Transpower Publishes Annual Planning Report 2006

4 April 2006

Transpower Publishes Annual Planning Report 2006

Transpower has published its first Annual Planning Report, a document which provides detail on the issues impacting on electricity demand and generation in New Zealand over the next ten years, viewed from the perspective of the transmission network owner.

The Annual Planning Report also encompasses the regulatory requirement on Transpower to submit a Grid Reliability Report to the Electricity Commission by 31 March 2006.

Transpower’s General Manager Grid Investment, Tim George, says that the aim of the document is to provide a one-stop shop of Transpower’s planned development of the backbone and regional transmission networks over the next decade.

“We wanted to build upon previously released documents to provide a comprehensive planning document, that the wider electricity industry could benefit from in terms of signalling where and when non-transmission investment might be useful.

“By laying our plans on the table, we hope to provide more certainty to the market and the public about where we think we may need to develop the transmission network over the next ten years.”

The Annual Planning Report considers the latest demand forecasts and compares these with the transmission capacity in 12 regions covering the country. The periods and places when capacity is approaching its limit are highlighted and possible transmission developments to relieve the situation are listed.

“This is a very comprehensive document but we’re encouraging people to provide feedback so we can further improve its usefulness in future editions.”

While the Annual Planning Report summarises potential investments over the next ten years, Transpower must still comply with the regulatory approval processes before any projects can be commenced. This will mean consulting with interested parties, determining whether alternatives are available, selecting the most cost effective option and requesting approval from the Electricity Commission.

The nearly 300 page Annual Planning Report 2006 is freely available from Transpower’s website, www.transpower.co.nz

ENDS

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