Tiwai Point to ramp up production
Meridian Energy's Manapōuri power station. PHOTO: MERIDIAN ENERGY
The Tiwai Point aluminium smelter is ramping back up as hydro lakes further north have received more rain.
Meridian Energy said in a statement yesterday that it and New Zealand Aluminium Smelters Limited (NZAS) had agreed NZAS would ramp up production from June 16 to bring the current demand response to an end early, targeting a completion date of August 11.
It had been set at November 25 but will now end more than three months earlier than that.
NZAS will notify Meridian if the target completion date changes.
The demand response option in place is Option 4. This is normally 185MW but has been modified to 50MW.
"New Zealand's hydro storage is looking much healthier than it was just a few weeks ago, so we are now confident regarding security of supply this winter. As a result, we want NZAS to get back to business," Meridian Energy chief executive Mike Roan said.
"This is another example of how willing NZAS is to support New Zealand's electricity system while making some of the purest, renewable aluminium on the planet and we are hugely appreciative of that."
Meridian will next have the ability to call for demand response Option 3 (100MW) or Option 4 (185MW) under the demand response agreement between the parties to take effect from April 12 next year. It will next be able to call demand response Option 1 (25MW) no sooner than 60 days after this ramp up finishes and Option 2 (50MW) no sooner than 90 days after this ramp up finishes.
There had been concerns about hydro storage earlier this year.
New Zealand's controlled hydro catchments — the main driver to keep the lights on during winter — had had the driest start to the year in 93 years of historic records, a statement from Transpower said in late April.
But rain had arrived in the catchments of the hydro lakes and helped to fill them up.
Hydro power supplies about 57% of the nation's electricity supply.
Minister of Energy Simon Watts earlier announced changes to drawdown limits at Lake Manapōuri and Lake Te Anau.
Mr Watts said the changes would deliver an extra 45GWh of energy from the Manapōuri Power Scheme each year — enough energy to power around 6000 homes.
It was an important step in the government and the sector's work to protect the security of the country's energy supply for the future, Mr Watts said. — PL
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