POWER MUST BE REDUCED

Chronicle (Levin), 12 March 1947, Page 4

POWER MUST BE REDUCED

HOROWHENUA EXCEEDS DAILY QUOTA BY 7000 UNITS Stating that very definite instruc;ions had been received yesterday that steps must be taken immediately to reduce the load on electricity, the secretary of the Horowhenua Electric Power Board, Mr. R. A. Frederikson, said this morning that Horowhenua had last week consumed 46,000 units ana this must be cut down by 7000 units a day. The instruction received yesterday was an obvious threat that sterner action would be taken against power boards, and if local consumption was not considerably .uced and maintained at ti. iroper level, tht Government woulc step in and take the matter out- of the board's hands bp . disconnecting the feeders. Rather than have intermlttent shut offs, the board had decided to institute uniform cuts of three twenty-minute cuts daily, and ~ if that did not prove sufficient the times would be lengthened or furfher cut-off periods instituted. Should the position improve, il might be possibie to drop one or uwo of the shut-off periods, or shorten their duration, but eonsumers must realise th§t even if cestrictions were dropped for twc or three days, they were liable to be ueintroduced with little warning. The times now in operation would oe fixed, but if the system becarne overloaded throughout the North Island, it might be necessary to mpose cut-offs without warning particularly in the peak period between 4 and 6 p.m. . Asked whether it was the intcntion of the Power Board to impose ;he 7 to 7.20 p.m. cut off on Friday nigh't, Mr. Frederikson said the matter had been considered by the board but it had been decided that the restriction would operate. Commenting on the power situation generally, Mr. Frederikson said it was very disturbino- to have to impose restrictions at this early stage. He would hate to think of the repercussions of sudden breakirig down of plant" or adverse weather conditions. Radio Should Be Restricted "While power boards throughout the Dominion have been asked to cut off or restrict power for iudustries and primary production plants, no effort had been m&de'by the Government . to restrict radio programmes to any extens," commented Mr. Frederikson. He said he considered this would be the best means of making the public realise the seriousness of the situation, besides helping very materialiy in reducing the load on electric power. It would also indirectly assist the position by inducing oeoplc to retire earlier, thus sav"ng more power. "It is a case of whether jazz or production is- more important • to the country," he added. One of the effects of power reduction was low voltage and uneven frequency. This was not noticed by normal users of electricity, but affected motors, and the quality of

he sound svstem-and nrojeetion of motion pictures. What appeared to the patrons of theatres as faulty operation of the nlant was often found to be the result of a reduction in voltage. -*•