Mighty River Power faces flat electricity demand in NZ
Kawerau geothermal plant (source: Mighty River Power)
Alexander Richter
12 May 2014
Utility Mighty River Power faces a flattening electricity demand in New Zealand, due to economic factors and increasing efforts on energy efficiency.
In Issue 1 of our Think GEOENERY Magazine, New Zealand was a focus and there we talked about the challenge in New Zealand of flattening electricity demand.
Now Mighty River Power and its new CEO, Fraser Whineray, describe “flat demand as being the biggest challenge facing the electricity generator and retailer.”
In an article in the New Zealand Herald, it is described that power consumption has been relatively static since 2008, at a consumption of around 38-39 billion kWh (38-39,000 GWh) per year.
This is due to various factors, mostly due to the closure of plants of the energy intensive industries, like the paper and pulp plants, but also a generally slower economy and energy efficiency measures.
So the new CEO to take over Mighty River, describes the flat energy demand as the most challenging business environment and might also explain the interest of Mighty River Power in its international business in Chile and the U.S.
Source: NZ Herald
