POWER OUTAGES YESTERDAY

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 80, 9 April 1945, Page 4

POWER OUTAGES YESTERDAY

UNUSUALLY HIGH LOAD DURING COBB SHUT DOWN For two short periods yesterday afternoon —from 2.5 1;o 2.35 o’clock, and from 4.35 to 4.4 s—electric power was off in the city. The Electricity Section of the Public Works Department had arranged for the Cobb power to be shut off during part of the afternoon to enable the connecting-up of new equipment and maintenance work to be carried out; also for some work to be done on the new transmission line to Marlborough. The supply authorities conceited were advised of the shut down and arrangements made for local plants to carry the Sunday afternoon load. The Stoke Diesel and Brooklyn hydro were to supply Nelson and the Waimea area. However, it was found that the cold weather had created an abnormal load for a Sunday afternoon and so the work on the Blenheim line was cancelled and the Blenheim diesel plant was called in to feed Nelson. It was to enable the switching in if the Blenheim power that Nelson was shut off for a period of 12 minutes. When the work at the Cobb was completed Nelson was shut off again for eight minutes for the reverse switching process before the Cobb resumed the load.