POSSIBILITY OF RAIN.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 20038, 20 September 1930, Page 19

POSSIBILITY OF RAIN.

NORTH-WEST WIND AT LAKE. « POSITION UNCHANGED. POWER COMMITTEE SUMMONED. An overcast sky and a light northwest wind In the watershed of the Harper j river last evening gave promise of a further fall of rain to relieve the situa- j tion at Lake Coleridge, in the meantime, since there has been no rainfall 1 and the inflow is decreasing, the subcommittee set up at Tuesday's confer* ence of power authorities has considered the position serious enough to warrant ealiing a special meeting of the full committee at 8 p.m. on Monday. Ia summary, the position now is*.— Thursday. Friday. Lake level 1,658.8 ft. 1058.8 ft. (steady) Plow of Harper river .. 855 oUsccs 320 cusecs (falling) Rainfall .. Kit Nil. Total output 263,710 units 853,610 units Max. demand 17,860 k.w. 17,480 k.w. Note: Units and maximum demand are Calculated to 12 o'clock on previous night. Lake Level Maintained. The level of the lake has now been .maintained at i658.8ft. or 13.2 ft below normal, for four days in succession. The inflow from the Harper river, Which between Wednesday and Thursday decreased by only 6 cusecs, was yesterday falling rapidly. At 9 a.m. it was 35 cu&ecS less than on Thursday. In issuing Its bulletin at noon yesterday, the subcommittee remarked that the total reduction in the unit Consumption by 10,100 units was made up of reductions of 1167 units in the load recorded at the Addington sub-station, which serves the whole area north of the Rakaia except the Malvern Power Board's district, and of 8033 Units in the load south of the Bakala. These figures represent a remarkable change from Thursday's, when the load at the Addington sttb-station had decreased by 8390 units and the southern load had actually increased by 2101 units. It will be observed that a reduction in the maximum demand, for which the District Electrical Engineer (Mr R. G. Mae* Gibbon) has been pleading, is at last gradually being made. The maximum still occurs between 11 a.m. and 11.30 a.m. each day. Yesterday morning the wind at the Harper river was blowing lightly front the Bonth-west, but by 4 p.m. it had Changed round to north-west, the quar» ter from which rain is always expected in the watershed. The north-west arch was distinctly to be seen in the City last evening. The sub-committee reported having approached the Christehurch Trataway Board on the possibility of bringing the eteam locomotives into use At once, as k further measure of eoonomy. It was found) however, that the use of these locomotives for passenger traffic would hold up a considerable amount of con* struetion work and throw perhaps as many as 100 men out of employment. The sub-committee accordingly decided that it could not press for the change unless the position became more serious than it is at present. Tram Want Operated continuously. The Tramway Board i# now no longer uaing the 000 k.w. pl&Zit At its JfflWSave street station, whleh It brought to use last week to assiat the 1000 k.w. plant already in operation, instead, the'looo k.w. plant is beitig maintained at its fiwylwnm capacity for 84 hours In the day; an™, since the demands of the tramway service fluctuate, it is able to feed back all surplus power to the Addington substation fern 6 a.m. to mid* night, as well as the .total power it can generate between midnight and 6 a.m. 2 hi* plant is generating between 20,000 and . 24,000 units a day. The total assistance now given to relieve the load on Coleridge is just as great as when the 600 k.w. plant was running, said the Tramways engineer (Mr W. D. Saving* ton) to n reporter of Ttut Press yesterday. When the 000 k.w. wag> 1# operation, he said, it was not possible to maintain the other at such a capac Uy. The 800 k.w. set was now being reserved as a safeguard against thv '°The District Electrical Engineer wish •d yesterday emphatically to contradict rumours that have been in the bottom of Lake Coleridge. Mr Mac Gibbon said that inflow, plus rainfall, had been equated to the out-, flow plus evaporation, and the two sides of the equation were as nearly equal as they could possibly ®e. Basing its action on a detailed the Municipal Electricity Department Is now taking steps to disconnect a water heaters where consumers are wHI % no?\e d tbrsr|arg: With all will take some weeks. Bln-wy Installing Gas. The Ohrlstehurcb Gas S&Wv'-SS-nrtwer actually stands to lose as much j E.urt» MJ re ' the' counterpart of electricity! if these firms have to close because of a po Vr..»., »• as seriously nt t t v ' On • the electricity supply authority. therft other hand, during the P a "^ befln ft dcittafli by City Where the pipes are laid on, tnis , Wbeen proceeding in many shops 81-, Jjs'ition Sonable output tative meeting of _ firms in Bss-.aHT-: »j-

