Energy crisis: Meridian says wind, rain taking pressure off hydro

Meridian says wind and rain over the weekend has taken some of the pressure off its hydro system. Photo / Supplied

Power generator Meridian says strong winds and rain over the weekend helped ease the need for hydro generation on the company’s Waitaki River power stations.

The company said recent inflows meant storage at Lake Pūkaki nudged upwards, while Lake Manapōuri storage was now above average for the first time since mid-June.

“The weekend saw some moderate rainfall to help lift lake levels and it’s good to see more rain in the forecast across the week,” Chris Ewers, Meridian’s general manager wholesale said.

“It’s a battle of inches at the moment, and things are definitely heading in the right direction,” he said.

Over the last week, Meridian’s new Harapaki wind farm, in Hawke’s Bay, had been frequently pushing out more than 130 megawatts.

The company’s other wind farms throughout New Zealand have also been generating near the top of their ranges.

Over the last week, Meridian’s six wind farms produced daily totals of up to 9 gigawatt hours, which exceeded the daily generation totals from the company’s six power stations along the South Island’s Waitaki Hydro Scheme.

Harapaki was capable of producing up to 176MW from its 41 turbines.

Low lake levels and constrained gas supply helped drive wholesale power prices up to a peak of $800 per megawatt hour (MWh) earlier this month.

Prices have since gone back down to around $200MWh.

Wholesale prices are set every half hour.