Department Blamed For Board’s Loss Of Power

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32035, 9 July 1969, Page 7

Department Blamed For Board’s Loss Of Power

On the evidence of Monday’s total black-out in the supply to the board, he wondered whether the New Zealand Electricity Department was doing enough to safeguard the continuity of power and to eliminate the causes of breakdowns affecting the board’s 15,000 consumers and the city’s major industrial concentration, said Mr L. T. Griffith, at a meeting of the Central Canterbury Electric Power Board yesterday.

Mr Griffith said that as the board supplied industries that could not face a long power shut-down and got the blame for failures that were not of its making, the support of the Canterbury Manufacturers’ Association and Chamber of Commerce should be sought in asking the State to give a reliable supply.

Members were discussing a switch breakdown at the : N.Z.E.D. distribution centre at : Islington which cut power to (the board’s district for up to :an hour on Monday morning, and it was suggested that the : department had paid more attention to safeguarding the supply to the M.E.D. than to the board. “Last month, when I expressed concern at the adequacy of N.Z.E.D. planning, 1 didn't expect the answer so quickly and for them to bare their soul so completely as they did yesterday,” said Mr Griffith. “This failure was most alarming to many consumers. Substantial industrial concerns have complained to me. Are we receiving as good a service in respect to our supply from the N.Z.E.D. as we are entitled to expect, and can they assure us that all steps are being taken to eliminate sources of breakdown?” The supply to Christchurch International Airport was a major concern for the board. The time taken to restore the airport supply concerned him. Why had the board gone to all the trouble to make its own system reliable when it was so vulnerable to a cut by the department? “The department is still trying to find out what caused the blackout,” said the General Manager (Mr S. E.

Slatter). “We can only hope that when the second point of supply is given at Springston, the situation won't get so desperate.” He said that the airport standby plant had maintained power for flying services, and the board’s difficulty, in such a case, was to judge which essential use should get emergency service. Some of the industries supplied by the board could not stand a power loss of more than 20 minutes —such things as glass congealing occurred. To questions, Mr Slatter said that the department had I not, on 'this or previous

i occasions of \ departmental i failure, informed the board. : The board, in consequence, i was in the dark as to how i long the power would be off. Such a blackout could occur : at any time with the State supply. Saying he would not like i to put a figure on the lost: factory production, Mr Griffith said the board should seek assurances, for its consumers': sake, that the department was 1 doing enough to obviate such blackouts. Mr Griffith said the board’s telephone switchboard had been jammed with calls, and . he suggested that some emergency service be arranged to give information. “In such cases, the first release should come from the . department, and I have asked for that,” said Mr Slatter. “We don’t have any informa- , tion from the department, and all we can say is that the power is off, and we don’t know for how long.” “The department may have learned its lesson, but this i has happened before,” said the chairman (Mr T. F. i Carter). “We have had two ; major breakdowns with the : department recently, and we’ve been trying for 15 or 16

years to get a second point of supply.” When Mr K. B. Ramsay said that the department should be asked for extra points of supply and auxiliary safeguard equipment, Mr Griffith said: “I doubt if the same thing could happen with the M.E.D.” Both the M.E.D. supply and the board's could be “dumped” by the department in a major fault, said Mr Slatter. The board, however, had all its eggs in one basket with one point of supply from the department On the board's own system, there could be a major malfunction, but the load could quickly be switched to another substation. The board agreed to ask the department for a full report on the breakdown, and for its comments as to how a repetition could be avoided by mutual arrangement.