ing of the whole position, and many who had intended to close their shops early were forced to Stay open by the action of others. Apart from b few lights in the Square, street-lighting was switched off as usual. The ■hops, however, Were lighted more brightly thai last Friday evening. All Classes at the Ohristchurch Technical College will be resumed from Monday next. Although it was originally decided to curtail these classes in order to save power, other arrangements have now been made. £ipa* for Acheron Diversion. The manufacture Of the concrete pipes, sft in diameter, which are to carry the water from the diversion in the Acheron river to the terrace above Lake Coleridge, has been started by the Hume Pipe Company, Hornby, to which the contract was let lay the Public Works Department. The company has contracted to supply 400 ft of piping a week. The pipes are each Bft ia length, Nine a day are -being Manufactured for six days itt the Week, and thia rush work will continue until the contract is coitlpletcdi Eaeh pipe is W" informed with reds and wire.

NEW MEASURES. ! DRASTIC ECONOMIES. j PREPARING FOR RATIONING. Supply authorities drawing power from Lake Coleridge have been Urged by the Power Conference sub-commit-tee not to relax the present restrictions, to take a census of water heaters and stand-by plants, to discontinue street I lighting, and cancel the late shopping, night. The teit of the circular; which wad posted on Thursday, is as follows: The committee appointed by the refient PdWer Conference has given careful consideration to the situation generally, and it is facsd with the fact that the effect so far obtained by the restrictions has been to reduce the d<j* mand sufficiently to ehable' the inflow into the lake just about to meet the load. Consequently, the lake level is being barely maintained. This fact further emphasises the need for the economies being rigorously sustained, and, if possible, intensified. One of the most valuable directions in Which each supply authority can assist is to impress upon its consumers the fact that the present situation has taken six to eight months to develop, and can be remedied only by continued economies over a long period. It is of particular importance that reported rainfall should not result in relaxed restrictions. That that is only too likely to happen, is evident by the fact that the power-house Units for Tuesday, the lflth, were 18,400 itt excess of those for Monday, the 15th, and the maximum load increased by nearly 3000 k.w. This emphasises the extreme danger of even, a partial relaxation. Warn Heaters. The committee recognise# that water heating has a differing significance according to circumstances, but it is nevertheless a load representing a substantial consumption. It is recommended, therefore, that all supply authorities Which have hot yet done so should take a census of their water heaters, so that It can be definitely known how many are out of use, how many can be disconnected where alternative means are available, and how many, are of such a vital nature as to represent exceptional hardship, or interference with industry or primary products, if disconnected. The listing of the information is, however, a preparatory measure which the committee strongly urges. Stand-by Plants. As the sum total of alt efforts to date is doing no more than barely maintain* ing the position, it is evident that all | supply authorities would be well ad* vised to prepare programmes of ration- ! ing in Anticipation of the need. This, also, is a matter that will vary widely in different supply areas, but _ one step whleh could be taken immediately by all supply authorities is to ascertain the number, type, and capacity of stand-by plants in their area, and how many are at present working; j Street lighting. I In order to effect all the economies ' possible, and more particularly with a view to equality of saorifico in this re* spect, it is urged that all street lightIng present thopld hb discontinued, except .possibly at particularly dangerous corners or intersections. The flisftbilitios involved are not questioned) but neither can it be questioned ' that of all the kinds of inconvenience, less, and restriction involved, the loss of street lighting is perhaps the least. The committee therefore hope# that all Sup* ply authorities will take common action in this matter, its importance is in proportion not mferely to its consumption, but also in it* psychological effect upon consumers, and the consequent re* minde# of the need for other economies. Late Shopping Might. This is a niore difficult matter in which w secure united action. A very considerable measure of success has already been obtained towards the elimination, for the present, of the late shopping night, but there is still milch room for more effective co-operation, One of the most pronounced needs if this measure is to be successful is for uniformity of action in the different dis« tricts, and complete cancelling of the late shopping night for the time being is strongly advocated. _ The committee feels that it has had considerable responsibility placed upon it, and it is anxious to ensure that the viewpoint aiid interacts of each authW'* ty are duly considered, but it equally hopes that it will have the full support and co-operation of all supply authorities in any recommendations it may submit for dealing with the present crisis. LATE NIGHT IN TIMARU. (ftiISSS ASSeoU'MOJI T*tißoEAUi) TIM ABU, September 19. The customary late shopping night was observed in Timaru to-night, but the retailers curtailed the use of lights by half in the shops. No street lights were burning.