POWER CUTS START IN ENGLAND

Rotorua Morning Post, Issue 5325, 11 February 1947, Page 5

POWER CUTS START IN ENGLAND

■ (Press Assn.-

f industries affected

| general thaw might [ IMPROVE POSITION

—Rec. 9.30 p.m.)

I LONDON, Feb. 10. I The Iatest Air Ministry I forecast says the end of EngI hnd's Arctic spell' is in sight. I A general thaw is spreading I to all districts. Snow continues I jn Scotland. At mid-night all ■ non-essential industries were i trought to a standstill by the I power ciit announced two days I ago. At this hour the cuts E became operative for all I bousehoids. The {power reI mained off for five hours. I One JI.I'. has proposed a commisI sion 0f eiKjuiry into the fuel crisis, but 5n defence oi* the Minister of Fuel, Mr. Emmanrel Shinvvell, the miners' leader, Mr. Horler, has said that throuffli the encouragement of the Minister aml the Government, the miners have produced 8,000,000 more lons of roa! in the past nine months. The se.-nmi largest city in England, Birir.injrham, has deeided that it eannot openue cuts without cutting off mdttstry, so the eity's 30'0,000 domestic tonsujners aro to be on their honour not to use electricity during the prohibited hours. A ray of hope is provided by the weather report. After 17 days of snow aml frost, a general thaw has spread to all ■liscricts of England and ffales, alt'tough it will be slow at first in the west nnd the north.

Goverament Warning On Eve of Power Shutdowfi LONDON, February 10 On the evo of Britain's greatesi electricity shutdown, the forecasl "cold in iuost •listricts, with a slighl thaw in the south which niay spreac north.'" Teniperatures rose in thc south-east and London and turned the snow in the city into heavy slush. The Government issued a further warning: MR\ceptional weather continues to hinder coal production and distribution. Everything possible is being (lone to get coal to the larger pcwer stations, but supplies suffice onh for essential services and the minimum requirements of horsehelders during the permitted hours. Only the whole nation's co-operation will ena'il" the Government and the electricity undertakings to maintain vital services and avert the danger of abreakdown. hut there is little margin of safety." The Daily Express quotes as an exnmple of thv difficulties of the period the fac: that all stoe-ks of coal in Chesterfield v.ere t'rozen and had to be broken hy Imildozers before they could lie moved. Even then the coal froze again en route, necessitating breaking it ui» again. British Overseas Airways' Corporafion plane.- are again weather bound. One of the coldest spells ever experienced has stopped all shipping around the coasts of Sweden, says Reuter's Stcckholm correspondent. It ;s ."jil iegrees helow zero in some part- of the country. The sound between Sweden and Denmark is solid M, and thc Kaltic is freezing.over. At least 2(1 ships are i'rozen fast round the Swedish coasts. Over 100 Deaths In Berlin Keuter's Hamluirg correspondent leports that more than 100 people nave already died of cold in Berlin. There are i in-patients aml 25,772 W-patients with frost symptoms in ®erlin hnspitais, and 1000 in-patients ttith piuuntimia. The British United Press' Turin correspoii«it*ii • says the Fiat vvorks, ®e °f the largest niotor factories in ®ope, will clo.se for 12 days owing tolack of electricity. The Dailv Telegraph's Vienna eor^Pondent ronorts that almost all incstry Jn the British zone has been ^standstill sinee December through of fuel and lacl: of water power ® the result of freezing. There has !t® uo domestic fuel for several and since December 13 there as oeen an average of 17 degrees of ost, which is 15 degrees helow the Toi- tiie jjast 75 years. Wploughs Actually Used 11 City 0f London LONDON, February 10. Snowploughs were used in the •v of London for the first time in toemorv. \n 0fXic»icil said: "We havc j , ^00 tons of salt for sndw'nS this winter, and there is one left." The London airport is bound, and no aircraft have etl off or landed. o!? j6 ^le 'ieaviest snow|alls re* •V, ere inches at Huddersfield I tnches at Binbroak and Wadinw bincolnshire, and Ack- ^ ^ortlnunberland. Snow fell Torl-'v^ fbe blizzard on the shire coast that it was imposHipV° ^e° more than a few yards. f.ch iest fahs in London were 10 jt 5 at Hampstead, and eight inches . , aphani. Snowdrifts on the lines o held u|) rail services in many 's of the countrv. Ji • * tie (' (>^' noi'tbern Europe is in ets ^ t^10 fi'eeze-up. Ice-break-aie fig'hting a losing battle to sy o°pen Hie lanes between D'enmark *s»eden. Assoeiated Press says all |t0a^e is shivering as ice blocks the Hove sVa-terwayg, delays . the bial nien^ °T c'oal and enforces indusgj^^PPaS'es. The American and jer 311 aiithorities have ordered 8'0 te^en ' °T the factories in the Wurta^f'Baden province to close for sW, ® days to conserve coal. The ersidi%n will render 250,000 work-