Source: The Montreal Gazette
URL: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=Fr8DH2VBP9sC&dat=19470301&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
Date: 01/03/1947
Event: Britain's electricity: "The five-hour daily domestic and office cut will continue"
Credit: The Montreal Gazette
THE MONTREAL GAZETTE - MAR 01, 1947
BRITISH POWER DUE ON MONDAY
But Many Plants Lack Coal To Generate Steam
London. Feb. 28—(Reuters) - All of Britain's tight industrial network will have electricity again Monday, but most factories will be hard pressed for coal. The five-hour daily domestic and office cut will continue.
Prime Minister Attlee's emergency "fuel cabinet" announced that power would be restored to the Southeast and the London area the first of the week, the same day the Northwest, which got the green light earlier this week, is due to start up. Third main area of Britain's manufacturing, the Midlands had its power restored last Monday for the first time since the fuel crisis hit two weeks previously.
Coal for plant furnaces now remains the stumbling block. For a month prior to the drastic electricity cut announced by Fuel Minister Shinwell manufacturers threatened to put into effect factory hand mill closures because they lacked fuel. No deliveries of coal have been made to many of these plants since the emergency.
Even for resumption of work, manufacturers were told they would have to hold down to 30 per cent of their normal allocation. In the Midlands this kept some from opening on the scheduled date.
In the Southeast, "it will not be possible to increase deliveries of solid fuel to industries in that area from the present level for about two weeks, but it is hoped that thereafter some increase of solid fuel supplies will be secured." the Downing street statement said.
Meanwhile extreme winter weather, which brought the fuel shortage to a head early this month, continued with light snow falling again over most areas.
However, the Ministry of Fuel reported that only six of the country's 1,500 coal pits were snowbound, and only a few colliers in northern ports remained weatherbound.