Brian Rudman: Electric rail, great idea, but what about power?

It could only happen in Auckland. After more than 80 years of dithering, our city worthies choose the week electricity authorities are warning of impending power shortages to finally come out in favour of electrified commuter rail.

All things going to plan, the Auckland Regional Transport Authority hopes the $600 million first stage will be up and running by 2011. But by then, according to lines company Vector, power could be in such short supply that we will have been reading by the light of candles for upwards of four years.

The slightly more optimistic national grid operator, Transpower, is predicting outages by 2010 unless it is permitted to despoil the Waikato landscape with hunky new cables.

Given these dire predictions, maybe ARTA should follow the example set by its predecessor, the Auckland Electric Tramway Company, a century before, and toss a power plant into the mix.

One hopes, of course, that by 2011, either market forces or the Government will have averted any pending power crisis. And though an ARTA-owned power station is unlikely to be part of the solution, it is interesting to see growing support for think-small, Auckland-based plants.

Todd Energy, for instance, is proposing one or more 200MW gas-powered plants in the "heart of Auckland", while state-owned Genesis Energy envisages a similar plant near Helensville.

Small generating stations near the market is how Auckland's electricity industry grew up.

In May 1906, Auckland ratepayers were so impressed by the tram company's small generating plant in Hobson St (just below the existing Farmers carpark) that they voted, two to one, for a civic electricity generating plant. Less than two years later it opened on the site of today's Victoria Park Market.

The huge brick chimney marks the spot, venting the giant destructor that burned the city's waste, and heated the boilers to power two 300 horsepower generators. On opening day, 12 consumers had signed up - three pubs and the public library in Wellesley St included. Within the year, demand was greater than the 450kW plant could supply and by 1913, a larger coal-fired station was opened next to Kings Wharf.

It was retired in 1930 when Auckland became the main consumers of the the Government's first hydro-electric scheme at Arapuni on the Waikato River.

Kings Wharf remained as a standby station, first under power board control, then the Government, finally closing for good in 1967, and demolished in 1971. There were no tears shed at its departure, but plenty while it was operating. At its worst, it pumped up to six tonnes of grit into the local environment. It got so bad in the early 1950s that the arbitration court awarded wharfies "dust money" compensation, and the Government ordered the power plant closed while butter exports to Britain were loaded so the grit wouldn't coat the produce or jam the new loading conveyor belt.

Chemist shops were full of people coming to have grit removed from their eyes and Queen St businessmen complained that buildings, cleaned for the 1952 royal visit, were despoiled overnight.

And we think we have problems.

Which gets me back to the historic rail plan decision. It's incredible that the only person my colleague, transport reporter Mathew Dearnaley, could find to cheer from the rooftops about it was Auckland City Mayor Dick Hubbard who, of all the region's politicians - being the new boy - had the least to do with it. But thank goodness someone did.

As for the regional leaders, ARTA chairman Brian Roche, regional council chairman Mike Lee, ARC transport chairman Joel Cayford et al, overnight they've become shrinking violets, bending over backwards to pretend next to nothing had been decided.

It's all to do with the upcoming national election and the local politicians terrified of rocking the boat. They're confused by the mixed signals coming from the Labour Government in the "roads versus public transport" debate and terrified of the pro-roads signals of the National Party.

Instead of stirring up the rail plan into an election issue, with the potential for unexpected outcomes, the regional consensus seems to be to hide under the table until it's all over and pray for the best.

I'm not sure I go along with this.

The project seems so bloody obviously right, I'd be challenging every Auckland candidate to back it, or risk the wrath of the rest of us.