Boost of $3m for energy saving

By CHRIS DANIELS energy writer

Energy efficiency has been given a Government funding boost in a post-Budget announcement by Energy Minister Pete Hodgson.

An extra $2.9 million will be allocated to the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority to pay for new programmes aimed at cutting energy wastage.

Hodgson said the programmes were expected to result in electricity savings of 350 gigawatt hours a year by 2005 and 2006.

That was the equivalent of the power used by 43,000 households.

More than $1 million would be used to set up more "demand exchanges", which allowed end-users to sell back unused power.

Any business that consumed between 5 and 10 gigawatt hours of electricity a year could profit from being part of a demand exchange, said Hodgson, and should contact the authority or their power retailer for information.

The authority's subsidised energy audits - where companies get Government help to pay for audits of their energy use - will also be expanded.

The subsidised audits are offered to big customers which use more than 10 gigawatt hours of electricity a year.

The authority is also going to spend $68,000 on a feasibility study looking into the case for a financial incentive scheme to encourage companies to invest in energy efficiency.

Hodgson said many firms looking into new efficiency investments faced financial constraints that stopped them proceeding. Among such constraints were investment criteria that demanded shorter payback periods.

"We want to examine whether an incentive scheme would be justified by the extra investment in energy efficiency it would bring on," he said.

Gerry Ruffell, quality and environmental systems manager for 3M New Zealand, said the company had cut its power use by 10 per cent without cutting back on production.

3M New Zealand makes specialised adhesive tape for export at its Glenfield plant, where about 160 staff work.

Ruffell said power savings had affected staff when air conditioning was cut.

"We had to explain that it is a national crisis, so please dress accordingly. If it gets too bad, then we'll have to reconsider."

3M is also cutting power use by turning off computers when not in use and lights.

It has also turned off the hot water in the staff bathrooms.

Ruffell said hygiene and health and safety commitments had not been compromised by the power saving campaign.

"It was surprising how much of the cooling cycle was operating, even at this time of the year," said Ruffell. The 3M air conditioning system had been pumping outside air, not cooled air, through the building.

Some workers on the sunny side of the building had found it uncomfortable, he said.