UNITED PROTEST

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22011, 3 May 1946, Page 4

UNITED PROTEST

AUCKLAND PROJECT CONFERENCE CALLED GISBORNE REPRESENTED Auckland provincial power authorities will send delegates to a conference to bo hold in Hamilton on Monday, to discuss the possible effects of metropolitan pressure for a disturbance of the present balance of supplies to all authorities from North Island power sources. The conference represents a countermove against the project advanced by Auckland manufacturers for an increased allocation of power for the city area. Delegates will be instructed by their respective provincial authorities on the form of protest to be made against the proposed interference with the existing allocations. Delegates from the Poverty Bay Electric-Power Board will be Messrs. F. Tolcrton and R. L. Gray. Mr. Tolerton will speak not only for the Poverty Bay board but also as representative of/-the commercial users of clcctricrpower in this district, including farmers who in recent years have increased substantially their use of current for fanning operations. Mr. Gray's technical background in the electrical industry should give his services special value at the conference. Alternative Power Sources The volume of protest roused in the provincial centres throughout the North Island by the Auckland proposals will find an adequate expression at the Hamilton gathering, it is believed, though attendance there will be confined to delegations representing boards in the Auckland provincial district. Alternative means of producing' power to meet emergencies in areas where secondary industries are concentrated are now under examination, and one project which is receiving close attention is the purchase or chartering of a floating plant which could bo moored in a harbour and connected with the land circuits in periods of stringency. It has been stated that a large steamer’s engines are capable of developing a supply sufficient to carry a substantial portion of a major city's load, and the use of warships now rendered obsolete by naval-design advances is one suggestion put forward.

It is believed that the Government is giving close consideration to possible alternatives to the disturbance of existing power quotas, in view of the strong stand taken by those authorities whose supply would suffer if metropolitan areas were allowed additional quotas of; power from existing North Island sources.