NZ electricity generation at all time high in September quarter

By NZPA

Tuesday 5th December 2006

Electricity generation in New Zealand hit an all time record in the September quarter, usually the busiest three months of the year for electricity production.

In the September quarter this year 10,809 gigawatt hours of electricity were generated, 2.6% more than in the September 2005 quarter, Statistics New Zealand (SNZ) said today.

Hydro and wind generation was up 8.4% to 6274 gigawatt hours, supplying 58% of total electricity generated in the quarter compared to 55% in the September quarter 2005.

Thermal generation was 4.6% down on a year earlier at 4534 gigawatt hours. Coal was down 13%, and gas down 4.8 %, while geothermal was up 14.5%.

When geothermal and biomass generation were added to hydro and wind, the amount of electricity produced from renewable resources during the September 2006 quarter was 66%.

That compared with 62% in the September 2005 quarter and a record 77% in the September 2004 quarter.

After adjusting for seasonal variations, electricity generation in the September 2006 quarter fell 0.3% compared with the June quarter, following an increase of 2% in the June quarter, SNZ said.
Gas production in the September 2006 quarter dropped 6.7% from the previous September quarter.

For the September 2006 year gas production was 1.7% lower than a year earlier, taking it to its lowest level for a September year since 1985.

Electricity generation for the September year was up 1.6% on a year earlier, to 39,920 gigawatt hours, its highest ever level for any 12-month period since records began, SNZ said.

Thermal generation increased by 1953 gigawatt hours, or 12.9%, while hydro and wind generation were down 1312 gigawatt hours, 5.4%.

The 57% of total electricity generation provided by hydro and wind in the September 2006 year was the lowest ever recorded for a September year.

Electricity prices for household consumers were up 1.5% in the September quarter compared with the June quarter, and up 6.6% compared with the September 2005 quarter.

Prices for commercial electricity consumers were down 6.8% from the June quarter, but were up 6.8% from the September 2005 quarter.

Commercial liquid petroleum gas (LPG) prices were up 13% in the latest quarter compared with the June quarter, and 20.1% up on the September 2005 quarter.

Those increases were the highest ever recorded for commercial LPG, resulting from higher imports of LPG at international prices, along with higher transport costs, SNZ said.

The price of natural gas increased 0.8% for commercial and 3.1% for household consumers compared with the June 2006 quarter.
Increases from the September 2005 quarter were 5% for commercial and 9% for household consumers.

Domestic crude petroleum production dropped 7.5% to 718,827 tonnes in the year to September from a year earlier.

Provisional estimates put crude petroleum imports 5.4% up to 4.1 million tonnes. Partly refined petroleum imports provisionally dropped 54.6% to 436,111 tonnes.

Total deliveries of petrol in the September quarter rose 0.3% from the September 2005 quarter to 564,507 tonnes, while diesel deliveries were 0.4% lower at 565,446 tonnes.

For the year to September petrol deliveries were down 0.2% from a year earlier, while diesel deliveries rose 1.5%.

Petrol prices fell 0.8% in the September 2006 quarter for household consumers, compared with the June quarter, while prices were up 16% from the September quarter last year.

For commercial consumers petrol prices were down 1.2% and diesel down 1% in the September quarter from the previous quarter.

Prices were up 13.8% for petrol and 24.7% for diesel from the September 2005 quarter.

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