the length of the pipeline once it was completed. However once the pipeline was filled with water for the first time it was found to be deflecting by up to , which caused some of its supporting cradles to crack. The issue was fixed by installing additional cradles. When the surge chamber was filled with water for the first time it was found to leak badly, but Alfred Walker solved the problem in the short term by putting oatmeal in the water which swelled up and sealed the cracks. By 15 December 1924 the powerhouse and head works were completed, the turbines were running and the generators were drying out and the switchgear cabled, leaving only minor work required. Enters service By March 1925 the power station was in service, running continuously and via a double 66 kV circuit transmission line supplying Winton and from there on a supply was available through to Invercargill and Gore at 11 kV. With construction work completed Alfred Walker was appointed Station Superintendent with a total of 13 permanent staff serving at Monowai. To assist Walker in his duties he was sent to Coleridge to receive a months training in power station operation The station was officially opened on 1 May 1925 with two machines. Within 12 months the demand had reached the capacity of the existing machines. As a result, at the end of 1926, a third machine was ordered £3,580 from Boving. At the same time, a separate order for excitor turbine governors for the two existing machines was placed on Boving. By August 1927 the penstock and foundation of the third machine were completed with it commissioned later that year and in full service by February 1928. Present at the opening were the acting Prime Minister Gordon Coates, local members of parliament, the mayor of Invercargill and mayors of various Southland towns, as well as members of the Southland Power Board and representatives from other New Zealand power boards. The power station cost NZ$562,000. Operation from 1927 to 1993 By 1934 the SEPB was running short of electricity with an increasing number of dairy farms beginning to use vacuum pumps which placed considerable pressure on the network at peak times. In response it was proposed that capacity at Monowai be increased to 11 MW but the Government was not interested in lending money to SEPB for the upgrade, so the proposal