South Island Crisis Worse Than North

Chronicle (Levin), 11 June 1947, Page 5

South Island Crisis Worse Than North

h Press Assn.-

By Telegrap

■Copyright

CHRISTCHURCH, June 10. Starting ton;orrow, retaiU.shops' in Christehureh and suburbs will close at 5 p.m. and pn Friday aights shpps will Mose at 8 p.pi, prqyided the Qity Coun cil 's electricity' committee agrees to substitiite a blaek-out period between ■3 p.m. and 9 p.m. op that day for the 6.45 p.m— 7.45 p.m, period announced yesterday. These decisipns were made today at a meeting convened by the"' Canterbury Employers' Association and attendefi by mere than 150 retailers. These pre sejit also pledged theniselves to reduce interipr lighting in their shops by 5( per cent during the daytime. The president of the Retailers ' Asso ciation (Mr. W, J, Donnelly), said thal today there was less than seypn feet of water in Lake Coleridge and onlj one generator at Waitaki was working It was quite conceivable that in a mat ter of weeks Christchurch might be nn tjrely without power unless drasth steps were taken to save what . littli power was available. The big powei load was in the domestic supply oi 93,000,000 units a year as against 26,000,000 units for industry. There had been a lnarvellous response by tht people to the appeal for voluntary sav. ings. and the retailers liad made a great eontribution by eutting out window ano displgy , lighting and redueing- jnterioi lightijig. - MWe are facing a crisis that is iji finitely mere severe than in the North island," Mr,x J, L. Hay said. A pub ■ licity comjnittee \vas oji the job trydng to get 'the Government to make mortpower ayailable for Christchurch.