Power sales up as ski season improves

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 11, Issue 500, 24 August 1993, Page 15

Power sales up as ski season improves

Turoa Skifield operated for a record number of consecutive days during June/July, helping boost King Country Energy' s unit saies from mountain related activities. While the mild winter has given the impression that there has been little action on the slopes, the statistics for the past two months show the fields

have been just as busy as last year - for power use atleast. Commissioning of the new Knoll Ridge cafeteria at Whakapapa and other facilities on both sides of the mountain added to a massive 48.37 per cent lift in electricity use attributed to skifields and personal services in June. Less snow meant

fewer skiers, but the added facilities kept demand up in July with a 1.25 per cent increase in power use over July 1992. General manager Peter Till told the August King Country Energy directors meeting that the figures for August to date showed a lift in saies by 10 per cent - back to precrisis levels.

It has not been so good in other areas, however, with almost every other sector showing reduced consumption during July, including the restaurant and hotel sector - down 3.8 per cent on the same period last year. Total saies for King Country Energy in the year to date at the end of July were down 3.41 per

cent on the previous year. The biggest slump came in the farming (down 12.01 per cent) and prisons/public administration (down 13.4 per cent) sectors. Domestic saies dropped 5.7 per cent in July and were down 7.6 per cent in June. Food processing (AFFCO) was down only 1.13 per cent in July,

compared with a 15.14 per cent drop in June, as

compared with June 1992.