Warm days big help but crisis isn't over

Warmer weather helped New Zealanders edge closer to the magical 10 per cent electricity savings target over the weekend, but the power crisis is far from over.

Savings reached their highest level on Sunday - 9.7 per cent - only 0.3 per cent short of the target.

While the country's efforts had been described as encouraging by Winter Power Taskforce co-ordinator Patrick Strange, he warned that there was no room for complacency.

National hydro-storage levels were at 2430GWh yestertday, 82 per cent of average.

"Storage is still 18 per cent below average. It is still early in winter and we still need to save," he said.

"We've had a little bit of rain in the last few days and the hydro levels are holding. The inflows are matching what is being pulled out at the moment."

Asked if the crisis was over, Dr Strange said: "That is not what the figures are telling us. People need to understand, the more they save now, the better the chances are of getting out of it [without power cuts].

"The figures are encouraging, but people still need to keep saving."

He could not comment on when the crisis would be over, saying this would depend on continued savings, rainfall patterns, lake levels and power usage.

The unseasonably warm start to winter may have melted away Mt Hutt ski area's hopes of opening for the season on Saturday.

Late last week, skiers were being told to get out their thermals and wax their skis because the field needed only one more big dump of snow or below-zero temperatures to open with a 30cm to 40cm base.

But Canterbury's weekend temperatures in the late teens have melted the average 10cm-to-15cm base across the mountain, compacted from the 30cm dump during the May 23 cold snap.

Coverage was now 5cm to 10cm, area manager Dave Wilson said.

"It is a bit disheartening to see it go. But it will snow."

He said the field was continuing to gear up for the opening but, unless a front came through or temperatures dropped to allow snowmaking to resume, the opening would be postponed.

"June is a key month to get the snow right. June sets the tone and good snowfalls in July give us a good spring.

"It is still early days."

Mt Hutt opened last season on June 1 with a 20cm-to-30cm base of packed snow.

During the past 10 years, Mr Wilson said, Mt Hutt had always opened during the first weeks of June.

- NZPA