SOUTH ISLAM) USES MORE POWER THAN EVER REFORE

Press, Volume XCVI, Issue 28343, 31 July 1957, Page 16

SOUTH ISLAM) USES MORE POWER THAN EVER REFORE

South Islanders have never before used as much electric power as in recent weeks, and the winter peak consumption may not yet have been reached. Monday’s consumption, as reported by the State Hydro-elec-tric Department, was a record 5,657,000 units and the total for last week was another record. At this time last year the island was emerging from the direst weeks of the power shortage and the increase shown this year is spectacular compared with the heavily-restricted consumption a year ago. Lake storage throughout the system is more than three times as greater now as it was this time last year. The Roxburgh generators are working on less than half the flow of the Clutha river. At other stations too the storage is not at present relevant as river flow is being used for eration. Last week the, department generated 36,083,000 units. In the last week of July, 1956, the output was 30,239,000 units. Last year, in May, when the system was in the most serious storage position there were 11,000,000 units in reserve. In that month this year consumption was 46 per cent, higher. July Peak Usually, the peak use of electricity is in July. But it is possible that this year delayed cold weather could bring a later peak. Apart from increased industrial consumption the greatest increase in power use has probably been in the use of space heating. As the habit to use electricity freely once again grows, so do the sales of these appliances. The increase appears to be well in excess of the expected demand to catch up on the sales forestalled by res-r frictions last winter. The load for water heating is shifted from peak hours of the day by control systems under certain authorities. This does not reduce the number of hours that water heaters would normally be used with thermostatic control. The Municipal Electricity Department's customers used 9,290,000 units last week, about 2,000,000 units more than a year ago.' In the week ending July 21 they used 8,800,000 units—another increase of 2,000,000. In the quarter ended June 30,

Rangiora borough consumers used 63 per cent, mofe current than in the same three months last year. This month consumption at 610,000 units has been-an alltime record. It was 26 per cent, higher than last July. It was at the beginning of July last year that power supply authorities were restored to their full allocations after the desperate power shortages of May and June. The consumption of North Canterbury Electric Power Board customers was also at its highest last It went up 23 per cent? on the same week last year to 991,500 units. The week before, the Consumption was 807,000 units. The previous highest week’s consumption was in the week ending July 15. It was 983,000 units.