Electricity Supply and Demand to 2015

Since the major economic reforms of the 1980s, it has been difficult to obtain independent and regularly updated date information on New Zealand’s future electricity needs and how these might be met. To assist provision of this information, the Centre for Advanced Engineering (CAE) in 1992 commissioned Leyland Consultants (now part of Sinclair Knight Merz) to undertake some initial modelling work to consider how expected increased demands for electricity could be met. This work was notable in that it not only highlighted New Zealand’s vulnerability to electricity shortages in dry years, but also the need for continued investment in additional generation capacity to meet increasing demand for electricity. The work also drew attention to the consequences of continued reliance on Maui gas for electricity generation