POWER ECONOMY

Evening Post, Volume CXXXIII, Issue 139, 15 June 1942, Page 6

POWER ECONOMY

PUBLIC CO-OPERATION

TWO-WAY WEATHER

; . Though, a fortnight ago, the weather ! built up a heavy problem for power i supply engineers over a wide area, | bringing such a demand for heating i that the afternoon peak went close to 1 exceeding the total generating capacity lof hydro,- steam, and diesel stations, 1 the weather during the-autumn and , early winter has, in fact, been unusui ally favourable to the power position: lake and river levels have so far re- ' mained high and the demands upon standby stations have been correspond--1 ingly lower, with benefit to the • coal j position. The level at Taupo has been ; held well above those of former autumn months, and Waikaremoana j and.Mangahao have had heavy autumn ! rains. ; The supply position, then, ran along well until the spell of unusual early winter cold sent the late afternoon peak demand up to a new high figure, so high that voltage had to'be reduced and the speed of the generating ma- ! chines' reduced. One effect in the ! Wellington area was the disruption of ! the railway signalling system on the Monday night and a considerable delay in suburban train runnings; trains ran up to an hour late. HOW PUBLIC CAN ASSIST. More cold and probably colder snaps are certain .this winter and the necessity for economy in the use of power, during peak hours particularly, is very evident June, July, and August are the months of greatest power demand, ■and are unfortunately often months of merely moderate to light rainfall. The so far favourable hydraulic conditions may or may not continue, and the Public Works Department and supply, authorities certainly cannot gamble on a continuance of lucky weather during the most critical winter months, and an appeal is made to all users to conserve power as much, as possible. Regulations announced last week forbid ■ the use of" radiators in shops, factories, and workshops on weekdays between 4 and 6 p>.m., and householders are asked to stand in line by doing without radiators voluntarily during that peak period. They are asked, also, to reduce the use of radiators during other hours, and also to switch off hot water systems as much as possible. These two economies will give the greatest assistance as far as the householder is concerned, but the cooking load can also be reduced substantially if housewives .will cook as niuch together as they conveniently can. Radios definitely should not be left going in empty rooms, and lights must be turned off in rooms and halls not in use. , It is possible that after this year the power position will be very much rej Meved by the commissioning of more plant at Waikaremoana, but that cannot be so this winter. . • I.'' There are two alternatives .to the exercise of the reasonable. economy necessary to get through comfortably enough: One is some system of rationing of a hard and fast prohibition of certain uses of power; the other could easily be serious overloading of the generating system, with abrupt cutting off of pqwer over wide areas. .