Vector again warns of power outages for 2007

Energy network company Vector is keeping up its steady drumbeat of warning that power cuts may hit Auckland by winter 2007.

Jon Addison, spokesman for anti-pylon group Underground in Manukau, said fears of blackouts in 2007 were again laid out last week in a meeting with Vector representatives, Duncan Head and Chris Sadler.

Addison and his group do not oppose Transpower building the new line into Auckland, but say it should be put underground.

Transpower wants to build a $500 million transmission line to supply Auckland's growing need for power.

It says this needs to be built by 2010 to avoid potential blackouts.

This date is too far away even for Vector, which says things are so tight that a power station falling over or a line being damaged could mean winter blackouts within two years.

In a submission to Energy Commissioner Roy Hemmingway, released yesterday, Vector says it is not trying to be "alarmist" but it thinks the "supply crunch" could come as early as 2007.

Chief executive Mark Franklin told Energy Minister Trevor Mallard of his "ever-growing concern at the lack of generation and transmission investment to ensure a secure and reliable supply of electricity into the Auckland region".

Transpower wants its new 400kV line built by 2010.

Vector is the lines company that takes electricity from Transpower's national grid and distributes it throughout the region.

In its latest submission to the Electricity Commissioner, Vector says any "transmission alternatives mechanism" should be put aside "at least until the immediate security of the supply situation in Auckland is addressed".

"Given we are told new capacity is required into the Auckland region by 2010, the process now seems to cut things extremely fine," Franklin told Mallard this year.

The 2010 date was based on projections of load growth and assumptions surrounding existing power station plant availability and production.

"There seems to be little recognition that should, for example, a generation plant in the region become unavailable for an extended period of time (as happened many times in the past) then consumers may face outages as early as 2007."

He said "significant security-of-supply issues were worsening each year", with Vector "on the brink of being forced to shed customers because of transmission and generation constraints".

Despite the letter being sent to the Energy Minister, Franklin said through a spokeswoman he did not want to comment on its contents as it was "a private document that was not for public discussion".

Mallard last month rejected Franklin's assessment of 2007 problems.

* Vector has been making steady progress in its full takeover attempt for NGC. It told the stock exchange yesterday it had secured 69.5 per cent of the company, up from the 67.2 per cent it already owned.