KEY POINTS:
Wholesale spot power prices at the North Island reference point of Haywards rose 26.5 per cent to an average $321.19 per MWh, and at the South Island reference point of Benmore prices were 19.9 per cent higher at an average $363.53 per MWh.
Heavy rains last week missed the catchment areas of most of the main South Island lakes, which have been at their lowest levels since 1992.
"Prices seem to have settled back, which reflects the fundamentals of the hydro supply situation," an analyst said.
Wholesale market operator M-Co said stored energy over the past seven days fell 2 percentage points to 56 per cent of average. National inflows were 58 per cent of average over the week to Tuesday, compared with 83 per cent in the previous week.
In the South Island, where virtually all power is produced by hydro power stations, inflows were 44 per cent of average, compared with 86 per cent the previous week, while North Island inflows jumped to 104 per cent from 69 per cent of average.
