board may not prove to be correct and, in fact, it is hoped that experience will show that a somewhat smaller proportion of the total capital cost, by way of grant, will permit of the sale of current at the rates contemplated. The total capital cost involved is estimated at £17,500,000 on a pre-war basis, but what the eventual cost will be, after the war, will have to be ascertained as the work proceeds.
The Bill provides for making available to the board a sum of £5,000,000 which will permit of the board commencing operations. That device of authorising under this Bill only a proportion of the total capital cost contemplated was adopted because we considered it desirable that at an early stage the experience of the board in the operation of the scheme, as well as in the purchase of materials, should be reviewed and a decision made as to whether it is necessary to provide 50 per cent., or a somewhat lesser percentage of the total capital cost by way of grant. The limitation of the amount which may be made available to the board, as contemplated in this Bill, ensures that this review, to which I have referred, takes place at a comparatively early stage. It will be understood, of course, that the constructional work in providing the necessary network in rural areas will be a long-term operation. As Senators will have seen from the report, some 75,000 miles of 10,000-volt lines must be constructed, and the total length of the lines constructed up to date is 3,840 miles. A comparison of those two figures will give an indication of the magnitude of the task which has been given to the Electricity Supply Board. A further indication is given by the fact that the scheme will involve the erection of 100,000 transformers, as against 1,232 transformers at present in use. If that network is to be completed within ten years after supplies become available for that purpose, it will involve the construction of network at the rate of 7,500 miles per year. Now, the maximum rate of construction achieved by the Shannon scheme contractors was 650 miles per year, and the maximum achieved by the Electricity Supply Board was 330 miles per year. It will be obvious, therefore, that a very great amount of organisation will be required on the part of the Electricity Supply Board in order to ensure that it will have the personnel and the machinery to enable it to carry through the whole of the rural electrification scheme within a period of ten years. There are, in fact, some experts of the board who think that it is not practicable to complete the construction of the network in ten years, but it is obviously desirable that it should be done as quickly as possible, and the board is being pressed to prepare its plans upon the basis of completing it in that period.
There are some other provisions in the Bill to which perhaps it is desirable to refer. One of these removes the need for a certificate to be given by the Minister for Industry and Commerce to the Minister for Finance that the sums to be advanced to the board out of the Central Fund are reasonably and properly required by the board for any purpose arising out of the performance of its functions under the Electricity Acts. Some members of the House will remember that when the Electricity Supply Board was established circumstances arose which made it desirable, in the opinion of my predecessor as Minister for Industry and Commerce, to amend the legislation so as to secure for the Minister for Industry and Commerce certain powers over the financial activities of the Board. These powers were obtained by the Electricity Supply (Amendment) Act of 1931. Conditions have, however, very much altered in recent years and the need for the certificate contemplated by the 1931 Act no longer exists. It is considered sufficient that the advances applied for by the board should be made by the Minister for Finance on the recommendation of the Minister for Industry and Commerce. That simple procedure gives ample power to ensure that the capital outlay is kept within the statutory limit and that is, I think, the sole function which the Minister for Industry and Commerce needs now to exercise in that regard.
It is intended that, to the maximum extent that may be possible, electrical apparatus, equipment and machinery which will be required either by the board as distributors, or by the people of the country as consumers, should be manufactured here. There are various classes of electrical apparatus manufactured here at the present time. A large number of firms have shown an interest in the possibility of establishing new industries for the production of electrical equipment of one class or another in the post-war period. It is, however, contemplated that there may be circumstances in which it would be desirable that the board itself should have power to undertake the manufacture of equipment or power to promote the establishment of subsidiary companies for that purpose. There will be many classes of equipment produced by private enterprise in other countries for which in this country the board will be the only possible customer, and private enterprise might not be interested in undertaking manufacture here in such circumstances without some liaison with the board or some association on the part of the board with the work. It is, therefore, proposed to give the board power to manufacture or to arrange for the manufacture of apparatus on authority from the Minister for Industry and Commerce.
Provisions are inserted in the appropriate section which are designed to ensure that the authority of the Minister will not be given where private enterprise is in a position to do the work satisfactorily. I would ordinarily regard it as desirable that industrial development of that kind should be sponsored by private enterprise. It is because of the special circumstances relating to the type of apparatus and machinery involved here that it is considered necessary to have for the board power to do the work if it is obvious that the work would not be done otherwise. Discussions have begun with the Electricity Supply Board and with a number of private firms interested in developments of that nature with a view to the preparation of a programme of manufacture. It is hoped that a very high proportion of the equipment required by the board for these development purposes and of the various classes of electrical apparatus which private citizens will require after the war will in fact be manufactured here at quite an early stage.
I do not know if there is any other aspect of the Bill to which I need refer in detail at this stage. The main purposes of the Bill are, as I have mentioned, to authorise an increase in the limit of advances to the board, for the purpose of enabling the new generating stations which I have mentioned to be constructed; to authorise the board to undertake the construction of hydro-generating stations without the necessity for new legislation on the occasion of each such development, but solely on the certificate of approval of the Minister for Industry and Commerce; to make certain provisions which are required to facilitate the rural electrification scheme and to authorise the board, as I mentioned towards the close of my remarks, in certain circumstances to undertake and arrange for the manufacture of equipment and apparatus. If there are any matters of detail to which Senators wish to refer, they can perhaps be more conveniently discussed in Committee.
