Media Statement
Thursday 9th June, 2008
Media Statement from TrustPower
TrustPower Welcomes Energy Saving Programme
TrustPower welcomes the introduction of a national energy savings programme, the occasional need for which it says
should not be regarded as a bad thing.
Chief Executive Keith Tempest says New Zealand is very fortunate in having a large part of its electricity generated
from natural resources - water, wind, and geothermal energy, which provides New Zealand electricity users with good
insulation from high international fuel prices.
"New Zealand has electricity prices which rank amongst the lowest in the world, simply because we do not have to rely
heavily on imported fuels such as oil, liquefied natural gas, coal or nuclear. If we were totally reliant on those
imported fuels, electricity costs would be rising at a similar rate to petrol, or even cheese for that matter,
reflecting international commodity pricing."
Mr Tempest says that while our heavy reliance on hydro does occasionally cause difficulties in severe drought years, the
answer is not expensive "standby" generation, which would sit idle for most of the time, adding to consumer's everyday
power bills.
"The sensible solution is to add more sustainable generation, to complement what we already have. More wind generation
will complement the South Island's hydro generation, allowing water to be stored when the wind blows for use when it
does not. At the same time more geothermal energy can provide additional base load capacity to complement the existing
mix of hydro, wind and thermal plants in the North Island."
ENDS