Power policy ‘haphazard’

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33446, 30 January 1974, Page 3

Power policy ‘haphazard’

(New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, January 29. The Government clearly had no policy to meet the energy difficulties New Zealand faced, the Opposition spokesman for energy resources, Mr L. W. Gandar (Ruahine), said in a statement today.

The statement yesterday by the Minister of Electricity (Mr McGuigan) that New Zealand would get less than half the fuel it needed for power stations was typical of the haphazard and piecemeal approach of the Labour Government. “After every Cabinet meeting we get a bald statement without the information the country needs to understand what is happening,” Mr Gandar said. “Not long ago we were told that no fuel oil was being used to generate electricity. “Then there was the ban on advertising to give a derisory saving—about one 170,000 th of the energy New Zealand generates. “Now we are told of a 50 per cent cut in fuel oil which bears no relation to the 10 per cent supposedly imposed by the oil-producing countries.” Mr Gandar said the only action the Prime Minister and the Government had taken had been to lash out at diesel users—industry, farmers, fishermen, carriers. “And they have left these cuts to the oil companies to administer when it should have been the Government’s job,” he said. The country should know why diesel oil was scarce yet pleasure boating continued, Mr Gandar continued. “Is the Government more concerned with pleasure boating than with production?” he asked.

“Now apparently the same can be said of power generation. Mr Kirk has still failed to meet the Opposition’s request to give the country the information it needs. “The Labour Government should cease treating people like children, and tell them the facts.”

Mr Gandar said the Opposition wanted to know why the cuts in petroleum products were disproportionate —3 per cent for petrol, 20 per cent on diesel, and now 50 per cent for fuel oil. How much fuel oil would normally be used in the summer, and what savings had been made by the Govem-

ament’s policy so far, Mr Ganzdar asked. ' Consumption down Aucklanders are already using less electricity than 1 they did at this time last ■ year, as New Zealand faces : a winter with power cuts. The Waitemata Electric ■ Power Board, with 4000 more : consumers than it had last ; year, is still selling the same I quantity of electricity. The Auckland Electric Power Board uses one-sixth i of the country’s power, but ! consumption has been 1.5 m • units less than last year in the last two weeks. i The savings are being i attributed by power chiefs > to the warm summer weather ' and consumer savings—not to the Government’s ban on > advertising and floodlighting, i Both power boards had budi geted for consumption in-j II creases of more than 7 per • cent for the year, but the actual increases have been, 1 ■ less than 3 per cent. The manager of the WaiteI mata board (Mr J. R. Harri- : son) whose board supplies , power to 85,000 consumers , on the North Shore and in| i western Auckland, said it had used 80 per cent of its estimated consumption for the 1 year, whereas at the same i time last year it had used 87, per cent. Lighting restrictions were making only a marginal difference to consumption, so most of the sav-] ings must be coming from consumers.