HEAVY POWER DEMAND

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25209, 13 June 1947, Page 6

HEAVY POWER DEMAND

Effect of Cold, Wet Weather SNOW LOWER ON HILLS Heavy rain in coastal districts yesterday afternoon and last evening will not help in relieving the power shortage, but rather the reverse. Cold, dark weather caused a sharp increase in demand, and the rain, coming from the south-west, was mainly coastal. There were only light showers at Lake Coleridge during the day and evening, with little indication that there would be anything more. Temperatures were cold. The snow-line is creeping down the hills, tending to nullify the effect of the north-west rain on Wednesday evening. To 2.30 a.m. yesterday there was ,57in of rain at Lake Coleridge, but after that only a few points fell. For the second successive day, the level of Lake Coleridge showed a fractional rise yesterday, as evidence of the efforts to economise made by supply authorities. The level, at 1662.525 feet, is still below the level at the beginning of the week, 1662.6 feet. The cold evening built up the peak load heavily between 5 p.m. and 5.15 p.m. yesterday, but the linked stations of the South Island generating system managed to carry it without a call on supply authorities to make emergency cuts. Had it not been for power rationing schemes, cuts could hardly have been avoided. An increase in peak load means an increase in unit consumption. This will offset the good effects of the rain.