Earlier this week, Transpower issued several notices to industry as part of its standard operating process to ensure the sector was aware of expected demand.
Kilty thanked “everyone in the industry” for the response.
“To generators for ensuring that all units that were available to generate were, to the large industrials that reduced demand first thing this morning, to lines companies for being ready to remove controllable load from the system and to Transpower’s transmission business for ensuring the grid and HVDC link [between the two islands] were ready.”
In an interview with Herald NOW’s Ryan Bridge, Energy Minister Simeon Brown said the system was “very tight”, but Transpower was managing the situation.
“It’s a particularly cold snap, and I think one of the other challenges, which I guess brings you to wider energy policy, is the fact that Huntly Unit 5 – a big gas-fired power generator – has been turned off during this winter, and that gas has been transferred through to Ballance to be able to continue to produce fertiliser.”
Genesis Energy’s gas-powered turbine Unit 5 – part of the Huntly Power Station – was turned off in June.
“That decision was made because there’s a lot of water in the system this winter, meaning those lakes are full and there’s a lot of generation coming through,” said Brown.
“However, that does mean a big gas unit is not available, and there are other gas units not firing up because of the gas situation, which does bring wider challenges in relation to our energy system and its security,” he said.
The National-led Government has put in train plans to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Taranaki to offset rapidly declining domestic reserves and to provide back-up to the hydro- and wind-dominated energy system.
Brown said if the current tight situation worsened, there was the option of using controllable load – when power distributors are able to switch off hot water cylinders for an hour or so in times of peak demand.
Such a move would free up about 150 megawatts of generation.
“That’s the next step in terms of what is available.”
Jamie Gray is an Auckland-based journalist, covering the financial markets, the primary sector and energy. He joined the Herald in 2011.