Summary
Security of Supply
New Zealand hydro storage increased by two percentage points to 89% of average for the time of year (61% of total full) as above average inflows persisted in the South Island over the last week. South Island hydro storage increased by three percentage points to 94% of average for the time of year. North Island storage decreased by four percentage points to 42% of average.
There is rain forecast for the weekend, we will monitor how this impacts inflows next week.
Weekly Demand
National weekly demand dropped slightly on the week previous, to 877 GWh. Demand peaked at 6,682 MW on Monday evening.
Generation Mix
Generation decreased to 899 GWh this week, 10 GWh lower than the previous week. Wind generation increased by 23 GWh to contribute 59 GWh to the generation mix; 6% of the total generation mix. This was largely absorbed by a decrease in thermal generation.
Hydro comprised 54% of the generation mix. This is similar to the same time last year. Hydro storage has also returned to similar levels as the same time last year.
Overall, renewables made up 77% of the generation mix.
Weekly Prices
Reflecting reduced demand and increased wind generation, the weekly average price decreased to $192/MWh at Haywards. Price volatility was low, with only three spikes over $400/MWh. The highest price at Haywards was $441/MWh and occurred at 21:00 on Thursday 8 July.
HVDC Transfer
Reflecting an improved hydro storage position, whakatonga (southward) HVDC transfer was absent this week.
Noteworthy Outages
Kawerau continues its outage and is expected to return to the market on 1 August 2021.
Fact of the week
New Zealand's first wind farm was commissioned in 1997 and is called Hau Nui (Big Wind). It is located South of Martinborough in the Wairarapa and is owned by Genesis Energy. The first single turbine was commissioned in 1993 at Brooklyn, Wellington.
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