Spot Market electricity prices steady in April

Spot Market electricity prices steady in April

While national hydro storage decreased throughout April 2005 spot market electricity prices remained steady in comparison with March figures. North Island prices decreased slightly and South Island prices increased slightly as a result of the HVDC inter-island link’s return to full capacity at the end of March.

Average monthly prices at the Hayward's and Otahuhu reference nodes decreased from their March figures, while the average monthly price at Benmore increased in April. The average Hayward's prices decreased from 6.26c/kWh in March to 6.09c/kWh in April and Otahuhu prices decreased from 6.96c/kWh to 6.45c/kWh respectively. The monthly average price at Benmore increased from 5.44c/kWh to 5.68c/kWh.

Otahuhu B returned to service on 05 April following its unplanned outage on 26 March. There were no other significant generator outages during the month.

For most of April the HVDC inter-island link was available at full capacity. There were short scheduled outages of components of the HVDC that restricted maximum flows during April. However these outages did not result in noticeable price separation between the North and South Islands. Southward flows over the HVDC occurred during April in some early morning trading periods.

New Zealand hydro inflows over the month of April were 64% of average. National daily inflows were above average on only 3 days during April. Consequently national hydro storage decreased steadily during April from 112% of average to 96% of average.

Daily demand in April was at a lower level than that recorded during April 2004 but was slightly increased in comparison to March. Average daily demand in April 2005 was 101.7GWh compared to 100GWh in March 2005 and 103.3GWh in April 2004.

For more information on electricity prices and hydrological conditions, visit: www.comitfree.co.nz

ENDS

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