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National grid owner and operator Transpower's December-half net profit rose almost 30 per cent, thanks to increased electricity demand during a cold winter, a rise it described as merely "satisfactory".
The company's net profit of $61.5 million was 28.9 per cent up on a year earlier and operating revenue rose 4.1 per cent to $316.5 million, which it said was "a satisfactory financial result".
"Colder weather in July/August 2006 drove peak demands above previous levels at many grid exit points resulting in higher payments from some of our customers," Transpower said.
Capital expenditure over the period rose $59 million to $131 million while operating expenses were up 1.4 per cent to $199.3 million.
Transpower chairman David Gascoigne said the national grid had performed well against targets despite parts operating at near capacity much of the time.
"This outcome was achieved in an operating environment that has required a significant increase in planned outages of the grid to enable the delivery of a growing capital works programme."
The company had made "considerable progress" on planning and delivering a range of grid investment initiatives during the period.
The present national grid investment programme was "the most intensive" since the 1950s.
"While larger projects like the North Island Grid Upgrade proposal punctuate the medium, to long-term horizon of Transpower's anticipated capital expenditure, it is the smaller, more immediate upgrades that continue to be business as usual for the company," it said.
The Electricity Commission's recent Notice of Intention to approve the North Island Grid Upgrade proposal had provided "useful clarity about the Commission's processes".
