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Thread ID: 74756	2006-12-04 03:29:00	Power prices :(	Shortcircuit (1666)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
504107	2006-12-04 03:29:00	Can anyone tell me why Transpower have just 'negotiated' a 12% power price rise with the Commerce Commission, down from the wanted 17%, when a few weeks ago I read that all the lakes are as full as they've ever been this time of year and the price of power from the producers is down at least 10-15% over last year? (sorry, can't find the article now) Something just doesn't add up and as usual it's Joe Bloggs who's getting shafted I think. :confused:	Shortcircuit (1666)
504108	2006-12-04 04:05:00	Don't have an answer but Transpower own the big pylons and high tension lines - not dams. One reason for a price increase is that Auckland wants more power so they have to build the disputed second transmission line. That will cost megabucks and has to be paid for.	Winston001 (3612)
504109	2006-12-04 04:17:00	This has nothing to do with the question, but....................... When we moved to Wanganui about four years ago, the price of a unit of electricity, a kilowatt hour, was just over 10 cents. Now it is just over 21 cents a unit. How much more money does this Govt want from us?. It is the Govt, of course, who dictate to the power supplies. If a new Dam Build is iminent I could understand. If not then it is all 'Tax Money' PJ	Poppa John (284)
504110	2006-12-04 06:03:00	Can anyone tell me why Transpower have just 'negotiated' a 12% power price rise with the Commerce Commission, down from the wanted 17%, when a few weeks ago I read that all the lakes are as full as they've ever been this time of year and the price of power from the producers is down at least 10-15% over last year? (sorry, can't find the article now) Something just doesn't add up and as usual it's Joe Bloggs who's getting shafted I think. :confused: Transpower have no interest in the "price of power" or how full the lakes are. They own, operate and maintain the National Grid, they do not buy or sell the power, ontly "transport" it around the country, where the local Network companies then "deliver" it to you for the Retailers. There are 3 parts to the cost of every unit: The Energy (That goes to your Retailer - Genesis, Meridian, Contact, Mercury etc) The Lines Charge (That goes to your local Lines Company, and includes the Transpower Charge) The Electricity Commission levy (That is used to keep the above working together correctly, in theory) Transpower account for a very small part of the overall unit cost, probably 20% or less. Apparently they need the money to get the increasing amount of the Retailers power around the country without places like Auckland plunging into darkness. Even if the actual energy was free due to too much water in the lakes, getting it to you would not be any different in cost. An analogy is that if petrol costs drop, does the cost of maintaining existing or building new roads drop?	godfather (25)
504111	2006-12-04 06:08:00	When we moved to Wanganui about four years ago, the price of a unit of electricity, a kilowatt hour, was just over 10 cents. Now it is just over 21 cents a unit. How much more money does this Govt want from us?. It is the Govt, of course, who dictate to the power supplies. If a new Dam Build is iminent I could understand. If not then it is all 'Tax Money' PJ There is an irony here PJ, as unless the price rises now, nobody can afford to build the dam in the future as it would be too uneconomic to even plan for. The simple fact is that NZ is too small to have an effective "competitive" market for power that would reduce prices. Before deregulation there was total Government control of generation, so any taxation cross subsidies were invisible. That was not necessarily a "bad thing".	godfather (25)
504112	2006-12-04 06:17:00	Transpower account for a very small part of the overall unit cost, probably 20% or less. Agreed and in fact they are smaller than that. The Transpower levies are about 20% of the fixed line charges component.	andrew93 (249)
504113	2006-12-04 06:38:00	The answer, of course, is nuclear. (Wait for the squeals).The only problem, in my mind, is getting rid of the waste later on. Build a small one , big enough for the North Island plus a bit. On the coast in the middle of nowhere, near a river for cooling water. That will take the pressure off the South Island lakes. Or how about a big gas burning station near New Plymouth, where the Gas comes ashore? Just thoughts. PJ	Poppa John (284)
504114	2006-12-04 09:45:00	Or how about a big gas burning station near New Plymouth, where the Gas comes ashore? Just thoughts. PJ Burning gas to produce power is not very efficient nor is it very efficient transmitting the power from the South Island to Auckland, about 50% loss.	mikebartnz (21)
504115	2006-12-04 09:59:00	And on that note it would be far more efficient generating the electricity closer to the points of consumption. If they relocated the Beehive to Auckland then there would be enough hot air to spin a few turbines......	andrew93 (249)
504116	2006-12-04 10:49:00	Auckland plunging into darkness. Even if the actual energy was free due to too much water in the lakes, getting it to you would not be any different in cost. An analogy is that if petrol costs drop, does the cost of maintaining existing or building new roads drop? As I remember it one of the reasons for an increase in power charges a few years ago was the drop in water levels. Now the lake levels in one lake appeared to be nearly at flood level. The cost of transmitting power to where it is needed increases by the minute. As, of course, does the price of a stadium. About time we had a nuclear power plant in Auckland I believe. Get the power to where it is needed without improving the grid which appears to be the latest reason for a power price increase. A proportion of TAX goes on each litre of petrol we consume to improve roads in Auckland even if we never go there.	Sweep (90)
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