THE brick chimney towering over the Carrington Hotel is an iconic reminder of the era when Katoomba Electric Supply Company powered the township with Katoomba Colliery coal.
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With the flick of a switch — 102 years since the original power station was built to the rear of the hotel — the Carrington Hotel is producing electricity again, but this time just for itself.
Hotel co-owner Mark Jarvis turned on and tested a new natural gas co-generation electricity generator which not only provides all of the Carrington’s electricity but its by-product, heat, is able to be channelled into the hotel’s old hydro heating system and water storage tanks to produce hot water and circulate warm air.
“We’ve come full circle,” Mr Jarvis said.
“The Carrington once generated power for the whole town and just over 100 years later we are generating power again, using gas, to service the property.
“We knew that energy costs would rise significantly from this year so we started planning for this about two years ago.
“We did our own research into our own power output and power needs and what system would be best for us and it turned out to be this natural gas co-generation system.
“It effectively takes us off the grid but we have the ability to switch back to it when needed.
“We believe this machine will get about 20 to 25 years of use.”
The original on-site power station stopped generating electricity in the late 1920s and was boarded up until three years ago when it was refurbished and converted into Carrington Cellars and Deli.
