§ Mr. Dribergasked the Minister of Power if he is aware that considerable inconvenience was caused to people living near the Essex coast by electricity supply cuts on Christmas Eve, 1962, and on the morning of Christmas Day; and if he will issue a general direction to the electricity boards that more care should be taken to avoid such cuts at times and seasons at which they cause maximum domestic hardship.
§ Mr. WoodThere were five failures which together affected 770 consumers. The failures were due to very heavy demands in severe weather and I am very sorry for the inconvenience they caused. I do not think a direction to the boards would be useful, because I am satisfied they are already doing all they can to strengthen their networks to meet expected increases in demand.