Call for electricity adviser

Press, 9 August 1976, Page 7

Call for electricity adviser

The Municipal Electricity Department should employ an advisory officer to tell customers about the best and cheapest ways of using electricity, says the former secretary of the Clean Air Society, Mr D. W. King. The M.E.D. was one of the few large suppliers of electricity that did not employ such a person, Mr King said. Because people felt that electricity was too expensive they were turning to coal fires, which polluted the atmosphere, he said. Members of the public should be told about insulation in houses or thermostats on heaters. A house which was well insulated would be heated by less energy. Christchurch was not being properlv served, Mr King said. the general manager of the M.E.D. (Mr J. P. Shelley) said that the department’s sales staff could discuss with anybody the best way to use electricity. “We do not employ a fulltime advisory officer. Most supply authorities do have them. We have considered it once or twice. There is possibly room for one. “The Electrical Development Association supplies information to us which is available to our staff and the public,” he said.