Error cuts off power

Press, 13 July 1976, Page 1

Error cuts off power

An error by an Electricity department employee at the Islington substation yesterday cut power to much of Christchurch and as far north as Kaikoura. The Christchurch district manager of the department (Mr G. B. Collie) said that the employee made the error during preparation for routine switching. As a result, circuit breakers feeding a 66,000-volt line opened automatically. Mr Collie said that a full investr tion would be held into the incident.

The electricity supply was cut at 1.08 p.m. and restored at 1.45 p.m. The only areas unaffected were the eastern suburbs qf Christchurch (about one third of the Municipal Electricity Department’s consumers) fed by the Bromley sub-station, which has an independent link with the national grid. The chief engineer of the M.E.D. (Mr W. G. Johnstone) said that power remained on in an area bounded by South Brighton, parts of Woolston, Linwood, and northern Burwood.

Areas south of Christchurch were not affected. North and north-west of the city, most communities up to kaikoura were without power. The failure caused confusion in Christchurch. Restaurants turned awav customers because they could not heat food or drink. Shops and offices were plunged into semidarkness. Many shops could not serve customers because electronic weighing machines would not work.

Production in some factories was disrupted, but stand-by generators in big plants meant that work could continue. Production of the “Christchurch Star” was interrupted. The editor (Mr M. B. Forbes) said that type could not be set for the "home” edition. Standby generating plant powered the printing presses.

Mr Johnstone said that he had heard a report of a person being in difficulty when a private kidney dialysis machine failed. But the medical superintendent at Christchurch Hospital (Dr L. McH. Berry) said that a serious threat to life would have been unlikely.

Dr Berry said that the failure of a dialysis machine could cause serious discomfort and inconvenience. In the unlikely event that life was threatened, a patient could be brought to the hospital, where stand-by generators ensured an uninterrupted supply of power.