Reduced hydro generation impacts on renewable share

12 December 2019

Reduced inflows into North Island hydro schemes contributed to a decline in the share of electricity generated from renewable sources in the third quarter of 2019, according to the New Zealand Energy Quarterly released today by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

The latest New Zealand Energy Quarterly covers the period July-September 2019 and provides quarterly data and analysis on energy supply, demand, prices and associated greenhouse gas emissions.

“Renewable sources made up around 81 per cent of electricity generation, down from 85 per cent for the same quarter a year ago,” says Daniel Griffiths, MBIE Manager of Markets, Evidence and Insights.

“Nationally, hydro generation compared to the same quarter a year earlier fell by 7 per cent, but it was down by almost 19 per cent in the North Island.

“This came at a time when overall electricity generation was at its highest level since 2011.

“Other sources of generation picked up the slack with wind generation hitting a record high for any September quarter, while coal-fired generation was more than double that recorded a year earlier and gas-fired generation rose by 13 per cent.

“Electricity consumption was up by 2 per cent on September 2018 as demand rose across all sectors.

“The national average price for fuel fell compared to a year earlier, with petrol falling 4 per cent and diesel 7 per cent.”

New Zealand Energy Quarterly:

https://www.mbie.govt.nz/building-and-energy/energy-and-natural-resources/energy-statistics-and-modelling/energy-publications-and-technical-papers/new-zealand-energy-quarterly/

Read about electricity cost and price monitoring:

https://www.mbie.govt.nz/building-and-energy/energy-and-natural-resources/energy-statistics-and-modelling/energy-statistics/energy-prices/electricity-cost-and-price-monitoring/

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