DAYLIGHT SAVING

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 68, 17 September 1930, Page 12

DAYLIGHT SAVING

TO CONSERVE. POWER

POSITION IN CANTERBURY

A suggestion was made by Mr. D. G. Sullivan (Labour, Avon) in a question addressed iv the House of Kepreseutatives to-day to the Minister, of .Public "Works that daylight saving should be introduced in Canterbury in order -to conserve electric supply during the present water crisis arising out. oi' the t water shortage at Lake Coleridge. Replying in the House this afternoon, the Minister (the Hon. "W. B. Taverner) said that when the shortage of power occurred in the Auckland area in the month of June he submitted proposals to Cabinet recommending the immediate introduction of daylight saving time, and indicated the saving of power that could be made. The proposal, however, was not favoured by Cabinet, on the grounds that it would have been necessary to make it apply Ito the whole of the North Island, whereas the area affected was relatively small. In regard to Mr. Sullivan's suggestion, the Minister pointed out [that, with the lengthening of the days as the season advances, the benefit to be derived was consequently diminishing, and he had been advised that a saving of only 1000 kilowatts in the present load was all that could be looked for in the City of Christchurch, ;and it was quite possible this saving (in peak load would only result m increased consumption of units and consequently of water at some other hours [of the day. ' , [ "I desire to further point out/ ne said, "that under the existing conditions at Lake Coleridge station, all the water available is being used, whereas the benefit of daylight saving as in the circumstances at Auckland were that a considerable peak reduction could have been made, and the difficulty in that case was more to meet peak demand than the total number of units. That docs not apply to the Christchurch situation. Further, it was considered inconvenient to apply the measure over the whole of the South Island when, in the ordinary course of events, sum- j mer-time will operate at as close a date as the 12th October, and will then, of course, be uniform over the whole Dominion. In regard to the shortage of power in Christchurch City, investigations are proceeding which it is hoped will culminate in recommendations being made to me that will in some measure increase the power available at an early date, and in regard to the position which may bo expected next winter, I desire to give the Honourable member a definite assurance that the Department will take steps to increase the generation to a satisfactory limit. As previously pointed out, the" "Waitaki station will, all being well, be hi a position to give supply before the winter of 1932 is reached." '