POWER CABLE BROKEN.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXV, Issue 4659, 8 February 1924, Page 2

POWER CABLE BROKEN.

FOULED BY AN ANCHOR.

MISHAP' AT NGATEA.

While being to,wed up the Piako River early on Wednesday morning the scow Hero became envolved in ;t traffic jamb below the Ngatea wharf, and despite the warning notices displayed on the bank dropped anchor. This became caught in the Thame; Valley Power Board’s 11,000-volt cable and caused a .disconnection. Fortunately no damage other than that to the cable resulted. The fuses at the Waiklno switching station and at several transformers were blown out, causing a stoppage of many milking machine motors. The cable section was cut out and the fuses replaced, and power was soon available again for the whole area west of the Piak) River.

There happened to be a length of cable at the Ngatea depot, and the work of installing this was commenced immediately. The board’s engineer, Mr McLeod, arrived on Wednesday evening to superintend operations. Work was carried on without cessation and was completed on Thursday evening. Only one gang of men was emplojed, these men working right through from Wednesday morning until Thursday evening. The stoppage caused great inconvenience at the Ngatea butter factory, where one big churn and one of the refrigerating plants are electrically driven. The steam plant was not capable of carrying the extra load during the day, .so had to be kept going until the early hours of Thursday morning driving the refrigerating plants.