Full hydro storage

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33878, 25 June 1975, Page 2

Full hydro storage

For the first time for several years, the hydro storage in both islands is virtually full just before the peak month of July. The General Manager of the Electricity Department (Mr F. W. Blakeley) said yesterday that spilling had continued at Lake Manapouri, but the station was still generating on full output. South Island storage had fallen to 98 per cent in the last week, but North Island storage had risen to be nominally full. Power transmission on the Cook Strait cable had been reduced, and maintenance work was being done on the cable, Mr Blakeley said. "Only the minimum amount of oil generation has again been used to allow the New Plymouth and Marsden stations to make a contribution during high load periods.” A new peak demand of 3667 MW had been recorded last week. It was 159 MW higher than last year’s record. Temperature-corrected, last week’s consumption was exactly the amount of the department’s guidelines.

Withdrawal.—Serious illness has caused Mr R. J. Bloor, the Labour Party’s General Election candidate for Bay of Plenty to withdraw his candidacy. He was to have opposed the National candidate, Mr Duncan MacIntyre.—(P.A.)