1. GERRY BROWNLEE (National—Ilam) Link to this
to the Minister of Energy
Has he received a report on yesterday’s National Winter Group meeting led by Transpower; if so, what did the report conclude on electricity supply security in New Zealand for this coming winter?
Hon DAVID PARKER (Minister of Energy) Link to this
I have not received a formal report, but I have received draft minutes. Those minutes confirmed what I said in the House yesterday. An important element of security of supply is whether we can restore part of Pole 1 of the high-voltage direct current (HVDC) link across Cook Strait, and work on that is progressing.
Does he agree with the chief executive officer of Meridian Energy, who told the Commerce Committee this morning that security of supply is as finely balanced as he has ever seen it in his 39 years in the electricity industry in New Zealand, or does he still wish to insist that there is really not too much of a problem and that we will get through it?
Yes, I do agree with Dr Turner’s comments, but I also reinforce the point that notwithstanding the very unusual coincidence of adverse effects happening at once, the system is coping.
Hon Dr Nick SmithWe have not run the system down. There are unprecedented levels of investment in both transmission and generation.
Dave HereoraWhen does Transpower expect to make a decision on the partial restoration of Pole 1?
Transpower’s chief executive officer, Patrick Strange, said this morning that he expects a decision on that will be taken in the next few weeks.
Gordon CopelandWhy, when the risks around the ageing Cook Strait cable have been highlighted by Keith Turner of Meridian Energy and others for some time, have we reached the point where one pole of the cable is apparently uninsurable, and will he hold the entity responsible for that—be it Transpower or the Electricity Commission—accountable for placing our electricity supply system at unnecessary risk?
It will come as no surprise to the member that when the Government was surprised by the somewhat sudden retirement of one pole of the Cook Strait cable last year, it was very fulsome in its expression of opinion about how surprised it was to be surprised.
That is not correct. Until I received a phone call late last year, 24 hours before it was retired, we were told that it had many years of life left in it.
Can we take it from the Minister’s answers that the incoming briefings provided to him, presumably from his forebears also in Cabinet, did not tell him of the problem that they had known about for at least 5 years; and why cannot he take some responsibility for an HVDC link that now looks like a frayed rubber band about to go at any point?
I do not think it is acceptable that within 24 hours we had a change from an important part of the electricity infrastructure being available for many years to its being retired at the end of that week, albeit on a temporary basis.
Can the Minister confirm that despite the urgency around the survival of the HVDC link, the Electricity Commission, which is supposed to guarantee security of supply, is not even considering a proposal either to replace or to repair it?
No, it is not. The Electricity Commission can only consider an application that is made to it. It is awaiting the application from Transpower. The technical specifications are also being prepared by Transpower separate from that process to put out to tender, so that the Electricity Commission procedures do not delay the practical implementation of the upgrade that we need.
Peter BrownNoting the concern in this House and in the public at large about the possibility of security of supply being threatened, and noting that the Minister answered yesterday by saying he could not guarantee security of supply, can he at least guarantee that all the participants in the electricity industry will work together on a coordinated approach in order to address the current problems and any potential problems?
I can indeed confirm that relationships between different parts of the electricity sector are better than they were a year ago.
If relationships within the industry are improving—and are certainly improving upon a year ago—is it feasible to suggest to the Government that it considers amalgamating the Government-owned entities and recognising that the Bradford reforms of 1998 were indeed a failure and that we should put the sector all back under one authority; is it feasible to ask the Government to consider that suggestion?
It is one of the options that the Government considered last year, and full papers as to the merits and demerits of that are publicly available and are, I think, sitting on the Ministry of Economic Development website.
Does the Minister concur with the recommendations that came out of the chief executive officer’s meeting yesterday, suggesting that New Zealand will get through this winter successfully only if the suppliers can rely on interrupted supply, which means cold showers, no heaters, and industrial shut-downs?
That member put that same incorrect assertion to Dr Turner at the select committee today, and Dr Turner rejected it and said it is not correct. The system is designed to be able to withstand multiple contingencies happening at the same time, as is evidenced by the fact that notwithstanding multiple contingencies already happening at the same time, the power system is, at this stage, coping.