Power saving to attract rewards

By KEVIN TAYLOR political reporter

The Government says power retailers will start offering incentives for consumers to save power within the next fortnight.

Energy Minister Peter Hodgson told Parliament yesterday that the incentives would be aimed at individual customers and at a community level.

"Consumers should not postpone making any savings because they get a lower power bill as a result and reduce the chance of problems in winter," Mr Hodgson said.

The national electricity savings target was doubled on Monday to 10 per cent as concern grows over low hydro lake levels.

The Government has set the state sector a power savings target of 15 per cent.

Winter Power Taskforce director Dr Patrick Strange said yesterday that incentive schemes offered to residential users during the 2001 energy crisis ranged from credits for actual power saved through to larger community programmes.

Community programmes involved power retailers offering to make a donation in return for a certain level of saving.

Dr Strange expected similar schemes would be offered this year.

"They all worked in 2001," he said. "It's up to the retailers to work out what they will do this time."

Mr Hodgson also said the incentive programmes were successful in 2001 and that they would add to the existing financial incentive to save power - a lower electricity bill.

He said residential consumers could save 10 per cent relatively easily.

Methods included switching off appliances when they were not in use, taking short showers instead of baths and switching off unnecessary lighting.

An advertising campaign starts this weekend to push the power conservation message.

To jeers he had done nothing, Finance Minister and Acting Prime Minister Michael Cullen told Parliament there had been no expectation that a dry year would follow the 2001 crisis so soon.

Mr Cullen said the downward revision of Maui gas reserves, which hampered the electricity industry's ability to respond, had also not been expected.

National leader Bill English asked why, despite the new electricity industry-related laws and reviews of the last few years, nothing had been done to reduce the impact of a dry year.

Dr Cullen replied that: "Despite the fact that Parliament is sovereign, neither statute nor policy statement can make it rain in the lakes, nor fill up Maui with the amount of gas which was previously presumed to be recoverable."

But he said there were questions about whether the market was the best means of ensuring the security of supply.

Earlier, Mr Hodgson told reporters he was sure the country could achieve the 10 per cent savings target.

"We did in some weeks during 2001, and I think it will be the same this time ... it will bounce up and down just because of the way that the weather changes."

He said there was a willingness in society to make the savings and that industry was a lot more active and organised than it was in 2001.

"Back then I had to organise them and this year I don't. They are putting time and money and effort into it, " Mr Hodgson said.

He refused to describe the shortage as a crisis, saying it had not yet developed into that.