http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2392611a10,00.html
Winter warning: save power or no hot water
THURSDAY , 10 APRIL 2003
By MARTA STEEMAN Hot water could be turned off this winter to avert power blackouts if New Zealanders do not make voluntary 5 per cent cuts to their use now.
The threat of cold winter showers came yesterday as the electricity industry warned of a dire outlook for power supplies.
The industry's 'winter power taskforce' called on all New Zealanders to help avert a crisis by using 5 per cent less power and warned that greater voluntary cuts would be on the cards from next month if dry weather persisted and there was continued uncertainty about fuel for thermal power stations. It is the second time in three years that voluntary cuts have been called for.
The industry taskforce is headed by Patrick Strange, hired after Energy Minister Pete Hodgson said it was the industry's responsibility to get New Zealand through the winter.
Dr Strange, a former industry chief executive, said the outlook for winter was 'of significant concern'. Hydro storage was 'well below average' and power demand had jumped 6 per cent since November.
He said New Zealand had enough generation capacity at its power stations. But whether there were enough fuel supplies to run them was not certain.
New Zealand needed heavy rain to avoid power cuts, but long-range forecasts were for dry weather.
If voluntary savings did not help, he said, there might need to be 'hot water cuts' - the step before blackouts. The aim of savings was to conserve hydro storage for when power usage surged in winter. The good news was he was 'encouraged' by the progress of the generating companies to source extra gas, coal and oil.
In other years, gas had been in almost unlimited supply from the Maui field but, because it was being depleted, that backstop was no longer there.
He said the savings effort was aimed at customers on fixed tariffs, which are households through to medium-sized businesses. They use about 66 per cent of New Zealand's power. Big industrials, which use the other third, had already cut back in response to soaring wholesale prices.
In winter 2001, the Government called for 10 per cent power savings. The campaign lasted six weeks with Kiwis achieving a 7 per cent reduction. The Government has told the industry the electricity market's survival depends on how well it manages this winter.
