A combination of below average inflows in Aotearoa’s hydro generation catchments, constraints in the gas market, high electricity demand in May and recent low wind generation has contributed to a rapid decline in hydro storage.
By early August, hydro lake levels were just 55% of average for the time of year, putting them in the bottom 5% of historic records.
We’re stepping up our security of supply reporting as a result and will work closely with industry, government and other stakeholders to monitor and manage the situation. We will post links to all relevant information on this page.
Current consultation on adjusting the Alert Contingent Storage Release Boundary
A key security of supply consideration is the ability of hydro generators to access contingent storage without breaching resource consents. They can only do this when national storage drops below the Electricity Risk Curve (ERC) Alert level, which at this stage won’t happen until October, even with worst case inflows.
We are now consulting on our draft decision to adjust the Alert Contingent Storage Release Boundary to allow generators to access contingent storage earlier. The consultation paper is on our Invitation to Comment page.
We are moving at pace and will need submissions by midday next Friday, 16 August. Please email your feedback to [email protected] with the subject line ‘Consultation – Adjustment to Alert Contingent Storage Release Boundary’.
For further information please contact us at [email protected].
Reporting | |
| Daily Reporting Page | When the security of supply risk increases towards Watch Level we start reporting daily on the hydro storage position and the generation mix as well as provide advice on outage changes and market events. The report is published daily on weekdays on the Daily Reporting Page of our website. |
| Market Operations Weekly Report | This forms part of our normal reporting for security of supply. The Weekly Report is usually published on a Tuesday and provides key insights on the market performance, generation mix and security of supply status. Each week a market insight is provided drilling into key industry topics related to the system operator. |
| Electricity Risk Curves | These show New Zealand and South Island storage plotted against electricity risk status boundaries. We usually update these monthly but will switch to updating fortnightly. |
Other Information | |
| System Operator Industry Forum | This is a fortnightly discussion of current operational and market issues. We will switch to holding these weekly while we are managing the emerging security of supply risk. Further information and links to video recordings and slides can be found here. |
| Outage Watchlist | This watchlist identifies the outages that may negatively impact security of supply as a result of abnormally low hydrological conditions. The impact of each outage is also identified (as either high, medium or low). This watchlist will be used to inform conversations with asset owners about rescheduling outages that negatively impact security of supply. |
Policies and Learning Material | |
| Security of Supply Assessment | The assessment uses forecasts of electricity supply and demand to assess the ability of the electricity system to meet New Zealand's needs over the decade ahead. |
| Rolling Outage Plan | The Rolling Outage Plan provides for the management and co-ordination of planned outages as an emergency measure during energy shortages. |
| Emergency Management Policy | The Emergency Management Policy (EMP), sets out the steps that we will take, as a reasonable and prudent operator, during an extended emergency. This includes the requirement for us to initiate an Official Conservation Campaign under pre-determined conditions and, if needed, manage and co-ordinate planned outages as an emergency measure in anticipation of, or during, prolonged energy shortages. |
| Learning Material | This is a range of material that we have produced to help participants better understand security of supply. |