Power savings top 5%

MEDIA RELEASE
12 May, 2003

WINTER POWER TASKFORCE

Power savings top 5%

The level of electricity savings climbed to 5.3% yesterday while hydro lake levels also increased on the back of recent heavy rain.

Winter Power Taskforce co-ordinator Patrick Strange said he was encouraged to see the steady increase in electricity conservation.

“This is the easily the highest level we’ve reached for savings but what’s more important is that the level of savings has been building steadily over the past few weeks.

“I’m encouraged by increasing reports of businesses putting in place comprehensive savings plans and I expect to see these begin to flow through to even higher levels of conservation.”

Dr Strange said 12 energy savings teams had this morning blitzed the CBDs of Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, visiting retailers and office tower managers to provide savings information.

“A number of the places we visited were already making a great effort to reduce consumption, with lighting turned down both at street level and inside shops and buildings.”

Dr Strange called on workers to turn off their PCs and printers overnight and weekends. “Computer PCs account for about 2.5% of an average company’s electricity and we can make good savings if people make an effort to turn them off when not in use.”

Dr Strange complimented the ASB Group for its Target 10% campaign.

ASB Bank has 120 nationwide branches, eight regional centres and its Auckland Head Office, all of which are part of an internal savings programme aiming at doubling the national savings target.

Barbara Chapman, ASB Bank Head of Retail Banking and Marketing said: “We believe we can save sufficient energy to power around 1,000 New Zealand households without compromising our customer service or security.”

The Bank will conserve energy wherever possible including reducing lighting, promotional signage and close monitoring of air conditioning temperatures.

Among the steps taken are reduced luminescence in lamps through the Bank’s head office, regional centres and branch network, reducing three-strip fluorescent lighting to two strips by removing tubes and reducing lighting in bathrooms to emergency level only.

All computer monitors are to be turned off when not in use, meeting room lighting also turned off and whiteboards and televisions switched off instead of left on standby.

Like McDonalds, which has dimmed its golden arches at specific locations, ASB Bank is also turning off external lighting where appropriate.

ASB Bank assures customers that the energy saving initiatives will have no impact on security at branches or on the Bank’s security systems.

ELECTRICITY DEMAND UPDATE

- Average savings for Sunday 11 May were 5.3%.
- Total consumption for Sunday 11 May was 84.8 GWh, versus 90.6 GWh for the equivalent day last year.
- National hydro storage levels were at 2018 GWh, 67% of average (an improvement on the 64% of average recorded at the end of last week.)

Daily demand information will be updated at 12 pm each day at www.winterpower.org.nz

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