About this time yesterday Mike Fuge from Contact Energy gave an eloquent defence of the power industry.
He said it works fine, we are in a period of transition, the investment is being made and it will all work out well in the end.
Tell that to the mills who have so far closed, or stopped, and the workers who are waiting to hear whether they have jobs.
Tell that to the businesses paying double what they did last year for power.
Tell that to the farming sector, the likes of Fonterra, who say this now affects our export competitiveness.
They claim they have been arguing for industry reform for ages now. ANZCO, who are into meat, are paying twice what they were last year, and you know who that gets passed onto.
In the meantime, the Government is looking at liquefied natural gas.
Contact claimed yesterday on this show an announcement was coming on gas. Let's hope it's good.
And at some point we may or may not hear from the Commerce Commission or the Electricity Authority.
Although, if you have followed the various scraps of late over things like petrol, or building supplies, or supermarkets, or banks, when the likes of authorities get involved it appears to be more headline noise than any actual change.
The big picture is the key here. If we can't make enough power now, even with the arrival of the new stuff like the geothermal power and the wind and the solar, where do EV's, data centres and AI fit in?
Whether at a crisis point or not, power is too expensive in this country and not just too expensive, but clearly unreliable.
Three main things drive the industry currently - rain, gas, and wind.
There isn't enough rain currently.
We stopped looking for gas and current reserves are running out.
The wind isn't blowing.
That's three good options on paper but in reality, it doesn’t work.
So the industry says don’t panic but the users say it’s a crisis and our exports are being hit.
It seems to me this is a job for the Government. Jawboning, to this point, hasn’t and isn't working. Leaving it to the market isn't working.
If you don’t have power, you are third world.
We look, currently, pretty third world.
Mike Hosking is a New Zealand television and radio broadcaster. He currently hosts The Mike Hosking Breakfast show on NewstalkZB on weekday mornings - where this article was sourced.
Tell that to the businesses paying double what they did last year for power.
Tell that to the farming sector, the likes of Fonterra, who say this now affects our export competitiveness.
They claim they have been arguing for industry reform for ages now. ANZCO, who are into meat, are paying twice what they were last year, and you know who that gets passed onto.
In the meantime, the Government is looking at liquefied natural gas.
Contact claimed yesterday on this show an announcement was coming on gas. Let's hope it's good.
And at some point we may or may not hear from the Commerce Commission or the Electricity Authority.
Although, if you have followed the various scraps of late over things like petrol, or building supplies, or supermarkets, or banks, when the likes of authorities get involved it appears to be more headline noise than any actual change.
The big picture is the key here. If we can't make enough power now, even with the arrival of the new stuff like the geothermal power and the wind and the solar, where do EV's, data centres and AI fit in?
Whether at a crisis point or not, power is too expensive in this country and not just too expensive, but clearly unreliable.
Three main things drive the industry currently - rain, gas, and wind.
There isn't enough rain currently.
We stopped looking for gas and current reserves are running out.
The wind isn't blowing.
That's three good options on paper but in reality, it doesn’t work.
So the industry says don’t panic but the users say it’s a crisis and our exports are being hit.
It seems to me this is a job for the Government. Jawboning, to this point, hasn’t and isn't working. Leaving it to the market isn't working.
If you don’t have power, you are third world.
We look, currently, pretty third world.
Mike Hosking is a New Zealand television and radio broadcaster. He currently hosts The Mike Hosking Breakfast show on NewstalkZB on weekday mornings - where this article was sourced.
6 comments:
This has been coming for many years but the green luvvies cancelling the exploration contracts have brought it on sooner. The energy supply system is now so run down that it cannot be rejuvenated quickly, the only answer is more baseload generation and that takes time, a lot of time. Oil and gas investors have been frightened off by the greens promising to cancel exploration contracts when they get back in power, the oils and gas industry works on long time scales to get a return on their investments.. The only relief can come from changes in the electricity market which currently rewards generators for not investing in new plant, just sit back and watch shortages send prices through the roof. I wish someone would produce a lay persons explanation of how the market works, users would be gob-smacked. I know quite a lot about it but I'm sure there are many who know more and would be better at explaining it.
Three things are needed...
Firstly, change the consented levels of the SI hydro dams, they can be lowered. Ie Waitaki is set at minimum 518m above sea level, could easily be reduced.
Secondly, consent and allow more hydro to be built for medium term. Especially in SI where there is ample water.
Thirdly, consent Nuclear energy for long term, especially in NO where majority of demand is.
Done.
Lake Tekapo should be raised a minimum of 5 metres to enable the snow melt to be saved instead of being released without making electricity. Remember the upper Waitaki scheme uses the same water through 6 diferent turbines on its journey to the sea.
Many of us who were involved and later moved out of the industry saw this coming when the whole shebang was split up and privatised. The money being taken by generators is staggering. Any investment on new generation is based on "feel good" stuff and a sop to green and climate change idiots.
While the current electricity market operates the way it does, it takes away any incentive for anyone to seriously look at new thermal or hydro generation. Alongside that, we have the RMA and Iwi who can both stifle any major development, ie: hydro.
geothermal.
A base load station like Huntly should run 24/7 using NZ coal
with hydro providing the required balance and back up.
It's time NZ got real about generation and looked at ALL alternatives. Blackouts, rationing, industry compromised etc. is not what we need now or at any time.
This government cannot sort the power crisis - even if they had supernatural powers! For a permanent solution we need statesmen, not politicians.
A full ban on charging EVs would help and lets face it most owners are vertue signalers and would hate to drive a coal fired car.
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