WINTER POWER SUPPLY PROBLEM

Grey River Argus, 7 April 1948, Page 4

WINTER POWER SUPPLY PROBLEM

CHRISTCHURCH, April 6. A request that the Minister of Works (Hon. R. Semple) should release immediately a statement promised “after Easter”, on the hydroelectric power prospects for the South Island this winter, was made, yesterday at the first meeting of the! City Council’s emergency power committee. A telegram embodying the request was sent to the Minister after the meeting yesterday morning. “We require the information imediately so that we may prepare our plans for rationing, if rationing is inevitable,” said Cr. L. G. Amos, “Rationing will be introduced some time in the future; when, I cannoi say,” said Mr W. H. Gregory, District Engineer of the State Hydroelectric Department, yesterday. “I am waiting for word from Wellington of the amount of the first restriction for the South Island.” Asking that all consumers of electricity should do everything nossible to conserve power now, Mr Gregory said tha the water storage situation in the South Island was better now than at this time last year. The level of the lake at the Coleridge power station remained unchanged at 1671.10 ft over Easter and was stil at that level yesterday, he reported. The flow of the Harper river had decreased slightly, but this could not be taken too seriously because rivers in the back-country were likely to rise and fall rapidly due to heavy falls of rain. For instance, the Waitaki was flowing at 17,000 cusecs on April, at 18,000 cusecs on April 2 and at 13,000 cusecs on April 3. Yesterday it was down to 8500 cusecs. The level of Lake Pukaki was being held at the maximum, 1620 ft. AUCKLAND, April 6. Thousands of Aucklanders have set out in a grim buying mood to purchase lamps to bring light into their homes during the periods of power cuts, but many of them failed. Good stocks were held by most firms, but these had nearly all been cleared, more than 100 passing across the countei* in an hour in some cases. A few lamps are still in stock in scattered shops, but prospects of further supplies from wholesalers werp stated to be not bright. “We have been beseiged by people wanting kerosene lamps,” said one retailer. “The people are still crowding the shop and taking whatever we can offer.” “We have been selling nothing else but lamps since 8.15 this morning,” said a department head in another store which was retailing wall chimney lamps. "We ran out of chimneys at half oast nine and people have been buying lamps in the hope of obtaining glasses later”. In addition to about 400 of these lamps sold during the day, a store reported an eager demand for “almost obsolete lamps from war stocks The few petrol lamps available sold very early. Bakers in the Auckland Electric Power Board’s area are to be exempted from the power cuts on Thursday nights to assist them in baking week-end bread, according to a decision reached by the board yesterday. This is subject to revision. Some oposition was expressed to the granting of this exemption on the grounds that the savings were being whittled away. Other requests for concessions were merely received for, “careful consideration.”