Electricity savings fall as cold weather bites

4.30pm

Colder weather last week led to a decline in electricity savings in all parts of the country, the Winter Power Taskforce said today.

The weighted national average level of savings for the week ended on Saturday was 7.3 per cent, well down on 10 per cent, the target level set for the current power-saving campaign, the previous week, the taskforce said in a statement.

The level of savings dropped most markedly in the Wellington region, from 11.5 per cent to 7.3, while the rest of the North Island also experienced a marked drop, with the Auckland/Northland region down from 8.8 per cent to 5.8 and the Central region dropping to 6.3 per cent from 9.2 the previous week.

The savings decline was less pronounced for the South Island. Although Dunedin and the lower South Island did drop from 12.3 to 10.3 per cent, the region continued to lead the way in the campaign, while Christchurch and the upper South Island showed the smallest drop, down to 9.6 per cent from 10.3.

Taskforce co-ordinator Patrick Strange said the cold weather had clearly reduced savings. "Many regions felt the cold of winter for the first time last week and this has been reflected in higher power usage."

Dr Strange said while more households were using electric heating, it was clear business and government savings were continuing.

Meanwhile, national savings for yesterday were 5.4 per cent. Total demand was 106.9 GWh, compared with 108.6 GWh on the same day last year. Hydro storage levels were 2543 GWh, 87 per cent of average.

The wholesale electricity price for all of New Zealand on Sunday was 7.98c/kWh, the taskforce said.

- NZPA