Street Lighting

Hutt News, Volume 18, Issue 44, 23 May 1945, Page 5

Street Lighting

REDUCED HOURS AV ANTED

POWER BOARD DISCUSSION

y The matter of saving electric i power by a reduction in the hours r of street lighting was discussed by the Hutt Valley Power Eoarcl at its - meeting last Thursday, when replies s were received a number of . Jocal bodies to the Board's previous i request for reduced hours of street e lighting. ) Lower Hutt City, Makara County f and Hutt County wrote agreeing to - certain reductions, -while Petone ; Borough wrote regretting its inability to sanction any reduction in its 5 area. } Mr. S. Blackeley regretted the lack of unanimity among the local bodies 5 and said it appeared to him that - local bodies might soon have to ; choose between less lights in their • streets or less lights in their rate- ; payers' homes. Mr. H. Green, Mayor of Petone, ■ and member of the Power Board, ; said that Petone was in a difficult i position. Whilst his council apprei ciated the necessity for conserving ! electric power they had to consider : the safety of the very large number of Petone residents who were engag- . Ed oil night shifts in the many local industries and who stopped and started work at all hours of the night. The Chairman (Mr. Andrews) said that the problem of night shift workers, particularly women, had prevented the Lower Hutt City Council from suggesting even greater reductions than they had agreed to. Mr. J. Huggan suggested "that greater saivings of power could be .effected by cutting out radiators instead of street lights. It had been proved that a small number of radiators used more power than the whole street lighting system of Eastbourne. Mr. P. Dowse wanted to know if any savings in cost due to reductions of hours of lighting would be passed back to the local authorities. i

The General Manager, Mr. I. R. Robinson thought that the suggested reductions would amount to about 10 per cent which would be passed on to the local bodies.

The Chairman said that the main thing was not the saving of a few pounds per year but the saving in power. The local bodies were equally concerned and would co-operate in the scheme as a national conservation effort. There were difficulties in the way of course, and he thought the position could best be met by leaving it to the General Manager to make the *best possible arrangements regarding reduced street light ing with the individual local bodies concerned. This course was adopted.