Transpower again calls for help from generators to head off risk of power cuts
Tuesday, 5 July 2022
Power system operator Transpower has called on electricity companies to offer more generation into the market on Tuesday to reduce the risk of evening power cuts.
The Customer Advice Notice sent shortly after 1pm was triggered by the fact that, without action, there would be a buffer of less than 200 megawatts of reserve power available during the period of peak demand between 5pm and 7pm if an unexpected event occurred.
Evening demand usually peaks at a bit under 7000MW.
It is the third time in the past two weeks that the state-owned enterprise has called on electricity companies to take steps to reduce the risk of power running short, and more such notices appear likely this winter.
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It issued a similar notice last Tuesday after it spotted power demand had risen above expectations and that wind power was coming in under forecast.
On June 23 it declared a rare “grid emergency” after a mechanical failure at Contact Energy’s Stratford gas power plant, a sudden drop in wind speeds and a temporary drop in power from one of the five turbines at Genesis Energy’s Huntly Power Station threatened to leave evening supplies short.
But power cuts were averted.
Transpower’s general manager of operations, Stephen Jay, said shortly after 2pm that at this stage it did not anticipate any disruption to consumers’ electricity supply but said it would continue to monitor the situation through the afternoon.
“Customer Advice Notices are a routine part of operating the power system and these low residual situations typically resolve as the industry responds by providing additional generation offers,” he said.
“Today’s notice has been issued as we are seeing higher demand than expected and less wind generation available than offered.”
Transpower does not have the power to order electricity companies to turn on idle generators, but power companies are understood to be showing a strong willingness to cooperate with Transpower after a power cut last August appeared to increase the risk of the Government re-regulating the sector.
Transpower’s notice on Tuesday advised power firms it might need to issue a warning or emergency notice later on Tuesday, if it did not see an adequate response.
Its modelling lists five other days between now and the end of the month, including Wednesday, when there might be insufficient power to meet peak demand if two large unexpected events struck at the same time.
These could for example be a failure of one of the Huntly Power Station’s five turbines or an outage on one of the two Cook Strait cables that normally carries power from the South Island to the North Island.