Board's Allocation Reduced 10 Per Cent.

Chronicle (Levin), 31 March 1948, Page 4

Board's Allocation Reduced 10 Per Cent.

'Severe --reductions in the con* sumption of electricity in the dis*v • ' tribt ware" announced fgday by the managing^secretary of-. the ■ Horo« whenua ^Electric Power Board, Mr, R, A, Frederikson, following the reeeipt of a- telegram from the Electricity Coritroller directing aU .-npyiy autnorities to make ap. ^ i'mmediate reduction in their con- . sumption of a furthCr 10 per cent- f]: . 'below the amouQt at present being' ' used. This represents. a cut of . per cent. below their alloention. The use of domestic water heat» ers has been banne.d between the ' hours, of 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. Any water heaters used during these hours Will be disconnected. The evening cuts will be extended to. a half-hour period from 7.15 ? t.0 7.45. } ; The attention of consumers is drawji tq the Electrleity jQontrol Order, 1945, forbidding ihe, use of electric radiators between the hours 0f 4 and 6 p.m. . ^These steps hav.e been taken" following ,an announcemeat made last night by the Mihister in Charge of the State Hydro-Eleetric Depart«ment, Mt- Semple, who said that so far all appeals for a reduction had met. with a poor response, and that oyer fhe Easter period the pqsition had not shown any improvement. Mr. Semple said in additioft that the tropieal storm whieh occurred over Easter weekend had missed both the Waikaremoana and Taupo watersheds. Uhder the circum- .* stances there was no option but tg 'call for a sharp reduction in the • ' amount of power being consumed. He hoped consumers would do thejr best in the effqrt to prevent the position from further deteriorating. Commenting, Mr, Frederiksdn said that the telegram left the board no option but to take the Steps set out above. If the board did not make the cuts, then the Government would do it. "We must save another 20.0Q0 units a day," he saidp "If.the consumers will not respond, then we will have to ban water heaters altogether until the reduction is 4 met, There is still a lot of electricity being wasted which could be' saved. We will just 'have to make the consumers saye if they will not do it for- themselves," coricluded • ' Mr, Frederikson. "