KEY POINTS:
Meridian Energy chief executive Keith Turner believes the electricity system will get through the winter without a power crisis, but it will be tight.
Dr Turner told Parliament's commerce select committee today that a meeting of sector bosses yesterday had looked at pressures on the system.
Problems and worries were caused by: lower than usual lake in-flows, the Cook Strait cable being down to one operational pole, the Huntly power station not operating at full capacity because of cooling issues, while the unplanned closure of a Contact Energy plant in Taranaki was coinciding with planned maintenance at other plants.
Dr Turner said work was underway to mitigate the risk with the second pole of the Cook Strait cable being partially reopened.
By the time winter hit, planned maintenance would be completed and there was also the chance of autumn rain.
Dr Turner said he left the meeting with some confidence.
"I think there is a very clear interest in capacity -- how many megawatts we have to meet demand -- and the lake levels in the South Island are going to be a key contributor to the total energy available," Mr Turner said.
There were many ways of managing demand on the grid through reducing demand with ripple control on hot water and large users voluntarily shutting down in exchange for money.
Dr Turner said he believed there would be enough generation and demand control to cover unexpected failures.
"It is a very fine margin, finer than I have seen it in my career," Dr Turner said.
Dr Turner is stepping down from the role on March 31, after 39 years in the sector.
He has been chief executive since Meridian was spun out of Electricity Corp in 1999.
The select committee was told that relations between the electricity sector had improved and become more "collegial" since the change in chief executive at Transpower.
This had created a will amongst the sector to sort out electricity transmission problems.
"There is no question that New Zealand...has under invested in the grid for 20 years."
National energy spokesman Gerry Brownlee questioned the energy minister on Dr Turner's comment that security of supply was as finely balanced as he had seen it in his 39 years in the electricity industry.
Energy Minister David Parker said he agreed with Dr Turner.
But as he had pointed out yesterday, notwithstanding the very unusual coincidence of "adverse effects happening at once", the system was coping.
"We haven't run the system down. There are unprecedented levels of investment in both transmission and generation."
Mr Parker said an important element of security of supply was whether part of Pole 1 of the Cook Strait cable could be restored, and work on this was proceeding.
A decision on the partial restoration would be made in the next few weeks, he said.
- NZPA
