Daylight saving idea to beat cuts

By VERNON SMALL deputy political editor

An early start to daylight saving is possible if the electricity crisis deepens.

The radical idea, coming as energy savings fall below the required 10 per cent, could cut power use by extending daylight into the evening peak time.

A spokesman for Energy Minister Pete Hodgson said the minister had an open mind on the suggestion, put forward by one industry player.

The proposal would be explored over the next two weeks, but Mr Hodgson would not say whose idea it was because the person had requested anonymity.

A rough estimate by electricity market company M-Co showed an overall power reduction of 3.5 per cent in the first week of daylight saving last year.

For the past three years, the reduction in the first week averaged 2 per cent.

More important, in the first week of daylight saving, peak evening consumption, between 5 pm and 8 pm, dropped 7.5 per cent last year and an average of 5.5 per cent over the past three years.

Peak morning demand, between 7 am and 9 am, fell by smaller amounts.

"If you can keep it lighter later, the lights come on later and you save power," said M-Co's general manager of communications, Jane Tronson.

Decreasing demand in peak times could also reduce potential price spikes.

Act energy spokesman Gerry Eckhoff called for clocks to be put forward as early as September 1 rather than the due date of October 7.

That would save power because people would eat dinner earlier and might use the barbecue instead of the electric stove, the MP said.

"I guess if they sit down to dinner and watch the news at 5 pm instead of 6 pm it is still a wee bit warmer."

Even a small amount of saving on lighting could accumulate across the country. There could be bigger savings in the North, where twilight lasts less time than in the South.

But Federated Farmers energy spokesman Tom Lambie firmly rejected the suggestion.

"We are in the busiest time of year in full flight with calving. The last thing people want to do is get up in the dark. The first daylight hours are precious for getting on with the job."

A study in California, which has suffered rolling blackouts, found that daylight saving saved only small amounts of power but caused significant reductions in peak use.

However, Mr Eckhoff said California had a big demand for power for air-conditioning rather than heating.

The icy blast sweeping NZ from the south has caused another hiccup in the power-saving effort.

Snowfalls and a cold southerly change meant savings dropped to 6.5 per cent on Monday. In the past seven days, average savings have been 9.4 per cent.

However, M-Co admitted yesterday that the power saving figure published for Saturday was incorrect. The actual saving was 7.3 per cent, not 1.8 per cent as it reported.

Meanwhile, one power company is trying to boost the everyone-pull-together power-saving message by offering yet another cash incentive - this time with a twist.

Contact Energy, one of the four big electricity generators, which also has about 22 per cent of the retail market, will give up to $400,000 to worthy causes in regions where power consumption is cut by 10 per cent over the next month.

Contact chief executive Stephen Barrett said regions must save at least 4 per cent to get any money. Those that missed the 10 per cent target but still made savings would be rewarded on a sliding scale.

Feature: Electricity

Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority