COAL SHORTAGE

Evening Post, Volume CXL, Issue 57, 5 September 1945, Page 9

COAL SHORTAGE

ACUTE. IN:AUCKLAND " PA. ' AUCKLAND, -September 4 Many undertakings.„. in Aucklana which depend on' coal are in a precarious position, and are operating on a margin which is not considered safe for undertakings which have to serve the public on a large scale. Though Government statements this year hay« placed an optimistic complexion on the future of the coal supply, the position seems to have deteriorated greatly. Transport services such as the railways and Devonport Steam Ferry Company have just enough for them to maintain their operations, and some other industries are also living on a hand-to-mouth basis. The position for householders is slightly better than it was a few months ago. Inquiries revealed,that the. railway depots in the area north of Tailrape each had!Ubaut,a,-third:of a week' 3 supply pf cqal., TAJ one, stage in Auckland recently, railway-: coal supplies were so low that only, the arrival of a coal boat from the south staved- off serious difficulties. Had supplies been delayed for any length of time it is possible that the railway services would, have had to be curtailed. Ministerial statements in the past indicated that open-cast mining would do a great deal to solve the coal difficulties, but it is .understood that only a small percentage of the coal received by the railways in Auckland is from the open-cast operations."' The experience of the Devonport Steam Ferry Company is" that the coal shortage has never been worse. After the vessels had been '. bunkered two weeks ago there were only three tons of coal left over, and last week there were "only 'two 'tons' left; ' Two, years ago the company maintained a reserve of 2000 tons, which was considered,to be a proper reserve. It was stated that the service could be maintained •'for three days on the boats' bunker capacity, but apart from that the company had no margin to work on. Coal coming from the Omaria and the arrival today of the Kiwitea has given the Auckland Gas Company about 15 days' supply, but for several hours on Monday night there was no coal in the, horizontal retort house at the gasworks. .Full: holders enabled a service to be maintained,' but the company has, been ■ operating; on a slender margin for a considerable time. •■;" The experiences of the railways and the ferry company have been shared recently by many > other industries. Dairy companies in the Waikato werestated to be operating with meagra supplies. A merchant said the demand for household coal was being met, and firewood was fairly plentiful.