POWER RATIONING

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 6, Issue 77, 1 June 1943, Page 5

POWER RATIONING

POSITION IN COUNTRY.

DISCUSSION AT MEETING

At the last meeting of tjie IJajpr of Plenty Power Hoard, Mr Lancaster in referring to the .small increase of consumption allowed the Bay of Plenty Board for the ensuring year said the success of the hoard in keeping down consumption last year was. now acting against the board for the allowance for 1943-4.

Mir Maxwell suggested that a point that should he put before the Supply Authority was the difficulty being faced in such a district as the Bay of Plenty, which was almost wholly a dairying area. On account of the labour shortage farmers Avere compelled to use more, power in the milking shed as the milking took longer. Members of the farmers' households were being taken into the milking sheds and this also tended to increase the consumption of power in the homes. The speaker said the farmers had little time to cut wood for stoves and that meant using the electric ranges. If. the. supply of electricity were cut down the Government, would defeat its own plans for more primary production. Mr Dicker supported the views expressed but pointed out that the Government only had a certain amount of power available. Mr Lancaster said that the radio stations could be cut down in their times and people would then go to bed earlier. Mr Burt emphatically stated that the people were not doing anything to cut down power. They were just carrying on as usual. 1 Mr Lancaster's report was approved on the. motion of Mr Gault.