POWER SAVINGS NOT REACHED

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25227, 4 July 1947, Page 6

POWER SAVINGS NOT REACHED

WATER SITUATION DETERIORATES

No improvement in the amount of savings by electricity consumers in the M.E.D. area was recorded for the 24 hours ended at midnight on Wednesday. The savings were only 15.6 per cent., against 20 per cent, imposed by the State Hydro-electric Department.

For the first three days of this week the overall saving has been only 16.8 per cent., and the achieving of a having of 20 per cent, for the full week is considered impossible. The electricity emergency committee met yesterday morning, but no decision to reimpose cuts on consumers was made. The only cut which has been reimposed is that on street lighting. No lights were on on Wednesday, yet the saving over the whole area was only .1 per cent. The unit consumption by street lights, in relation to total consumption, is low and the cutting off of them was ordered as a reminder to all users that the power situation was far from good. Officials admitted yesterday that they were disappointed in the savings under the voluntary system. When savings exceeding 19 per cent, were made when practically full services were restored, the amount of consumption above the quota was not considered serious enough to justify the reimposition of domestic cuts. The situation, however, has deteriorated.

So has the hydraulic situation. Although the level of Lake Coleridge was unchanged yesterday at 1663.65 feet, a reduced flow in the Waitaki river was recorded. The flow was 5070 cusecs, 482 cusecs below Wednesday morning’s recording.