Akaroa to have improved power supply

Press, 30 July 1986, Page 8

Akaroa to have improved power supply

Akaroa residents can expect to have a better power supply after the construction of a'second line from Motukarara to Duvauchelle has been completed. Residents have been assured by the Central Canterbury Electric Power Board that it is making every effort to improve the power supply, after the Akaroa District Business Association complained to the board that the town’s electricity supply was inadequate, es-

pecialiy tor the local businesses. After a power failure in Akaroa at Queen’s Birthday . week-end, . the association .wrote to the board saying it was "concerned about, the. seriousness and turmoil a power failure causes te a town which relies heavily oh holiday periods for its survival." - In reply, the board has told the association that a second 33,000-volt line from Motukarara to Duvauchelle, and ultimately on to Akaroa, is being erected at a cost of $850,000. One of the main problems with continuous supply, said the board, had been that only one 33,000volt line carried the electricity from Motukarara to Duvauchelle. Consequently, any outage, whether caused by a line fault or for maintenance purposes, resulted in total loss of supply to the area for the duration of the outage. ~ Half of the work on the second 33,000-volt line is expected to be completed this year. Eventually the AkaroaDuvauchelle area can expect to be serviced by two 33,000-volt lines and two 33,000-volt sub-stations which will help alleviate the present supply problems. • -