Higher prices and a potential winter power shortage are looming:
. . . After low rainfall in January and February hydro lakes are much lower than they usually would be this time of year. While it’s not setting off alarm bells yet, it’s not ideal.
Transpower chief executive James Kilty says fortunately there’s still plenty of time for things to change.
We are overall, though, in the energy mix better off than we were this time last year due to the arrangements being made for alternative fuels, coal and some gas contracting happening at this time, so the industry is preparing,” he said.
As with previous winters there’s also the possibility of constrained supply during the coldest mornings and evenings. . .
It is only a possibility but it still begs the question: why is there so much encouragement to switch from other forms of energy to electricity, including from petrol vehicles to EVs, when there’s no guarantee the supply will meet demand?
The pressure to move away from fossil fuels is driven by concerns about climate change. But until there is are reliable alternatives it is once more putting the environmental cart in front of the practical horses.
Ele Ludemann is a North Otago farmer and journalist, who blogs HERE - where this article was sourced.
4 comments:
The NZ crown debt has risen from 57 billion nzd in 2018 to 175.5 billion nzd in 2024, with virtually nothing to show for it. Think of what that money could have achieved if it had been spent wisely on things like dams or other sources of sustainable energy production.
Why anyone would think the ability to provide a continuous supply of electricity is possible today with the uptake of electric vehicles when it has never been possible previously, is beyond me!
Bring on the small modular reactor (SMR) .
Bullocks to the Greens !
Totally endorse the above comments
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