POWER STOPPAGES.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVII, Issue 4935, 5 February 1926, Page 2

POWER STOPPAGES.

ACTION TAKEN BY BOARD.

MINISTER CONFIDENT OF FUTURE

At J Tuesday’s meeting of the Thames Valley Electric Power Board a letter was received from the Thames Borough' Council protesting against the frequent interruptions in the supply of electricity.

A letter wps, also received from Messrs A. and G. Price, Ltd., Thames, in .which it was stated that unless continuity of supply could be assjured the firm would be reluctantly compelled ,to adopt other means of acquiring power.

The chairman (Mr F. H. Claxton) said that the interruptions complained of had occurred during the~recent storm towards the end of last month, and everything possible had been done by the board’s staff to minimise .the inconvenience to consumers. The speaker said that he had taken the matter up with the Public Works Department and asked for an immediate improvement in .the supply. The board, he said, viewed the position with some concern.

The Minister -for Public Works, in reply to the board’s letter regarding the security of supply, stated that bn the first occasion which the board mentioned the line from , Tauranga was not completed, so that relief from that source was not available in casfe of a fault on the Horahora-Waikino line. On the. second occasion the Tau-t ranga line was in service, and the maximum supply available —1000 k.w. Waikino and Waihou. The date on load. Tauranga would shortly be able to siupply a maximum of 2000 k.w. Arrangements would then be made to give an emergency supply at both Waikino and Wahou. The date on which the extra supply would be available depended upop the date of completion of .the installation of the second unit at McLaren’s Falls. A third point of supply would be available on the completion of the Bom»1 ay- Wai kino line, the construction of which would be commenced this summer. The department concerned wasi fully alive to the inconvenience caused by interruptions to supply, .and Was doing everything possible to reduce those on all systems under its control. A duplicate source of supply ( over a separate line' had now been made available at Waikino, and the completion of the Bombay-Waikino line would ensure (supply at that point over an entirely separate route from .Horahora, and later from Arapuni. “Sb I think,” continued the letter, "you should find no difficulty in restoring the confidence of your consumers.”