POWER SUPPLY RESTORED

Press, Volume LXXXI, Issue 24619, 16 July 1945, Page 4

POWER SUPPLY RESTORED

Restrictions Not Necessary LINES REPAIRED For much of the week-end Tjy t Coleridge was the sole source of electrie power supply for Canterbury, and only one of the transmission lines from the station was in serviceable condition By last night, however, the Public Works Department, with the assistance of Air Force and Army signals units and heavy Army transport, had made such rapid progress with the restoration of transmission lines that Waitaki, Highbank, and Lake Coleridge general ing stations were all feeding into the system and it was not expected that any restriction of supply would be necessary to-day. * Mr R. G. Mac Gibbon. district electrical engineer to the department, returned to Christchurch at midnight last night after visiting the districts where transmission lines were damaged by snow. The situation then, he said, was that there was one transmission line each operating between Lake Coleridge and Hororata, Highbank and Hororata, and Timaru and Hororata, while there were two in service between Hororata and Christchurch. It was expected, he said, that to-day there would be two lines in service between Timaru and Hororata, and at least one additional line between Lake Coleridge and Hororata. The system should be back to normal by to-morrow. “Communications have been the bar to the rapid restoration of power lines,” said Mr Mac Gibbon. “Some of the department’s trunk telephone lines run on the railway poles between Addington and Timaru. Many railway poles are down, particularly between Addington and Ashburton, and it is not expected that full communications will be restored until the Railway Department has made extensive repairs.” Help of Services Mr Mac Gibbon said he wished to acknowledge the valuable assistance given by signals units from the Wigram Air Force station, especially Flight Lieutenant Clutterbuck, who per* sonally supervised the supply of radio sets and himself established headquarters in the department’s sub-station at Ashburton. The Army Department had also rendered invaluable service by supplying heavy trucks to break a way through the snow and enable contact to be made with Hororata and Ashburton. Major Pinkman of the Army Signals had also given great help. “The department’s staff did a magnificent job, and only the co-operation and the willing work of every member enabled the department to meet the situation as it did,” said Mr Mac Gibbon. He said he had left linesmen working in snow in the Ashburton and Rakaia river-beds up to their thighs. Trucks had taken 12 hours to cover a 15-miles journey when the staff were trying to get through to Ihe various stations on Saturday. Mr Mac Gibbon said that south of Timaru the power’supply had . been normal. Timaru’s power had been restored on Saturday and Ashburton’s at midnight on Saturday night. The restoration of the Waitaki supply to Canterbury was effected at 9.30 last night. “Christchurch Fortunate” “We in Christchurch have been very fortunate in that all the primary distribution lines in the city except those running into Halswell and Heathcote are underground,” said ,Mr J. C. Forsyth. electrical engineer to the Municipal Electricity Department, last evening. There had, however, been a number of interruptions to individual supply, chiefly because o£ the breaking of lines between the street and, the houses. He estimated that the proportion so affected would be about 1J per cent, of the 33,000 consumers. The breakdown of communications had made the task of restoration more difficult, but the patience and forbearance of consumers had helped the department in its work. Many householders had extended hospitality to linesmfti working near their homes. All the department’s linesmen had been kept busy through the week-end, said Mr Forsyth. The department had -, left the restoration of street lighting to the last, concentrating on restoring supply to households. Although it was necessary to ration power on Saturday by cutting off various districts in turn, no district had been affected for long except parL of southern New Brighton and Bromley. Damage to an 11,000-yolt cable, which was not repaired until early* oh Saturday evening, was the cause of the trouble in this case.