Govt out of touch with power supply needs

Gerry Brownlee - National Energy Spokesperson

National Energy Spokesperson Gerry Brownlee says the Government is stopping another hydro dam in the South Island, where areas will face a power crisis if additional power supply is not commissioned soon.

“Transpower’s system security forecast reports suggests that if the proposed Dobson hydro station doesn’t go ahead, all consumers north of the Waitaki Valley and Christchurch city will face winter black-outs from 2005.

“The Dobson hydro proposal will put 60MW into the grid and secure supply for the upper South Island, but the Government is holding up the proposal.

“The Government needs to rethink why it is blocking this project, because the southern hydro transmission lines from Waitaki through Christchurch north to Nelson and down the West Coast approaching their full capacity for supply.

“Increasing capacity would cost many millions of dollars more than the cost of the Dobson hydro project, but would still leave the greater part of the South Island exposed to black out in dry years.

“The Dobson hydro scheme will be less prone to drought than the southern lakes, and therefore provide greater security of supply,” Mr Brownlee said.

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