Renewable electricity generation reaches new high

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s (MBIE) latest Energy Quarterly shows the share of renewable electricity generation continues to climb, reaching a 20 year high in 2015.

“At 80.7 per cent, the share of renewable electricity generation is the highest it’s been since 1995,” says James Hogan, MBIE’s Manager of Energy and Building Trends.

MBIE also released the latest data on residential electricity costs for the December quarter 2015. This shows a 2.1 per cent fall in the average residential cost per unit since the previous December quarter due to lower household expenditure on electricity.

“Household electricity expenditure is influenced by electricity tariffs, usage, discounting activity, or a combination of these factors. This quarter saw lower expenditure from continued discounting activity and customer credits,” Mr Hogan said.

The latest data from the Ministry’s Quarterly Retail Sales Survey shows that electricity demand in the 2015 calendar year was 1.2% higher than 2014. The largest increase was in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector, up 9% over the period.

“The data also shows a 0.5% increase in residential demand over the same period, which is in contrast to the falling trend observed in recent years,” Mr Hogan said.

Demand for diesel reached a record high in the December quarter 2015 –up 3.3 per cent on the previous December quarter. Over the same period petrol demand increased 2.8 per cent. Prices for these fuels decreased over the period as crude prices fell to their lowest levels in 11 years.

“Demand for diesel is considered to be a lead indicator of economic performance by market commentators because of its use as a primary fuel for commercial land transport,” Mr Hogan said.

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