Energy customers elsewhere wanted

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 11, Issue 515, 7 December 1993, Page 12

Energy customers elsewhere wanted

Energy consumers wantingabetterpowerpriceneed look no further than King Country Energy, ironically the first power company in New Zealand to "lose" a customer to another supplier. General manager Peter Till says King Country Energy is right behind a truly competitive energy market. It was for this reason, it was prepared to be the test case forthefirsteverbilling split in New Zealand when an Ohakune motel elected to buy its energy from another company and continue to take network services from King Country Energy. "But the gloves are now off," Mr Till said. "We are keen to supply energy cus-

tomers in places other than our former franchise area - and that includes customers of Bay of Plenty Electricity (owners of the en-

ergy trading company NZ Power and Light, who now provide the Ohakune motelier with energy)". Mr Till said King Coun-

try Energy tariffs have, in recent years, been on the bottom side of the lower quartile of power prices in the New Zealand, even al-

lowing for the South Island subsidy. For a number of years it could claim the lowest power prices for both domestic and non domestic

customers in New Zealand. "We can be competitive because we generate up to a third of our own requirements, and we continue to look for other generation opportunities to increase this competitive advantage." King Country Energy has a 6MW power station at Kuratau and a 1 MW run-

of-river station at Piriaka. In recent years it have been acti vely investigating a new 80MW hydro scheme on the Whangaehu River and has just made submissions to the Department of Conservation on the possibilities of generating electricity from the effluent produced by a sewage scheme serving the Mount Ruapehu skifields.