Inter-island cable shut down again, power prices jump

Tuesday 19th May 2009

Power supply from South Island generators to the North Island has been cut after Transpower removed Pole 2 to effect repairs after a fault was found in the Wellington region. Spot power prices jumped.

The national grid operator closed the high voltage direct current link as the current’s glow was hindered and stress was placed on the line by a number of joins overheating. Prices in Wellington rose to $39.11 per megawatt-hour from $1.93 per MWh immediately, according to electricityinfo.co.nz, when the problem was identified, and recently traded at $72.51 per MWh.

“The outage has no impact on consumers,” said chief executive Patrick Strange in a statement. “However, it does create issues for generators in the South Island, unable to supply power to the North Island until Pole 2 is restored to service.”

Around two-thirds of New Zealand’s power comes from hydro-energy, with the largest dams in the South Island. Hydro-lake levels in the South Island have been overflowing in recent months after a sustained drought last year. South Island spot electricity prices ranged between zero and two cents today.

Transpower found the problem during a routine check in the lead-up to winter, and is confident it should be fixed later today.

Contact Energy, the largest listed power company, fell 1.8% to $5.89 in trading on the NZX 50 index today, while TrustPower, the power company controlled by Infratil, gained 0.3% to $7.67.

Businesswire.co.nz

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