FAILING POWER SUPPLY.

Manawatu Standard, Volume L, Issue 245, 11 September 1930, Page 6

FAILING POWER SUPPLY.

CITY OF DARKNESS

POSITION IN CHRISTCHURCH

Per Press Association,

CHRISTCHURCH, Sept. 10. No good news came from Lake Coleridge to-day. The weather was fine and clear, but a falling barometer gave hope for a north-west wind, with rain. The level of the lake fell again to-day, but the Public Works engineers are not now giving the exact figures. Several meetings in the city to-day showed the concern of power users about the situation. Retailers have agreed tentatively to cut out the late shopping night provided all retailers abide by the decision. Street lighting in the city to-night was cut down to a minimum. Most of the streets were in complete darkness, but a few lights still showed in Cathedral Square and the busiest intersections.

The picture theatres will be greatly affected by the power failure. All except two of the newest theatres have stand-by plants, but these were installed for silent films and are not sufficiently powerful to operate talkies. The Drainage Board to-day ran its own suction gas pumping plant, but unfortunately it can carry only half the load. A new pump is being obtained for the water supply, but it cannot be operating for some weeks yet. The biggest economies are possible in the domestic use of current, but the authorities are believed to be at a loss to discover how to enforce economies which would in cases admittedly cause serious hardship.