WELLINGTON POWER SUPPLY

Greymouth Evening Star, 20 January 1939, Page 4

WELLINGTON POWER SUPPLY

THIRD FAILURE THIS WEEK. [PER PRESS ASSOCIATION.] WELLINGTON. .January 19. For the third time since early on Tuesday morning, Wellington’s power supply from Mangahao tailed tonight, and the city and also the Hull \alley, Khandallah. and Johnsonville, were in darkness for a. short period. Power went off at. 9.21 p.m. and the Government supply was not restored till 9.35 p.m. Though a portion of the equipment is still dismantled for annual Government inspection. Hie Evans Bay standby plant, was able to take- over the city load at 9.27 p.m. and continued to generate a certain amount of power as a precautionary measure for some time after the normal service had been resumed. In the suburbs. however, the lights did not go on till power from Mangahao was restored at 9.35 p.m. As in the two earlier blackouts, salt on the insulators north of Khandallah was staled to be Ihe cause of Hie i rouble. All day yesterday and to-day power was being supplied to Wellington on one line only, the other west line having been left out. since the previous night. From 8 o’clock this morning till dark, a gang of 20 experienced men, who had been gathered from Bunnytherpe southward, toiled at cleaning the accumulation of salt from the insulators. Between 40 and 45 miles of line from Paekakariki northward was treated in this manner, but the cinrent had not long been turned on when the breakdown occurred, both lines being affected. The total length of lilies is 65 miles, and it is considered iliat. a. fault developed in the portion which the men had not lime to clean.