Electric Supply.

Press, Volume LVII, Issue 17316, 30 November 1921, Page 6

Electric Supply.

Tho accident to the fifth, and largest, turbine at Lake Coleridge, following a similar misfortune in the case of one of the others, and thereby reducing the city's supply of electric current for lighting \ and power to 4500 kilowatts, or just half the amount that we should be receiving, is one of those mishaps to which, we assume, any electric power inetallation is liable. But with two of the five turbines out* of action, the city is placed in a somewhat serious position, since there is apparently no guarantee that at any moment similar defects way not develop in any of the thred ■ i remaining turbinesr-. By good luck, the breakdown haß occurred at the time of year when the demand for current for lighting purposes is at its lowest, but it, will take four or five-months to remedy the defect, and it is to be feared that before the endi of that period, the strain on the plant will reach, if it does not pass, the danger paint. It is fortunate that in this crisis the city has the benefit of the stand-by plants of the City Council and the Tramway Board, which between' them will help to relieve the situation. But there is, nevertheless, the gravest necessity that strict heed shall' be given to the appeal for the economical use of current for domesfcio purposes ia the daytime that is made by Messrs Gavey apd Hitchcock, in the letter published in this issue. The appeal, • it should be noted, is backed by a distinct intimation any failure to adhere to the restrictions placed upon the use of current will be "promptly and rigorously dealt with." The industries of the city are, in the situation that has arisen, of the first consequence, and if the supply of current necessary for toeir requirements is to be maintained, domestio consumption must, for the meantime, be reduced as much as possible. The Lakej Coleridge power installation has been, and will continue to be, of inestimable value to Christchurch, and the large district outside the city that it serves. But the danger of depending on ©no nouroe of supply, and that at a considerable distanoe from the community that uses it—of having, as it were, practically all our eggs in on© basket —■ is emphasised by the situation ii). which the city is now placed. The Electricity Committee of the City Council, hastening somewhat slowly, has been consider, ing for some months a report on a proposal to obtain power from the "\Vaimakariri. Of this scheme, which would be in the hands of the Council, and would servo as a stand-by for the Lake Coleridge supply, the Council, said the committee in a report on Monday night, will be "advised in due course." It is, of course, impossible to express any opinion on the proposal until that report is available, but we may suggest to the committee that it should expedite the process of consideration and let the Council and the public know the nature of the scheme and its probable cost as soon as possible. . The present trouble at Lake Coleridge may be, as the expert* state, "unprecedented, and

" altogether unexpected," but the fact that it lias occurred, and has thereby shown tihe city's industries to be m a somewhpft precarious position, besides causing inconvenienoe to a large number of private consumers, is sufficient reason for the Council taking any reasonablei measures to protect the community from the disaster of complete disorganisation, such as might ensue from * further breakdown.