POWER MEN "ARROGANT, PAROCHIAL"

Taupo Times, Volume 23, Issue 51, 27 June 1974, Page 1

POWER MEN "ARROGANT, PAROCHIAL"

The Mayor, Mr C. S. Currie, has described as "arrogantly parochial" two power men who have labelled the MED "tin pot." Mr Currie said certain Aucklanders sat "on high stools trying to do a job that was too big for them." "A visit to the 'tin pot' power authorities. referred to could provide at least an object iesson to them in administrative efficiency," he said.

The target of Mr Currie's anger are the Auckland Electric Power Board chairman, Mr A. W. Gooder, ansJ the Hon. A. E. Allen, a former Speaker of the House in the National Go(vernment, and a board member. At a meefing in Auckland on Tuesday board members reacted strongly to reports of Taupo, Tauranga and Rotorua power authorities complaining about unbalanced power restrictions. Board members said these 7tLn pot" authorities shoulcf^§6 their own job properly rather than spend time complaining that Auckland was getting off too" lightly under present electricity restrictions. Meanwhile, on the home froftt the power situation does not appear to be improving much.

The NZED is to give special consideration to industrial power usage and weather conditions in Taupo — but greater savings will have to be made if electricity and water heating cuts are to be kept to a minimum, says the borough electrical engineer, Mr K. G. Stewart. Earlier this week Mr Stewart had talks with the department in Wellington and received a "very sympathetic and understanding response." "I am convinced that Taupo is receiving every consideration possible with regard to special allocation allowance for industrial load, geographical area and load growth and I received assurances that adjustments to allocations will be made if necessary from

time to time," said Mr Stewart. At the meeting he put forward the borough council's suggestion that a basic restraint requirement of a certain number of hours of water heating cuts a week be requested from all supply authorities in the country as a contribution towards the power crisis regardless of climatic conditions. "It was quite clear, however, that the state of hydro-electric storage has deteriorated very badly and equalisation of effort throughout the country might be achieved not b-y the Taupo people making less effort to save power but by the rest of the country making more effort,"

Two power men termed arrogant and parochial

~said Mr Stewart. "Although no statement has yet been made, it is apparent that without substantial rainfall in the catchment areas in the next week or- two, the power restrictions will have to be increased in severity." The NZED and the Elec-

trical Supply Association were reluctant to consider the council's suggestion of a basic national restraint because they preferred to leave 'those measures to local executives who could take into account the extent and 'severity of the imposed restrictions, he said. But industrial production increases would 'be ex-

amined from week to week so that domestic consumers in the Taupo area would not be asked to, make sacrifices to meet industrial expansion. "The NZED have gone a long way towards meeting the particular weather conditions and the continental climate experienced in Taupo and other inland areas by liberalising the guidelines for restraint," said Mr Stewart. "It gives the executive officer of the local supply authority discretion to liberalise the restraint measures if the weather is bitter." But he emphasised that greater voluntary • saving effort was necessary. "The greater the saving made voluntarily by consumers the less imposed restraint will be necessary," he said. The Government and all supply authorities were urging industry and commercial consumers to use less power. "In this area, MED inspectors will visit all main commercial and industrial users during the next few days to encourage them to save power and advise them on how they may best achieve savings," said Mr Stewart "The important point is that all power consumption saved at work, in the office, in the factory, in the shops, means that less power has to be saved on the home front to keep within the allocation."