ELECTRIC POWER

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 10, Issue 13, 19 August 1946, Page 5

ELECTRIC POWER

SUB-STATION TENDER

NEW INSTALLATION It is probable that the meeting of the finance committee of the Whakatane Borough Council, which is to take place tonight, will deal with the letting of the contract for indenting from England, the switchboard gear for the proposed new electrical sub-station to be erected in King St. The estimated cost of the switchboard apparatus is placed at approximately JE4OOO. The proposed sub-station, which will replace the present one, obsolete and unable to carry the loading required, will be erected on one of two sites at present under consideration in King Street. It will cost between £BOOO and £IO,OOO, and will have a capacity of 2500 K.V.A. (The loading of the present substation is approximately 800 K.V.A.) The new structure will take the form of a concrete building, and will house the main breaking down station from the Government supply to the Borough. It is probable that it will occupy a section in the vicinity of the Lovelock Street-King Street junction. The alternative site is further down past the shops towards Stewart Street. The erection of the new sub-sta-tion will cater for the increase in the number of buildings in the district, and also allow for considerable expansion. -It will, when completed, serve over double the district’s present requirements, and when the full measure of power again becomes available, will be capable of coping with the loading.

Borough Work

New electrical installations which •are at present being carried out include a new high tension line running down McGarvey Road, to open up a number of sections in that area, several of which have been bought under rehabilitation. The •erection of the poles has been completed, and it is expected that the line will be finished in the next two or three weeks. The estimated cost of the job is in the vicnity of £6OO. Additional street lighting has been installed covering the steps leading up to Hillcrest. One light has been placed over the steps themselves, and the other on the first bend of the road above the steps.

Power Supply

The situation with regard to the supply of electric power has, in the past few days, deteriorated considerably. The cutting off of the supply at night which was discontinued several weeks ago, has had to be reinstated, with the result that once again the hours between 12.30 p.m. and 3.30 a.m. constitute a total blackout. The two hours without power on a Sunday afternoon has also had to be reverted to. The failure of electric power on several occasions last Wednesday, was due to heavy overloading at Arapuni, brought on by the spell of 'wet cold weather. On that day, the Hamilton consumption rose sharply by 18 per cent., whilst other districts also., made heavier demands. At times, the drain proved excessive, and areas had to be cut out for short spells.