23 June 2006
A week of peak power demand records
The cold and stormy weather that has gripped the country in the past week has seen electricity consumption soar.
As System Operator, Transpower observed a number of new records for peak electricity demand. These include:
New Zealand record
– 6630 megawatts (up 2%) on Monday evening 19th June
North Island record
– 4425 MW (up 1%) on Monday evening 19th June
South Island record
– 2227 MW (up 0.1%) on Thursday evening 22nd June
Auckland/Northland record
– 2133 MW (up 7%) on Friday morning 23rd June
Wellington record
– 640 MW (up 6 %) on Thursday evening 22nd June
Upper South Island record (Christchurch north)
– 1076 MW (up 4 %) on Wednesday evening 21st June
Over the longer term, peak electricity demand in New Zealand is forecast to increase by around 2.5 percent a year. But
these figures show that from one year to the next, the actual regional increases can be significantly more.
ENDS