RESTRICTIONS ON POWER

Press, Volume LXXXIV, Issue 25552, 21 July 1948, Page 2

RESTRICTIONS ON POWER

LONGER PERIOD FOR WATER HEATING PEAK LOADING DANGER EMPHASISED An illustration of how a wet, cold day could affect the power consumption in Christchurch had been given on Monday, said the general manager of the Municipal Electricity Department (Mr E. Hitchcock) yesterday. In the central area on Monday, the power consumption had been 112 per cent, of that on the corresponding day of 1946. This consumption had exceeded the day’s allocation by 7 per cent. “The extra consumption on Monday might well have meant that the peak load could have been troublesome to the State Hydro-electric Department,” said Mr Hitchcock. “The vital thing that has to be considered is that on a wet, cold day, if consumers do all their using of power rather than their saving at times of peak loading, they may swamp the generators’ capacity.” The power emergency committee of the City Council yesterday decided to increase the hours for water-heating from 12 to 20 hours a day, with a prohibition on the use of waterheaters between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. The J Prohibition covers the hours of peak oading.

Because of the high consumption of power on Monday, the committee decided against any further increase in the shop, window lighting. The other restrictions on neon signs, the Tepid Baths, and underveranda lighting were also left unchanged.* No advice of an increase in the South Island’s power quota was received from the Dominion Electricity Controller (Mr A. E. Davenport), but. in terms of a resolution passed at the last meeting of the City Council, an application for an increase in Christchurch’s quota is being made.