POWER FAILURES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25560, 13 June 1944, Page 7

POWER FAILURES

NEW SWITCH-GEAR AUTHORISED

Mr N. A. Davidson (engineer) reported to the Waitaki Electric Power Board yesterday that there had been several serious interruptions to the supply on the board’s system during the month, due to defects in the board’s own plant and a much higher loading than was anticipated, which gave lower pressure in certain areas. The staff had done particularly good work in remedying faults, and he asked the authority of the board to purchase switch gear and plant. The board gave Mr Davidson the necessary authority,to do so. Details of the interruptions were given by Mr Davidson as follows: 1. Two interruptions occurred in the Hull street transformer area due to overload. A new transformer substation which had been under construction for some time in Test street was now in operation, and this would relieve some of the load on Hull street and should prevent a recurrence. . . 2 On May 29 a tree which was being cut' down by the beard’s line staff and a farmer near Maheno crashed out oi control through tile main line thereby causing a total interruption to the supply. This failure again directed attention to the intolerable position on which he had reported previously, and under which certain faults cn the country feeders involved a total interruption to the supplj. This matter was taken up with the Works Department, which advised that it was no part of the department’s commitments to give the board supply over two separate and individual feeders. The present position, stated the engineer, was that the Works Department ordered three additional feeder switches to increase the board’s feeders from one to five, in addition, the board had on order ceitain line switches and fuses which, when received, would improve the position and help to isolate faulty lines. When the additional P.W.D. feeders were installed the present unsatisfactory state of aitan. would be remedied. ~ . ~ 3 On June 4 a cable box (pothead) on 'the feeder in the power house supplying the town 3300-volt system and the hospital and park transformers broke down, and in doing so damaged its own switch and the mam incoming swuen. Power was restored to the affected areas by various temporary feeds. A new’cable box was installed, and the damaged switches reconditioned, and the norma supply restored on June 5. The switch gear in the power house and some of the other equipment was very old and inadequate to cope with "the present 10-ds. He had hoped to leave the ordering oi this apparatus so as to take advantage r.f new developments and lower P|ices after the war, but it was becoming increasingly apparent that new equipment should be ordered now. Mr Davidson stated that the question of supply to the Oamaru Hospital in the event of trouble on its line was being investigated.