Power crisis costs KCE

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 10, Issue 442, 30 June 1992, Page 13

Power crisis costs KCE

Raising bulk power prices next year to recover the costs of dealing with the current power crisis was not an option for ECNZ, according to King Country Energy director Tony Palmer. He is adamant that the Electricity Corporation should cover the costs out of reserves, or pay a lower dividend to its shareholder - the Govemment. Mr Palmer told the June King Country Energy meeting that electricity

was competing against other types of fuel and there was no way the corporation could cover its losses by raising tar^iffs. General manager Peter Till said King Country Energy's customers have responded well to the call for conservation, but this has been at a cost to the board. Fortunately most of the savings have been made in the domestic sector, which is a low profit area for the board, but it is expected that the present

crisis could depress electricity saies for up to three years. One of the pluses could be the possibility of deferring major upgrading of the main Taumarunui supply which was becoming increasingly necessary, at an expected cost of around $1 million. Ironically, King Country Energy's Kuratau Power Station has been having to spill water over the past week, in spite of generating at full capacity.